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Before Stonewall

Red Jordan Arobateau (November 15, 1943 – November 25, 2021) was an American author, playwright, poet and painter. Largely self-publishing over 80 literary works—often with autofictional elements—Arobateau was one of the most prolific writers of street lit, and a proponent of transgender and lesbian erotica.
Born and raised in Chicago, Arobateau moved to San Francisco in adulthood because of its LGBTQ+ friendly culture, where he transitioned and became a trans man. Most indie and LGBTQ+ publishing houses rejected his manuscripts. Arobateau worked odd jobs to finance his self-publications, and sold hand-stapled books in lesbian bars, feminist bookstores and on the streets. He spent most of his adult life in poverty. Arobateau appeared in documentaries such as Before Stonewall (1984) and his writings were intermittently published in anthologies like Daughters of Africa (1992).
Arobateau's prose contained themes of butch lesbians, transsexuality, streetlife, philosophy, social issues and social justice, and his poetry was spiritual and religious. Critical reception was mixed; his progressive characters and realist storylines received praise, while criticism was directed at his unrefined writing style. The life and works of Arobateau have been analyzed in various areas of social research, including sociology of literature, transgender studies, feminist theory, identity and black studies. An early figure in the history and development of street lit, Arobateau inspired writers Ann Allen Shockley and Michelle Tea.

Red Jordan Arobateau

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Before Stonewall