After her surgery made the world news on December 1, 1952, Christine Jorgensen inarguably entered the history books as the first of the “Atomic Age” transsexual women. But the second Atomic Age transsexual woman is unknown by many in the community. Her name was Charlotte McLeod.

Soon after her transition McLeod that said she was working on an autobiography, but she soon ceased mentioning it. No complete autobiography was known to be published, but in 1956, McLeod sold what she had developed for an autobiography to the men’s magazine Mr. This autobiographical article was so rare I did not even confirm it existed until nearly 3 years into my research into transgender history, and through a series of serendipitous events I was able to find an original copy in very good condition.

In keeping with the scholarly and historical preservation goals of Transas City, this short autobiography of Charlotte McLeod is offered to the world free of charge for download in high-resolution. My checking of its copyright status indicates to me that it falls in the public domain, as it was published prior to 1964, but the copyright was not renewed after that date. I do not demand attribution nor any consideration, but I’d like to ask that out of fairness you reference myself, Una Nowling, as the provider of it.

I encourage you to download and save this document somewhere safe, so this important piece of the history of our people will not be lost again.

McLeod, Charlotte – “I Changed My Sex”