Renee Richards: Transsexual Tennis Player's Sex Life
By Michael Musto, Fri., Apr. 22 2011 @ 11:00AM
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/2011/04/renee_richards.php (http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/2011/04/renee_richards.php)
​Renee -- the fascinating documentary by Eric Drath which is playing the Tribeca Film Festival -- recounts the story of Richard Raskin, who in his 40s, had sexual reassignment surgery and emerged as the world's most controversial tennis star, Renee Richards.
Renee's troubled son later called this an incredibly selfish act, seeing as he felt betrayed and abandoned.
But Renee became a lightning rod for the public's feelings toward transsexualism and helped move society forward on that topic, while enduring all kinds of jeering opposition.
I remember the 1986 Vanessa Redgrave TV version that came out. Years before that presentation, Renee Richards was really jeered in the press and the Esquire magazine had her on the front cover in the late 70's with the "Dubious awards of the Year" title. The cover art had her lobbing two tennis balls with the apparent inuendo. This was one of the factors that delayed my transition until now.
Joelene