This site documents Transgender San Francisco (TGSF), and its predecessor, Educational TV Channel (ETVC), San Francisco’s 40-year-old trans social and support group. The site is a work-in-progress. The Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive will be posting additional material until at least the end of 2025.
If you are a current member, former member, or non-member, please share your ETVC/TGSF memories, flyers, event programs, newsletters, ephemera, and especially photographs with us.
Contact [email protected] to help preserve San Francisco’s trans history.
Welcome to the ETVC Digital Archives, an ongoing project of the Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive, under the direction of Ms. Bobbie Davis.
”Educational Transvestite Channel (ETVC) was founded in 1982, making it one of the country’s oldest continuously active, independent transgender social and support groups. Unlike groups with restrictive membership policies, ETVC has always been inclusive; open, and welcoming to anyone transgender, trans-curious, or trans-allied. They established a support group for couples, published educational materials, and partied with other San Francisco LGBTQ organizations such as The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Imperial Court of San Francisco, and the trans-masculine support group FTM International.
In 1998 ETVC changed its name to TransGender San Francisco (TGSF), which still holds regular meetings both virtual and in person. TGSF can be contacted via [email protected]. More information is available on their website.
A Brief History of ETVC (by ETVC)
“In the spring of 1982 a small group of crossdressers and transgenderists in the San Francisco Bay Area, wanting a safe space to meet, began getting together on a regular basis at various individual’s homes. We chose a name for our group, ETVC, which stood for Educational TV Channel…a rather obscure and elusive way to handle addressing and contacts…As word got around, we grew and established regular monthly socials at a San Francisco restaurant. In less than a year our “theme” parties were averaging 40-50 people, and ETVC has become established as one of the best places in the Bay Area for the crossed and the crossexed to go for a night out.
We established a set of by-laws and a formal structure in 1983. A year later we added committees, a Couples Group, information pamphlets, and card parties. Our membership grew to over 100. Later we added a library.
By 1989 ETVC had over 400 members and promoted itself as the largest autonomous gender group in the world.* In early 1994 the Internal Revenue Service granted ETVC nonprofit, tax exempt status. The ETVC membership voted to change the name to TransGender San Francisco (TGSF) in September 1998.”
Statement of Purpose
“The purpose of TGSF is to serve the educational, support, and social needs of all members of the transgender community, and to assist the general public in understanding crossdressing and transsexualism. TGSF is a non-sexual organization which welcomes all members of the transgender community regardless of sexual orientation or gender preference, as well as their significant others, friends, or anyone else interested in the subject of transgender.”
Text adapted from ETVC or TGSF publications.
-
- “Kim’s Korner,” The Channel: Educational TV Channel Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 1, July/August 1989, p.1.
Send in your pictures!
We are always interested in seeing photographs from ETVC/TGSF events! Please contact Ms. Bobbie Davis at the Louise Lawrence Transgender Archive.
This project was made possible by a Presentation and Accessibility of California’s LGBTQ+ History grant from the California State Library.
Part of this project was made possible with the assistance of the GLBT Historical Society.
Special thanks to Robyn Adams, Anna Bergman, Aaron Devor, Kelsi Evans, Isaac
Fellman, Muffy Koster, Carol Kleinmaier, Lisa Lindsay, K. J. Rawson, Lori Shibuyama, and Cristina Zaldana.