Unpacking Histories of Black Lesbians Who "Passed" as Men in the 1950s
The Sensational Story of Annie Lee "Jim" Grant
Her hair cropped short, her busts compressed tightly and her smooth, baby-like face crinkled in a mask of defiance, Jim insists,
“I ain’t doing nothing wrong. I ain’t breaking no laws.”
I recently uncovered a special gem during my research at the Lesbian Herstory Archives in Brooklyn:
The story of Annie Lee “Jim” Grant, a 30 year old black lesbian from Mississippi who was exposed as a male impersonator after being arrested for driving with improper lights and a pint of whiskey.
When the officer tried to search her, she said “Take it easy, I’m a woman.”
This was a total news media sensation in the 1950s, earning entire news spreads and a whole article in Ebony Magazine.
For 15 years, Annie Lee had successfully worked as a line cook, cab driver, filing station attendant, and even a preacher—while presenting herself as a man named Jim. She was known by many as a “God-fearing young man.”
Now I have to admit—the first thing that impressed me about this woman was her unbridled butch confidence. Just look at that cover photo! I’m here for all of it.
The news clippings also admittedly gave me a good chuckle to read. I could just envision that collective le gasp amongst the small-town community members when Annie “revealed” herself as female, whereas she just seemed to be very matter-of-fact about the whole ordeal:
The mayor slowly chose his words and told the prisoner:
‘Annie Lee, if you want to prove to me you’re a woman you can do it. But you don’t have to unless you want to.’
While bug-eyed police and the mayor waited in tense silence, the prisoner walked to a closet, discarded shirt, pants, and male underwear. The police crowded in closer, strained their necks, and jockeyed for position.
When Jim walked out almost completely nude, what they saw made their mouths pop open: The man Jim McHarris long known in town as a hard-working laborer as well as a “mighty tough man with the ladies” was no man at all, but a fully-developed, big-breasted woman.”
…
Despite this reveal, Jim remained adamant for her right to live, dress, and call herself as she pleased.
Through a modern-day Western lens, some people look at this artifact and say that “Jim” was trans. However, that claim is historically inaccurate, because the term transgender had not yet been coined, and that is not how she identified or saw herself. As we can see, she stated her womanhood as a fact when the situation called for it.
A more accurate way to view Annie Lee’s story is through the lens of “passing”.
Passing is a term that was commonly used to describe mixed African-Americans who passed as white in order to navigate society with greater ease and advantage throughout history.
However in this case, Annie-Lee was “passing” as a heterosexual black male to ease her own navigability through a society that was extremely discriminatory towards women like her, in ways that we don’t even get to learn about in our history books. And just like white-passing individuals, she was able to play upon her natural traits in order to successfully pass as male.
What I find most interesting about Annie’s story is that I didn’t sense that she was hiding her femaleness out of shame or a deeper rejection of womanhood, or even truly wanting to be a man. Her “impersonation” appeared to be rooted in a well-played survival strategy as a black butch lesbian.
In this piece, I’d like to take a deeper dive into Annie Lee Grant’s story, share the remainder of news clippings and photos I’ve found, and discuss some key elements:
What factors led Annie Lee Grant and other black women of the past to become ‘male impersonators’? Who were some of these women, and what similarities and differences do they share with modern-day women who choose to live as men?
Annie Lee Grant revealed that she was a woman in a clear effort to receive sex-based protections during her encounter with law enforcement. What does this say about her approach to her male identity? Would she be guaranteed those same protections today, with our current laws?
How was Annie Lee Grant’s choice to live as a man transgressive for her time, and what did her actions say about the society she lived in?
I will also discuss modern-day depictions of black women who shared a similar story and historical era as Grant, including the character “Uncle Bertie” a black butch lesbian character from the TV series, “A League of Their Own”.