Jeanette Hughes

South Bend's Own Words

Jeannette Hughes' father taught church history. The job meant she and her family moved to many different college towns around the U.S. Being part of a fundamentalist faith group, Jeannette had little conception of a transgender identity. She had, as she called it, “a normal boyhood.” Still, she knew that she wanted her cousins to call her “Sandy,” and felt more herself sitting down to use the bathroom.

As Jeannette became an adult and traveled the world, she began understanding more about the trangender experience. She eventually settled in Goshen, adopted her true gender identity, and even found a faith community that embraced her.

In 2015, Jeannette sat down with Dr. Jamie Wagman from St. Mary’s College. They talked about her parents and the fundamentalist faith community they shared, and how discovering a transgender serving store in Chicago changed her life.

This episode was produced by Joey Meyers from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend; and George Garner from the IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.

Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View original photographs and documents from people who made history. Check out our archival collection online or in person at our website: https://clas.iusb.edu/centers/civil-rights/local-history/index.html

Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.