PATRICK CALIFIA AKA  CALIFIA-RICE

 

Patrick Califia (also 'Califia-Rice',
formerly known as Pat Califia), born 1954 near Corpus Christi, Texas is a
writer of nonfiction essays about sexuality and of erotic fiction and
poetry. Califia is a bisexual trans man.

This is the eightieth   post in a series highlighting the best gay and
lesbian authors from the 20th century (with a few before and after that
period) who have recorded in fiction, and nonfiction, the history of gay
people telling what life is, and was, during an important time of
history.

Biography

Califia, assigned female at birth, was born into a Mormon family. He
came out as a lesbian in 1971 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and changed his
name to Pat Califia, taking the surname Califia after the mythical
Amazon. After getting involved in consciousness-raising work in the
area, he bought a one-way ticket to San Francisco in 1973, bringing an
interest in sex education to work on the San Francisco Sex Information
switchboard.

His
first book was Sapphistry, a non-fiction work which described
butch-femme sexuality and BDSM safety and practice in a non-judgmental
tone. Subsequently, he published work in lesbian, gay and feminist
magazines, including a long-running sex advice column in The Advocate.
In 1979, as a student in psychology at San Francisco State University,
his research was published in the Journal of Homosexuality

With
the founding of SAMOIS, Califia shifted focus to the lesbian experience
of BDSM and made a major contribution to the diversification of the
leather subculture. He contributed to the book Coming to Power published
by Alyson Publications. Another book, the Lesbian Sadomasochism Safety
Manual won the 1990 Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the
Year  Califia founded the leatherwomen's quarterly Venus Infers in 1992,
and in 1996 was co-editor (with Robin Sweeney) of The Second Coming: A
Leatherdyke Reader, a sequel to Coming to Power.

During this period Califia was both writing about queer studies and
gender identity and coming to terms with these issues on a personal
level. During the mid-1990s, Califia decided to transition, adopting the
name of Patrick.

Since the 1990s, Califia has had fibromyalgia, which has reduced his
ability to type or write. He is currently in private practice as a
therapist (he is a licensed marriage therapist and family therapist in
the state of California). He continues to publish his work and attend
leather community events.

Califia's most recent book is Boy in the Middle, a collection of erotic
stories. He is currently working on a number of other projects including
a book on FTM sexuality.

His pornographic works were often seized by Canadian customs until he
fought a court case to allow them to be accepted. Afterwards he wrote of
his amusement at finding that anti-porn feminist Catherine Itzin's book
Pornography: Women, Violence and Civil Liberties was seized under the
very law she had helped to establish, while Califia's books were
recognised as acceptable by that law. Califia fought against
anti-pornography legislation co-authored by Catharine MacKinnon

Non-fiction
What Color is Your Handkerchief: A Lesbian S/M Sexuality Reader (ed), SAMOIS, 1979.
Pat Califia: "A Personal View of the History of the Lesbian S/M
Community and Movement in San Francisco", 1981. in: Coming to Power:
Writings and Graphics on Lesbian S/M. Alyson Publications, Boston, 3rd
ed Oktober 1987, ISBN 0-932870-28-7
Sapphistry: The book of lesbian sexuality, Naiad Press, April 1988, ISBN 0-941483-24-X
Lesbian Sadomasochism Safety Manual, Alyson Books, June 1988, ISBN 1-555833-01-2
Advocate Adviser, Alyson Books, June 1991, ISBN 1-55583-169-9
Forbidden Passages: Writings Banned in Canada, Cleis Press, November 1995, ISBN 1-57344-019-1
Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism, Cleis Press, July 1997, ISBN 1-57344-072-8
Sensuous Magic: A Guide for Adventurous Lovers, Masquerade Books, January 1998, ISBN 1-56333-610-3
Bitch Goddess: The Spiritual Path of the Dominant Woman, Greenery Press, December 1998, ISBN 1-890159-04-2
Public Sex: The Culture of Radical Sex , Cleis Press, June 2000, ISBN 1-57344-096-5
Speaking Sex to Power: The Politics of Queer Sex, Cleis Press, November 2001, ISBN 1-57344-132-5
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Fiction
Macho Sluts, Alyson Publications, November 1988, ISBN 1-55583-115-X
Doing It for Daddy: Short Sexy Fiction About a Very Forbidden Fantasy, Alyson Publications, December 1994, ISBN 1-55583-227-X
Doc and Fluff: The Dystopian Tale of a Girl and Her Biker, Alyson Publications, May 1996, ISBN 1-55583-369-1
The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader, Alyson Publications, July 1996, ISBN 1-55583-281-4
Melting Point: A Collection of Erotic Short Stories, Alyson Publications, November 1996, ISBN 1-55583-380-2
Diesel Fuel: Passionate Poetry, Masquerade Books, May 1997, ISBN 1-56333-535-2
No Mercy, Alyson Publications, June 2000, ISBN 1-55583-542-2
Mortal Companion, Suspect Thoughts Press, May 2004, ISBN 0-9710846-9-6
Boy in the Middle: Erotic Fiction, Cleis Press, September 2005, ISBN 1-57344-218-6