Ep 10. Sandy Stone: Radical Feminist and Transgender Advocate

In this episode you will hear from Sandy Stone who has been an out transgender woman living in Santa Cruz since the 1970s.  Sandy moved to the Santa Cruz area in the 1970s as she was transitioning from male to female. Sandy also worked as sound engineer for Olivia Records, a radical feminist lesbian separatist music collective and still volunteers her time today as a sound engineer for the radio station KSQD. As Sandy came out as a transgender around Santa Cruz, she began hanging out with various female identifying groups when one group questioned her identity. The group actually voted whether or not to allow Sandy to be allowed in women’s spaces - the group voted 49-1 to be inclusive. At this time in her life, Sandy learned about the term, TERF, which stands for Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist. TERFS believe that transgender women are men and is considered a derogatory term today.Sandy went on to be an academic and working as a professor at the University of Texas, Austin and her other passion as a sound engineer for various recording studios and musicians including Jimi Hendrix, David Crosby and Graham Nash.  She has been a filmmaker, rock 'n roll music engineer, neurologist, social scientist, science fiction author, cultural theorist, and performer.In 2024 she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame as the first transgender woman to have this honor. She continues to live in the Santa Cruz area with many friends and family members.