While the case outcome didn’t finalize until 1983, the Oakland Tribune misgendered and outed Diaz in 1978, causing her to sue opinion writer Sidney Jones. At the time, Diaz had already changed her gender on legal documentation. Diaz’s victory is an important legal recognition of transgender people, although legality does not determine the legitimacy of anybody’s gender. In Steve Dain’s case, the matter of his ability to teach women’s P.E. was brought up. Similarly, Jones panders to Alameda College students that they should be wary of having Diaz in the women’s locker room. As we know from the recent uprising of anti-trans bathroom laws like the one in North Carolina, the government still tries to prevent trans people from fulfilling essential human needs. However, Diaz’s case is a remarkable victory for a trans woman and a simple Google search shows multiple legal analyses of the case and its impact on rights to privacy. The money Diaz won, $775,000, had the same buying power in 1983 as just a few thousand less than 2 million dollars today. Also notable, Diaz was the first female president at the College of Alameda.
Read the decision of Diaz v. Oakland tribune here.
