Gemini Society was an offshoot of Salmacis Society, a transgender rights organization founded by Sally Anne Douglas and located in the South Bay. Without Grindr, Tinder, or Facebook groups trans folks had to follow an intricate mailing process to connect with one another using this book. People sent information to the directory from all over the world, not just North America. The breakdown of cost to participate in the publication reveals the inaccessibility of the service, as trans people had to pay to receive and advertise in it.
Many other publications, such as The Barb, worked to connect trans people with one another as a by-product, but the Gemini Directory is a unique publication as that is its main purpose. The book even created a secret code only understandable via analyzing an extensive list of directions, therefore attempting to create a language only for trans people. While in the 1970s the most common term for trans people was transsexual, Salmacis Society advanced the terminology of “transgender,” which they explain on page 12 of the booklet, available for PDF download.
Berkeley representation in the Gemini Directory. The number beside her name is code that someone could look up to contact her. Could this be the same Diana from the Barb?
