Rule No. 9

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Rule No. 9 was a city ordinance in Los Angeles, California which made it illegal for performers to "impersonate by means of costume or dress a member of the opposite sex" without a special permit from the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners.[1][2] Enforced in 1967, this outlawed cross-dressing and drag,[3] and effectively criminalised transgender performers. It was notably used to prevent transgender dancer Sir Lady Java from performing.[4]

Java had had a successful two-week performance at the Red Foxx,[2][note 1] a club on La Cienaga,[1] but the police invoked Rule No. 9, threatening to arrest the owner if she was allowed to perform again.[3] Java picketed the club, arguing the ordinance violated her right to work and challenged it in court with the ACLU.[2][5][6] At the time, California's anti-masquerading law had already been declared unconstitutional, meaning that the acts Rule No. 9 prevented from being on stage were legal on the streets.[1][7]

The courts ruled that only club or bar owners could sue the police department, but Java and the ACLU could not find anyone willing to join the suit.[2] Rule No. 9 was struck down as part of a decision by the California Supreme Court in 1969 where a different cabaret law was challenged and defeated.[8]

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Notes[]

  1. ^ The club's actual name is unclear but sources generally agree it was owned by entertainer Redd Foxx and was known by his name.[2][5][6]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Marc Stein (2019). The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History. NYU Press. pp. 101–102. ISBN 9781479816859. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Khary Polk (Summer 2013). "Malcolm X, Sexual Hearsay, and Masculine Dissemblance". Biography. 36 (3): 571–572. JSTOR 24570210. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b "The Work of the ACLU: Linking Gender Identity and Gay Rights". ACLU. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  4. ^ James Gilliam (17 December 2010). "Pride: Sir Lady Java and the ACLU/SC". ACLU of Southern California. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Feminist to Know: Sir Lady Java". Uterish. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  6. ^ a b "That's Life". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 16 November 1967. p. 37. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  7. ^ Marina Manoukian (14 December 2020). "The Untold Truth Of Trans Rights Hero Sir Lady Java". Grunge.com. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  8. ^ Emma Powys Maurice (12 November 2020). "Pose star Hailie Sahar to play trans rights hero Sir Lady Java in new biopic. Yes, a trans actor has actually been cast in a trans role". Pink News. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
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