By and large, Arobateau lived his adult life in poverty and on unemployment benefits.
His writings were occasionally published through publications such as On Our Backs, however he remained mostly self-published throughout his life. Arobateau attributed those refusals to prominence of sexual content in his works, which he claimed were relatively unacceptable even for feminist and LGBTQ publishers at the time. Prior to publication of short story "Suzie Q" in poet Judy Grahn's anthology True to Life Adventure Stories (1978), every indie and LGBTQ publication Arobateau approached had refused to publish his work. Relying on the grapevine, Arobateau sold his works in off the record lesbian channels, and limited physical distribution of his copies to lesbian bars, feminist bookstores and the streets. Arobateau could write a novel in a month he would then make a few photocopies and staple the manuscript together with a book cover. He worked different jobs to fund each publication, and had experience working as an office assistant, factory worker, karate teacher, nurse's aide, cashier and cook. Old Wives' Tales, a feminist bookstore in Mission Dolores, San Francisco, sold Arobateau's books.Īrobateau started self-publishing his work in the 1970s, with Bars Across Heaven (1977) being his first self-published novel. His conversion alienated some of his friends who were concerned about social and political implications of a rise in christian fundamentalism across the country. Formerly an atheist, Arobateau became a Christian and joined the Metropolitan Community Church after the death of his father in 1973. He shifted to New York City before moving to San Francisco in 1967 - where he spent the rest of his life - largely because of its LGBTQ friendly culture. Daley, Arobateau decided to move out of Chicago. Ĭiting persecutory policies of then-mayor Richard J. After he got his hair dyed red, he conceived that the color represented sensuality and eroticism of his work thus he adopted "Red" as his first name. "Arobateau" was based off his given surname with an "A" added to the original form, "Robateau". He took "Jordan" from his grandmother's last name for its religious connotations and relations to his African-American heritage. He enrolled in a college but left after a year stating that it was too much a "social affair".
Īrobateau's parents divorced when he was 17, and he started living with his father. Arobateau started spending time on the streets, in queer areas, lesbian and dive bars, and developed alcoholism in adolescence. When he was 15, he read a pulp magazine that had a brief mention of a lesbian character - feeling seen for the first time, he began to identify as a butch lesbian.
Arobateau started writing when he was 13 to escape a turbulent home life his mother was abusive towards him. He was an only child of a Christian Honduran immigrant father and a mother of African American descent. Red Jordan Arobateau was born on Novemin Chicago. Although Arobateau lived in poverty for the most part, his life and works have been researched in several academic studies, and he was cited as an inspiration by writers Ann Allen Shockley and Michelle Tea. He appeared in documentaries such as Before Stonewall (1984), and his essay was a part of Daughters of Africa (1992). He was a proponent of transgender and lesbian erotica, and his writings focused on themes of butch lesbians, sex work, transsexuality, drug use and social implications of those lifestyles.Īrobateau moved to San Francisco in adulthood because of its LGBTQ friendly culture, where he transitioned and became a trans man. Mostly self-publishing over 80 literary works, Arobateau was one of the earliest and most prolific writers of street lit. Red Jordan Arobateau (Novem– November 25, 2021) was an American author, playwright, poet, and painter. Holy Communion, Self Portrait II: 2008, acrylic on canvas, 40 × 50 cm Arobateau's expressionist self-portrait features symbolic motifs of spirituality, religion, social issues and pets - elements thematic to his paintings.