From The Advocate magazine in partnership with Glad, I'm Jeffrey Masters, and today's

episode is a snapshot of what trans life looked like in the 1960s and 70s in Chicago.

Or rather, at least, what one trans life looked like, right?

The trans experience can be drastically different based on where you live, when you live, what

kind of family support you have, and in Gloria Allen's case, her family, her mother, they

were always there for her.

It's unfortunate that that even stands out, but it does, especially for the time, you know,

50, 60 years ago, and as you'll hear, it changed her entire life.

Gloria Allen has gone on to become a fixture in the Chicago trans community.

For years, she was known for a charm school where she worked with and mentored queer and trans kids,

many of whom lived on the street.

And Gloria's story was recently turned into a fantastic documentary called Mama Gloria.

That's available in streaming right now on PBS.

So without further ado, this is the Chicago legend, the 76-year-old Mama Gloria Allen.

So I want to talk about the Charm School, of course.

But before we get to that, you know, at the charm school,

you were this mentor figure for these queer and trans kids. But in your own life, you know,

coming up, who was that mentor figure or figures for you? For me, it was my mother. My mother

was always there for me.

And if I had something to do, I would consider talking to her about it.

And she would give me her opinion.

And I would tell you from there.

...