Roberta Angela Dee

Roberta Angela Dee (October 31, 1950–March 13, 2003) was an American author, transgender rights activist and frequent contributor to TGGuide.com. Dee was born in Brooklyn, New York, grew up in Long Island, and lived in Atlanta before settling in Augusta, Georgia. She had a journalism degree. Her writing was published widely, and she was founder of the Women on the Net (WON) website, an early online resource for women of color.

Some of you know Roberta through her erotica that appears on-line at The Gay Cafe Library, or through her columns for TGGuide and TG Forum. Ms. Dee was openly bisexual and asserted that she was a woman — not as a result of surgery, but because being a woman was the essence of her heart, mind, and soul.

Roberta Angela Dee – A Pioneering Voice

Roberta Angela Dee was a pioneering voice in the African-American transgender community, significantly contributing through her writings on psychology, gender, and medical critiques, as well as through her fiction focused on transgender issues. Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1950, Dee grew up in Long Island and pursued a degree in journalism. By the age of 25, she began living as a woman and made substantial contributions through her novellas and columns on Jo Ann Roberts’ TG Forum website, and by founding the Women on the Net (WON) website, a vital resource for women of color in the transgender community. Additionally, she managed a Yahoo discussion group called TG Woman until her passing in 2003, creating a space for over 2,000 members to engage in discussions beyond just transgender issues, avoiding the common “woe-is-me” narrative.

Dee was known for her direct, reality-based approach and wasn’t afraid to voice her strong opinions on various subjects. This characteristic made her an admired figure within the community and an inspiration to many, including the narrator who recalls her influence on their own writing and approach to managing a discussion group. Dee’s views on gender identity were progressive and empowering, emphasizing the significance of self-identification over physical alterations, a stance encapsulated in her quote about being a woman in “mind, heart, and spirit” regardless of surgical changes.