In the 1950s and 1960s, you could lose your job, scorned by your neighbors, arrested and/or institutionalized, if you were openly trans or cross-dressed in public.
Yet, during this draconian – anti-queer time, an underground network of transgender women and cross-dressing men found a safe haven in a modest house in the Catskills in New York.
For a few days, they could live in this house, known as Casa Susanna. There, they could fulfill their dreams and discover their true selves.
In a rare reprieve from hiding, they could meet other people like themselves; and live and dress as women. “Casa Susanna,” an engrossing, moving documentary, which aired on June 27 on PBS’s “American Experience,” offers a revealing look into this underground network.