One of the first times I had ever heard of Transgender people, was in 1982, when soul singer Teddy Pendergrass had a terrible car accident. Teddy lost control of his Rolls Royce Silver Spirit, and hit two trees. Teddy was found with Tenika Watson, a transexual nightclub performer.
Pendergrass was left a paraplegic, paralyzed from the waist down.
People were talking about it, but that was long before the internet. After a few months, he was pretty much left in the past. The media had nothing to gain by going public with all the information.
I did not know that about Teddy Pendergrass. I liked much of his music and wondered why it suddenly stopped.
Now I know, and another person I admired for talent is relegated to the “Aw, Crud” file.