Trans Figured

“A thrilling read…. One of the most mercilessly candid and outspoken memoirs in years. If Holly Golightly existed, this might have been her true story. I couldn’t put it down.”—Scott Wittman, Tony and Grammy award-winning lyricist of Hairspray

Imagine experiencing life not as the gender dictated by birth but as one of your own design. In Trans Figured, Brian Belovitch shares his true story of life as a gender outlier and his dramatic journey through the jungle of gender identity.

Brian has the rare distinction of coming out three times: first as a queer teenager; second as a glamorous transgender woman named Tish, and later, Natalia Gervais; and finally as an HIV-positive gay man surviving the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. From growing up in a barely-working-class first-generation immigrant family in Fall River, Massachusetts, to spinning across the disco dance floor of Studio 54 in New York City . . . from falling into military lock-step as the Army wife of a domineering GI in Germany to having a brush with fame as Natalia, high-flying downtown darling of the boozy and druggy pre-Giuliani New York nightclub scene, Brian escaped many near-death experiences.

Trans Figured chronicles a life lived on the edge with an unforgettable cast of characters during a dangerous and chaotic era. Rich with drama and excitement, this no-holds-barred memoir tells it all. Most importantly, Brian's candid and poignant story of recovery shines a light on the perseverance of the human spirit.

Brian Belovitch is a former editor at People magazine. A 2000 GLAAD award nominee for his play Boys Don't Wear Lipstick, Belovitch is a founder of Queer Stages, an LGBT-themed dramatic series, and a guest storyteller with the Generations Project. At age sixty, Belovitch entered a master's program for mental health counseling at Hunter College. Today he works as an addiction professional and lives in Brooklyn with his husband of fifteen years.

“Trans Figured is a thrilling read…. One of the most mercilessly candid and outspoken memoirs in years. If Holly Golightly existed, this might have been her true story. I couldn’t put it down.”
—Scott Wittman, Tony and Grammy award-winning lyricist of Hairspray

“It's true that Brian Belovitch has lived life as a man, a woman, and back again, but through it all, he's been—first and foremost—a raconteur. His writing is deliciously shocking one moment, and achingly profound the next. Like a master showman, he guides us through the vexing, giddy, heart-breaking, courageous carnival of his very singular life. His gender may be ephemeral, but his artistry is not.”
—Doug Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, I Am My Own Wife 

“I partied with Tish in the ’80s and only now—thirty years later—am I learning of Brian’s heartbreaking journey to self-actualization. And what a story it is! I couldn’t put this book down!”  
—James St. James, author/screenwriter of Party Monster, Freak Show, and Disco Bloodbath

“Brian Belovitch is exactly the kind of gender fluid hero that young non-binary and gender nonconforming trans people need right now.”
—Jacob Tobia, Paper Magazine

“Brian Belovitch has looked at life from both sides now and emerged triumphant…. Having transitioned twice until getting it right, Belovitch has a story that is unique and riveting, and he relates it with the passion of a master storyteller.”
—Michael Musto, author of Fork on the Left and Village Voice columnist

“I was trans-fixed reading Brian's book Trans Figured. I would say that most people who've lived this lifestyle never live to tell their story. The art, honesty, and history of Brian's storytelling is spot on. You cannot put this book down... I felt as though I was a shadow following Brian/Tish on this... Mad Hatter’s out of this world journey!”
—Joey Arias, performance artist, Cabaret  

“Brian Belovitch’s gender-bending journey from working-class boy to military wife to celebrated downtown chanteuse—someone who knew everyone from Warhol to Fellini—is the stuff of identity legend. But his arduous return trip from he to she back to he challenges not only straight society's well-known gender expectations, but also gay society's transgender expectations. We've heard many stories of people switching roles to find their true selves, but never a story of someone switching back to find an ever deeper sense of belonging. Touching, glamorous, funny, harrowing, ultimately triumphant, this is an amazing and inspiring tale of self-discovery.”
—Gabriel Rotello, author of Sexual Ecology

“Everything happens in its time! Brian Belovitch is one of the very bravest gender warriors in history because Brian dared to transition from male to female and dared to make the journey back again. As Tish Gervais in the 1980s, Brian was the ONLY person in my life I couldn't read.... I thought Tish was a tough Italian girl from the Bronx. This book will bring something SO REAL and so needed to the current conversation on gender…. I salute you, buy the book!”
—Penny Arcade, performance artist, author, actor

"Brian Belovitch is exactly the kin of gender fluid hero that young non-binary and gender nonconforming trans people need right now." —Jacob Tobia, Paper Magazine

"Brian Belovitch has looked at life from both sides now and emerged triumphant. A pretty boy who went on to full womanhood, Brian spent many years as Tish Gervais, a voluptuous army wife and then glamorous New York party creature/chanteuse, soaking in the dazzle of the 1980s club scene. But there was a price—along with the gift bags and photo ops were drugs, booze, and serious self-esteem issues. Emerging out of a state of exciting but hollow glamour, Tish re-emerged as Brian again, transitioning back to his male state and finding a grounded, loving life with a mission, a husband, and sobriety. Having transitioned twice until getting it right, Belovitch has a story that is unique and riveting, and he relates it with the breathless passion of a master storyteller." —Michael Musto, author of Fork on the Left and Village Voice columnist

"Brian Belovitch’s gender-bending journey from working-class boy to military wife to celebrated downtown chanteuse—someone who knew everyone from Warhol to Fellini—is the stuff of identity legend. But his arduous return trip from he to she back to he challenges not only straight society's well-known gender expectations, but also gay society's transgender expectations. We've heard many stories of people switching roles to find their true selves, but never a story of someone switching back to find an ever deeper sense of belonging. Touching, glamorous, funny, harrowing, ultimately triumphant, this is an amazing and inspiring tale of self-discovery." —Gabriel Rotello, author of Sexual Ecology

"With the current zeitgeist of trans this and trans that peppering all areas of the media, it's crucial that voices from different points on the trans spectrum be heard. Brian Belovitch's devastatingly honest story of an insecure, abused boy who seeks solace and approval by switching genders twice is one that hasn't been told before. With an unblinking eye and a survivor's sense of humor, Brian chronicles his journey there and back again in a voice that rings true and triumphant—one that will not easily be forgotten." —Edwin John Wintle, author of Breakfast with Tiffany: An Uncle's Memoir