310:, which had been built by the Catholic order in 1889. The nuns running the hospital had just turned over ownership and control to the Trinidad Area Health Association in December 1968. Dr. Biber kept his first few surgeries secret from the Catholic nuns who operated the hospital, due to concerns that they would react negatively. During this period he kept his records in the hospital administrator's safe. However, after enough procedures and secret-keeping the doctor knew he had to come clean to his bosses and the community. So Biber, who was respected within the town as an Ob/Gyn, gathered together citizens, clergy, and town officials to explain that the people he served needed help. He also spoke about his point of view on the matter to the local paper in 1973. After this the attitude towards this aspect of Trinidad became generally accepting. He also made the point that the visitors brought in business to the local economy by staying in local hotels and eating at local restaurants with their families while they received and recovered from surgery. As another more pragmatic point he said that the profits brought in from his expensive surgeries were a key element in making Mt. San Rafael Hospital profitable. Though, according to his wife Marylee Biber, Dr. Biber did occasionally perform surgeries off the books for people who couldn't afford it. Trinidad was becoming known as the "Sex Change Capital of the World" because of his renown. The nuns who worked at the hospital actually worked with Dr. Biber and cared for his trans patients as well. “I couldn’t understand why the Sisters were looking over me while I was in the hospital and making sure transsexuals weren’t mistreated, and coming in to check on us,” recalled one of Biber's patients to the
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avoid performing an operation on someone who might later regret it. He identified schizophrenics and "effeminate homosexuals" and populations who may mistake themselves for transgender whom he wished to not operate on. Some of Dr. Biber's practices in restriction became codified with insurance companies or more common place among practices as the number of doctors performing the surgeries increased and insurance companies began to cover some operations. Those practices included psychological evaluations, a certain period of time spent with a psychiatrist, at least a year spent presenting in feminine dress, and at least a year spent taking feminizing hormones. If Dr. Biber was unsure whether to approve a patient for surgery he would sometimes recommend a more reversible procedure such as breast implants and invite the patient to return if they still wanted the genital reconstruction after having done that.
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Board of
Commissioners was vacated due to a recall, and Biber ran to fill it. His opponent ran ads in the local paper alleging that Dr. Biber's work had made an unseemly impact on the public image of the community. His campaign countered this with ads saying he had put Trinidad on the map and brought
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clinic in
Trinidad, Colorado. His original office was in the First National Bank building at the historic heart of the city. Though he originally came to serve the miners, Biber sought to help the whole community and delivered babies, set broken bones, and was considered an excellent surgeon by the
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When Dr. Biber began his practice on gender changing surgeries, they were so rare in number in the United States that none of it was covered by any medical insurance and there were no widely used restrictions or guidelines on who qualified for a procedure. Biber made up his own criteria, trying to
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Biber also trained dozens of other surgeons in sex reassignment surgery techniques and maintained a regular surgical practice of delivering babies, removing tonsils, and replacing knee and hip joints. In 1985 Biber reported that transexual surgeries accounted for about 20% of his total work.
461:, December 13, 2010. Accessed February 24, 2013. "Mike Gerardo, like most Trinidadians of his era, was ushered into life by Bowers' predecessor, Dr. Stanley Biber. Doc Biber, as he's known, wasn't from Trinidad. He was Jewish in a town that, back then, was overwhelmingly Catholic."
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surgery center in the United States. During his career, Dr. Biber performed more than 2,300 male-to-female genital reassignment surgeries and 1,000 female-to-male surgeries. At the height of his practice he was doing as many as five gender change operations a week.
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Dr. Biber began performing vaginal construction surgeries when they were fairly rudimentary and refined the procedures around a half dozen times to achieve a more natural and realistic look. Biber's practice became the first private-practice
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insurance premiums had risen to levels which he could not afford. Dr. Bowers finally took over his practice after five years of studying under him. Biber was hospitalized in
January 2006 with complications from
404:(2008) is about the town of Trinidad and its reputation as the "sex change capital of the world". Dr. Biber is mentioned often in the film, as is his protegée Dr. Bowers. The documentary-style reality series
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as the older of two children and the only son of a father who owned a furniture store and a mother interested in social causes. His parents hoped he would become a pianist or a
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asked him if he would be willing and able to do so. This woman was a friend of Biber's and a social worker whom he worked with often. She had been living as a woman and on
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by practice and a trans woman herself, was trained by Biber and began to study under him in order to take over his practice so he could retire in 1998.
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453:"Well-known Trinidad sex-reassignment doctor leaves; Sex-reassignment doctor moves out of Trinidad, leaving the town to forge a new legacy"
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believes that he is a woman on the inside, and decides to undergo a gender change surgery, which is performed by a "Dr. Biber" of the
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for some time. At first he did not know how to do this kind of operation, but he learned by studying diagrams and notes from
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Stanley and
Marylee married after working together for four decades; Marylee was a nurse involved with his practice.
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Biber was divorced several times. He raised nine children with the same wife on a ranch outside
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Going to
Trinidad: A Doctor, a Colorado Town, and Stories from an Unlikely Gender Crossroads
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in $ 750,000 annually to the local economy. Biber won the election by a comfortable margin.
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820:"How Stanley Biber, a pioneer in gender change surgery, won over the Sisters of Charity"
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Journalist Martin J. Smith published a biography of Dr. Biber and
Trinidad called
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721:"He made this town the world's 'sex-change capital,' but he's not honored here"
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1039:"He Loved Everyone in Trinidad: On Martin J. Smith's "Going to Trinidad""
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Later in life Biber said that he didn't see himself as a religious man.
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410:(2007) gives a glimpse of Bowers's practice after Biber's retirement.
917:"Colo. Sex-Change Surgeon Retires After Losing Malpractice Insurance"
901:. CBS Broadcasting. Associated Press. 17 January 2006. Archived from
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He began performing surgery while in residency at a hospital in the
600:"Stanley H. Biber, 82, Surgeon Among First to Do Sex Changes, Dies"
250:. Biber then joined the Army, where he was the chief surgeon of a
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919:. Associated Press. 3 January 2005 – via Insurance Journal.
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Stanley H. Biber, 82, Surgeon Among First to Do Sex
Changes, Dies
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In 1954, retiring from military service, Biber took a job at a
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by his daughter Prabhu Nam Kaur Khalsa, also a new age singer.
158:, performing thousands of procedures during his long career.
784:"New book highlights Seattle's role in transgender movement"
483:"Dr. Stanley Biber profile on Sexual Reassignment Surgery"
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By this point in time, Biber's practice had moved to
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150:(May 4, 1923 – January 16, 2006) was an American
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360:Biber retired in 2003, at age 80, because his
1137:Surgeons specializing in transgender medicine
751:"Sex-change pioneer a beloved friend, mentor"
224:Biber served as a civilian employee with the
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1152:People of the Office of Strategic Services
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1117:United States Army Medical Corps officers
258:. He finished his service at what is now
895:"'Sex Change' Doctor From Trinidad Dies"
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387:". In the opening scene, school-teacher
178:, and he briefly considered both before
949:"Sex-change surgeon Stanley Biber dies"
931:Colorado's famed sex change doctor dies
636:"Pioneer sex-change surgeon dies at 82"
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1008:"Trinidad Gets Its Closeup Tonight in
575:"Dr. Stanley Biber | History Colorado"
377:On March 9, 2005, the television show
873:Sex-Change Pioneer, Dr. Stanley Biber
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975:DiNunno, Gina (11 November 2008).
634:Martin, Claire (17 January 2006).
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1142:Deaths from pneumonia in Colorado
947:Garrett, Mike (18 January 2006).
433:Fox, Margalit (21 January 2006).
1172:Military personnel from Colorado
1037:Zoellner, Tom (15 April 2021).
929:Werner, Dan (17 January 2006).
871:Brady, Jeff (19 January 2006).
719:Smith, Martin J. (2019-09-12).
385:Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina
1132:People from Trinidad, Colorado
848:"Profile on Dr. Stanley Biber"
1:
252:mobile army surgical hospital
1167:Military personnel from Iowa
1127:People from Des Moines, Iowa
598:Fox, Margalit (2006-01-21).
226:Office of Strategic Services
1043:Los Angeles Review of Books
293:hormone replacement therapy
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1162:21st-century American Jews
1157:20th-century American Jews
1107:Jewish American scientists
977:"Transgender Doctor Talks
283:Biber performed his first
1112:University of Iowa alumni
694:Austin American-Statesman
383:first aired the episode "
295:under the supervision of
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854:. 1995-01-23. p. 49
696:. 1985-02-07. p. 45
540:coloradoencyclopedia.org
489:. 1998-11-08. p. 26
356:Retirement and late life
285:sex reassignment surgery
279:Sex reassignment surgery
236:. He graduated from the
156:sex reassignment surgery
111:Sex reassignment surgery
964:(subscription required)
579:www.historycolorado.org
308:Mt. San Rafael Hospital
136:Mt. San Rafael Hospital
347:In 1990 a seat on the
301:Johns Hopkins Hospital
190:While studying at the
1147:20th-century surgeons
961:on 28 September 2007.
883:National Public Radio
878:All Things Considered
534:yongli (2016-08-30).
398:The documentary film
260:Fort Carson, Colorado
154:who was a pioneer in
1066:Article on Dr. Biber
266:Settling in Trinidad
166:Biber was born to a
1010:Sex Change Hospital
979:Sex Change Hospital
756:Rocky Mountain News
536:"Dr. Stanley Biber"
407:Sex Change Hospital
272:United Mine Workers
1071:2009-05-26 at the
604:The New York Times
487:Arizona Daily Star
297:Dr. Harry Benjamin
238:University of Iowa
199:Trinidad, Colorado
192:University of Iowa
82:University of Iowa
16:American physician
1102:American surgeons
852:Los Angeles Times
824:Los Angeles Times
788:The Seattle Times
726:Los Angeles Times
656:"Prabhu Nam Kaur"
349:Las Animas County
312:Los Angeles Times
248:Panama Canal Zone
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343:Political career
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287:in 1969 after a
220:Military service
172:Des Moines, Iowa
148:Stanley H. Biber
62:Pueblo, Colorado
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43:Des Moines, Iowa
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132:Institutions
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56:(2006-01-16)
1097:2006 deaths
1092:1923 births
641:Denver Post
362:malpractice
320:transgender
289:trans woman
254:during the
203:Snatam Kaur
70:Nationality
39:May 4, 1923
1086:Categories
1048:2022-01-12
1023:2017-02-17
992:2017-02-17
858:2022-01-12
830:2022-01-12
794:2022-01-11
732:2019-09-14
700:2022-01-12
666:2020-03-12
617:2020-03-12
584:2022-01-12
545:2022-01-12
493:2022-01-12
421:References
380:South Park
335:, another
256:Korean War
170:family in
162:Early life
124:Profession
89:Occupation
35:1923-05-04
612:0362-4331
367:pneumonia
243:in 1948.
152:physician
102:1948–2006
93:Physician
78:Education
1069:Archived
1017:Westword
986:TV Guide
401:Trinidad
393:Trinidad
73:American
935:KUSA-TV
228:during
182:began.
127:Surgeon
610:
337:ob/gyn
275:town.
215:Career
168:Jewish
84:(1948)
660:Omega
176:rabbi
1075:via
608:ISSN
64:, US
51:Died
45:, US
29:Born
1077:PBS
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