Rebecca Anne "Becky" Allison (born December 21, 1946) is an American

cardiologist Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular hear ...

and transgender activist. She served as President of the

Gay and Lesbian Medical Association GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality (GLMA) is an international organization of approximately 1,000 LGBT healthcare professionals and students of all disciplines. Its members include physicians, advanced practice nurses, physician ...

(GLMA)Rochman, Sue (November 20, 2007)
What's up, doc? Would removing transgender from the list of mental disorders do more harm than good?
''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...

'' and as Chair of the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is a professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. Founded in 1847, it is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was approximately 240,000 in 2016. The AMA's state ...

's Advisory Committee on

Lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

Gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

Bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, and

Transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

Issues.Proulx, Marie-Jo (July 19, 2006)
AMA Growing Receptive to LGBT Needs.

Life

Allison was born in

Greenwood, Mississippi Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the riverp ...

to Errol Ward Atkinson and Mabel Blackwell Atkinson. She transitioned in 1993 while living in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

Career

Allison graduated ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'' from the

University of Mississippi Medical Center University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) is the health sciences campus of the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and is located in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. UMMC, also referred to as the Medical Center, is the state's only aca ...

in 1971. After practicing

primary care Primary care is the day-to-day healthcare given by a health care provider. Typically this provider acts as the first contact and principal point of continuing care for patients within a healthcare system, and coordinates other specialist care t ...

/ internal medicine, in 1985 she returned to school to study cardiology, working in that field beginning in 1987. Later, she moved to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, for a position with

CIGNA Cigna is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Its insurance subsidiaries are major providers of medical, dental, disability, life and accident insurance and related products and se ...

and served as their chief of cardiology from 1998 to 2012, when she entered private practice. ''Phoenix Magazine'' named Allison one of the "Top Doctors" in Phoenix for 2006, 2007, and 2008.Staff report (April 2008)
Top Doctors: Cardiovascular Disease.
''Phoenix Magazine''

Activism

In 1998, Allison created drbecky.com, a resource site focusing on the medical, legal, and spiritual needs of transgender people. The website includes a compilation of statutes for amending sex on a

birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuin ...

,Dotinga, Randy (November 29, 2006)
Sex Change, No Surgery Required.
''

Wired News ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...

'' a brochure on

facial feminization surgery Facial feminization surgery (FFS) is a set of reconstructive surgical procedures that alter typically male facial features to bring them closer in shape and size to typical female facial features. FFS can include various bony and soft tissue proced ...

Douglas Ousterhout __NOTOC__ Douglas K. Ousterhout is a retired craniofacial surgeon who practiced in San Francisco, CA, United States. His specialty was facial feminization surgery for trans women, and he was widely considered the foremost facial feminization surg ...

,Van Marle, Karin (2006). ''Sex, Gender, Becoming: Post-Apartheid Reflections.'' PULP, criticism of the controversial 2003 book ''

The Man Who Would Be Queen ''The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism'' is a 2003 book by the American psychologist J. Michael Bailey, published by Joseph Henry Press.Bailey, J. Michael (2003). ''The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of ...

'' by

J. Michael Bailey John Michael Bailey (born July 2, 1957) is an American psychologist, behavioural geneticist, and professor at Northwestern University best known for his work on the etiology of sexual orientation. He maintains that sexual orientation is heavily ...

,Staff report (June 25, 2003)
Trans Group Attacks New Book on 'Queens.'
''Windy City Times'' and a section on spirituality. Allison's website is frequently cited in guidelines for

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

health care.Lev, Arlene Istar (2004). ''Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines for Working with Gender-Variant People and Their Families.'' Haworth Press, Makadon HJ, Mayer KH, Potter J, Goldhammer H (2007). ''The Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health.'' Hunter ND, Joslin CG, McGowan SM (2004). ''The Rights of Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Transgender People.'' Southern Illinois University Press, Sember, Brette McWhorter (2006). ''Gay & Lesbian Rights: A Guide for GLBT Singles, Couples and Families.'' Sphinx Publishing, In addition to the GLMA, she is Chair of the

Advisory Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues,Nielsen, Nancy H., ed. (June 19, 2008)
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender physician issues.
''AMA eVoice'' and assisted in passage of AMA Resolution 22, "Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients."

(2008)
AMA Resolution 122: Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients.
/ref> Allison is also active in

Soulforce Soulforce is a U.S.-based social justice organization that works to end the religious and political oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) people. The organization's co-executive directors are Alba Onofrio ...

and organized the Phoenix

Transgender Day of Remembrance The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), also known as the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, has been observed annually (from its inception) on November 20 as a day to memorialize those who have been murdered as a result of transp ...

annually with her partner Margaux Schaffer.

Selected publications

*Allison RA (2007). Transsexualism. In Fink G (ed.) ''Encyclopedia of Stress'' (2nd Edition). Elsevier, *Allison RA (2007). Transsexualism. In Pfaff D, Arnold A, Etgen A, Fahrbach S, Rubin R (eds.) ''Hormones, Brain, and Behavior'' (2nd Edition). Elsevier,

References

External links

*
Dr. Becky Allison: Local Action Hero
via

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...

GLBT Advisory Committee members
via

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allison, Rebecca 1946 births 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women writers American cardiologists Women cardiologists LGBT people from Arizona LGBT people from Mississippi American LGBT rights activists American LGBT writers Living people People from Greenwood, Mississippi LGBT physicians Transgender women Transgender writers Transgender studies academics University of Mississippi alumni Writers from Mississippi Transgender scientists