Alex Hai
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Alex Hai (born 1967 in
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
) is a
transgender man A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that inclu ...
of German and Algerian descent who is regarded as the first “female” to be a
gondolier The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull ...
in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
.


Biography

As gondoliers have been a traditionally male-dominated industry for centuries, the city of Venice and the gondolier industry refused to grant Hai a license and do not recognize him as a gondolier due to his status as a private gondolier and as someone assigned female-at-birth. Commonly called "la gondoliera" (the feminine form of "gondoliere") or the "prima gondoliera" (first woman gondolier), when he was considered a woman, he operates as a private gondolier for hotels and selected clients as a self-run business. In December 2015, the highest court in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
recognized Hai as the "first female gondolier to operate in Venice"; this was before he came out as a transgender man. In 1996, Hai began as an apprentice gondolier working on the “traghetto”, the gondola ferry that carries people from one side to the other of the Grand Canal and back. He attempted and failed the test to apply for one of the coveted and limited (425) public gondolier licenses several times; in 1997, he failed to pass the written exam to become substitute gondolier, a failure largely attributed to the uncommon presence of media and public at his test. Subsequently, he failed the rowing test in 1999, though the result was nullified on the grounds that the commission had been composed exclusively by men, in contradiction of Italian law D.L. 29/1993 citing equal opportunity between men and women. Hai undertook the test again, but was granted a lower score than his previous attempt. Public attention to Hai's failures resulted. Roberto Sussberg, jury member of the test and director of Ente Gondola, the City hall office for the gondola's safeguard, said that the gondoliers were wrong to be hostile to Hai, citing precedents during the war when mothers and grandmothers rowed gondolas. Fulvio Scarpa, gondolier and president of the gondoliers' association from 1992 to 1998, initially encouraged Hai to attempt the test; he said that part of the commission had willfully obstructed him and that it would be better for the gondoliers to give him the public licence. Unable to obtain an official license, Hai began operating as a private gondolier, in a manner similar to when
patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
families kept their own gondolas and their own private gondoliers, known as gondoliers "de casada”;. In recognition of reviving the tradition, Hai dresses the reproduction of an eighteenth-century gondolier uniform from the private collection of the Venetian Count Girolamo Marcello. He is currently the ''gondolier de casada'' in Venice; the previous and last one was the gondolier of
Peggy Guggenheim Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim ( ; August 26, 1898 – December 23, 1979) was an American art collector, bohemian and socialite. Born to the wealthy New York City Guggenheim family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with t ...
. In July 2005, Hai launched his own gondola, "Pegaso" (
Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...
) after the winged horse in Greek mythology, and dedicated the boat to French revolutionary
Anacharsis Cloots Jean-Baptiste du Val-de-Grâce, baron de Cloots (24 June 1755 – 24 March 1794), better known as Anacharsis Cloots (also spelled Clootz), was a Prussian nobleman who was a significant figure in the French Revolution. Perhaps the first to advoca ...
, a Prussian aristocrat who was made a French citizen by the Revolution Convention Nationale and was executed in 1794. The “ferro” (the iron ornament on the front of the gondola) is a reproduction from an ancient one, characterized by a patrician family badge and a
sea serpent A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of dragon sea monster described in various mythologies, most notably Mesopotamian (Tiamat), Judaeo-Christian (Leviathan), Greek (Cetus, Echidna, Hydra, Scylla), and Norse (Jörmungandr). Mythology and folk ...
on its tip. The gondola was restored by Gianfranco “Crea” Vianello, a Venetian gondola builder from the island of
Giudecca Giudecca (; vec, Zueca) is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, in northern Italy. It is part of the ''sestiere'' of Dorsoduro and is a locality of the ''comune'' of Venice. Geography Giudecca lies immediately south of the central islands of Ven ...
, who has supported Hai in his pursuit to become a gondolier and mentored him in fine-tuning his rowing technique. Hai chose the
Venetian language Venetian, wider Venetian or Venetan ( or ) is a Romance language spoken natively in the northeast of Italy,Ethnologue mostly in the Veneto region, where most of the five million inhabitants can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often ...
verse as the theme for his gondola: "E la luna nassara’ per sognar un altro di’" (And the moon will be born to dream of another day). In August 2010, Giorgia Boscolo became Venice's first fully licensed female gondolier. Before becoming a gondolier, Hai had aspired to be a filmmaker. He resumed his art education in
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
and
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and performed in his gondola during the Regata Storica in 1999. He has co-authored an art exhibition in a private gallery in Venice in 2014. Hai came out as transgender in 2017.


References


External links


Official website of Alex HaiArticle in the GuardianArticle in La vie Claire, Summer 2009Article in Corriere del Veneto, December 2015Podcast episode
from ''
Radiolab ''Radiolab'' is a radio program produced by WNYC, a public radio station in New York City, and broadcast on public radio stations in the United States. The show is nationally syndicated and is available as a podcast. Live shows were first off ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hai, Alex 1967 births Gondoliers Living people People from Hamburg Transgender men