Name/Title
[I Am a Boy Pinback Button]Entry/Object ID
2023.08.02Tags
Events, Slogans, OrganizationsDescription
A circular, red pinback button reading in beige text "I am a boy; Glade; 152 N. Hotel Street - Honolulu; Hawaii's Foremost Female Impersonations Show; PH: 589877."Item Type
Pinback buttonUse
Likely worn by transgender and mahu female impersonator performers in order to evade arrests for "intent to deceit" in Honolulu, Hawaii.Context
From Hawaii News Now: "'I am a boy.' It’s a simple phrase — but one that a dark history in Honolulu. In the 1960s, amid widespread discrimination against the mahu ['the Hawaiian term for people who embody both the male and female spirit'] community, Oahu forced transgender women and drag performers to wear buttons that read simply, 'I am a boy.' If they were caught without it, they faced arrest and hefty fines...Many of these performers, forced to wear these [pinned] scarlet letters of sort, worked at Glade Show Lounge on Hotel Street" (Linked in this record).Collection
Adrian J. Cardwell CollectionMade/Created
Date made
1968Time Period
20th CenturyPlace
City
HonoluluState/Province
Hawaii* Untyped Place
Pacific OceanIsland
HawaiʻiLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
Button, InsigniaNomenclature Primary Object Term
InsigniaNomenclature Sub-Class
Status SymbolsNomenclature Class
Personal SymbolsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsGetty AAT
Concept
cultural events, LGBTQ+, memorabilia, event buttons, souvenirsLegacy Lexicon
Object Name
Drag, Drag queens, Female impersonatorsCategory
HomosaurusOther Names
Name Type
Venue NameOther Name
Glade Show LoungeValuations
Valuation Type
Donor EstimateValue
$400.00Date
Sep 29, 2026Create Date
September 30, 2026Update Date
October 10, 2026