Purusha Androgyne Larkin (17 January 1934 – 22 June 1988), born Peter Allison Larkin and also known as Christopher Larkin, was an American author and filmmaker.

Biography

Larkin was born as Peter Allison Larkin on January 17, 1934 in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

.State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940-1997''. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. — via

Ancestry.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

After graduating from

John Burroughs School John Burroughs School (JBS) is a private, non-sectarian college-preparatory school with 631 students in grades 7– 12. Its 49-acre () campus is located in Ladue, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Founded in 1923, it is named for U.S. naturali ...

, Larkin studied literature, philosophy, and religion at

Rollins College Rollins College is a Liberal arts college, private liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several master's programs. Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institut ...

and

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. He devoted ten years to

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

religious and monastic life, during which he obtained a master's degree in theology from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and served as a theologian and counselor at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

's St. Thomas More House. In the late 1960s, Larkin withdrew from religious life and moved to New York City. Using the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Christopher Larkin, he produced and directed the semi-autobiographical 1974 film '' A Very Natural Thing.'' The film is considered to be the first commercially distributed feature film about gay life made by a gay man. Following the movie's release, Larkin traveled extensively around the world before settling in

Ocean Beach, San Diego Ocean Beach (also known as O.B.) is a beachfront neighborhood in San Diego, California. Geography Ocean Beach lies on the Pacific Ocean at the estuary of the San Diego River, at the western terminus of Interstate 8 in California, Interstate 8. ...

in 1977. In San Diego, Larkin began to explore tantric sexuality, meditation,

massage Massage is the rubbing or kneading of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pa ...

body modification Body modification (or body alteration) is the deliberate altering of the human anatomy or human physical appearance. In its broadest definition it includes skin tattooing, socially acceptable decoration (''e.g.'', common earring, ear piercing in ...

and

fisting Fisting—also known as fist fucking (FF) and handballing—is a sexual activity that involves inserting one or more hands into the rectum (anal fisting) or the vagina (vaginal fisting). Fisting may be performed on oneself (self-fisting) or perf ...

. Around this time he adopted the name "Purusha Androgyne Larkin." In 1981, he published ''

The Divine Androgyne According To Purusha ''The Divine Androgyne According To Purusha: Adventures In Cosmic Erotic Ecstasy and Androgyne Bodyconsciousness'' is a 1981 book by Purusha Larkin. Summary The book advocates for liberation from sexual repression through the release of physic ...

.'' Larkin took his own life on June 22, 1988 after two years of struggling with

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

References

{{Portal bar, LGBTQ, Human sexuality, Biography, Missouri} 1937 births 1988 deaths Fisting subculture LGBTQ people from Missouri 20th-century American LGBTQ people LGBTQ culture in San Diego University of Toronto alumni University of Notre Dame alumni Rollins College alumni AIDS-related deaths in California