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Bobbi Lancaster (born June 23, 1950) is a family physician, champion golfer, author, human rights advocate, and motivational speaker. She garnered international media attention in 2013 while attempting to qualify for the
LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...
as a
transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
woman.


Early life

Bobbi Lancaster was born on June 23, 1950, in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. Her father, Douglas Lorne Lancaster, was a high school graduate and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
U.S.
paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...
and later worked for
Revenue Canada The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax credit ...
. He died in 1984. Bobbi's mother, Rosalie Clara Lancaster, was a farmer's daughter. At the age of fourteen, she finished formal education and worked in a garment factory making uniforms for the military. She married Douglas in 1948. Bobbi was the first of four children. The family lived in Chatham until 1956 and then moved to Ridgetown, a small town in southwestern Ontario farm country. Young Bobbi was an excellent student who excelled at all sports, delivered newspapers, studied butterflies, served mass as a Catholic altar boy and learned to play the piano. She was introduced to golf by her father, an excellent player, who was on the Board of Ridgetown Golf and Curling Club. The Lancasters moved to
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...
, in 1960 where Lancaster continued piano studies with the
Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM; ), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher (musician), Edwar ...
and caddied. She became caddy champion at Hamilton Golf and C.C. at fourteen years of age and attended Cathedral Boys High School where she was taught by Jesuit priests. Lancaster dreamed of being a professional golfer, a biologist, a pianist or perhaps a priest.


Struggles

Lancaster liked to cross-dress by wearing her cousin's dresses when they were not around and felt like a girl from the age of four or five. She hid these feelings from others because she knew she was different and had observed how badly others around her were treated because they were different. Her father was an abusive alcoholic who never knew of her struggles. At fourteen, Lancaster finally told a trusted parish priest about her desire to be a girl. She was told her thoughts and her cross-dressing were sinful. This news cemented Lancaster's decision to hide and she remained "closeted" until sixty years of age. She lived with a constant yearning to just live as the woman she knew herself to be. This led to depression and a near suicide in her fifties and ultimately culminated in the transition to life as Bobbi.


Medical career

She was an Ontario Scholar and received an academic scholarship to
McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...
in Hamilton, Ontario where she studied honors Biology (1969–1972). She received an Honor M for academic excellence and captained the men's varsity golf team to two OUAA Championships (1972 and 1974) She was accepted to McMaster Medical School in 1972 and ultimately was awarded an M.D. degree in 1978. She completed her family medicine residency in 1980 during which time she was elected Chief Resident. Lancaster passed her board certification and practiced in Hamilton until 1991. She provided obstetrical care, looked after children, assisted in surgery, attended hospitalized patients, made house calls and provided medical care for all age groups. She served as an assistant clinical professor from 1981 to 1991 where she taught medical students and residents. Lancaster was nominated as Canadian Family Practice Teacher of the Year in 1986. She served on many hospital committees and volunteered in the community. Most notably she served as a Board of Director for the Hamilton Catholic Children's Aid Society and became president in 1984. In 1991, Lancaster moved to
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) 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 over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, where she became American Board Certified, established a family practice and continued to teach interns and residents at St. Joseph's Hospital. She took a leave of absence from practice in 2001 because she was struggling with depression and gender identity difficulties. During that time she volunteered at the
Phoenix Art Museum The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest art museum, museum for visual art in the southwest United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is . It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,0 ...
,
Phoenix Zoo The Phoenix Zoo opened in 1962 and is the largest privately owned nonprofit zoo in the United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the zoo was founded by Robert Maytag, a member of the Maytag family, and operates on of land in the Papago Park ...
and Boyce Thompson Arboretum. Lancaster resumed her medical career and ultimately became medical director of Advanced Healthcare of Mesa and Scottsdale (medical-surgical rehabilitation facilities). She also became a medical director with Hospice of the Valley. She ultimately lost these positions during her gender transition in 2012. Lancaster then provided medical supervision of modified
barium swallow An upper gastrointestinal series, also called a barium swallow, barium study, or barium meal, is a series of radiographs used to examine the gastrointestinal tract for abnormalities. A contrast medium, usually a radiocontrast agent such as bariu ...
studies (2012–2016) while she maintained her small concierge family practice in Gold Canyon, Arizona (2001 to present). She is a revered clinician and patients back in Hamilton, Ontario still wish she would return to care for them.


Golf career

She graduated from Cathedral Boys High School in 1969 as one of the top students. She had captained the varsity golf team and had participated on the track and field team. She high jumped six feet in a city meet. Lancaster also participated in soccer, hockey and the chess club. Lancaster excelled at golf from a young age, winning the prestigious caddy championship at Hamilton Golf and C.C. in her early teens. At 11, she won a caddie tournament at the club, beating peers who were in their late teens. She also qualified for the Ontario Caddy Championship. During high school she captained the Cathedral Boys varsity team to multiple victories. She also won junior tournaments, interclub matches representing Chedoke Civic Golf Course and was victorious as a member of the CANUSA Games golf team. In her late teens and twenties, Lancaster won multiple club championships at Chedoke. She also qualified and competed in several Canadian and Ontario Amateur Championships as well as the Ontario Open, a professional event. Lancaster also captained the McMaster University Men's Varsity Golf Team to two OUAA Championships (1972 and 1974). When she began her medical career in 1980, Lancaster joined Hamilton Golf and C.C. where she quickly became club champion and three-time Sclater Bowl champion. She successfully represented the club in interclub and Somerville Matches. Upon moving to Phoenix, she competed on the Western States Tour in 1997 and won a professional event at Palm Valley Golf Course. After moving to Gold Canyon, she became Senior Club Champion at Superstition Mountain Golf Club in 2008. After Lancaster's transition in 2012 and her unexpected unemployment and free time, she took up golf with renewed enthusiasm. She received permission from the
USGA The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...
to compete as a female and promptly won the Papago Club Championship against some of the best players in Arizona. After several more victories, there were complaints that her prior status as a male gave her an unfair advantage around strength and distance. Lancaster basically handicapped herself and became a professional golfer in 2013. She competed on the Cactus Tour against elite players forty years younger. She enjoyed modest success and was instrumental in changing the Cactus Tour's female-at-birth gender policy. Lancaster then attempted to qualify for the LPGA Tour, under their new transgender policy, and competed in the LPGA Qualifying Tournament in 2013. She failed in her attempt but did gain conditional status on the Symetra Tour. Various life events curtailed her golf adventures (see Media and Advocacy below) and she regained her amateur status in 2016. Lancaster still competes occasionally and represented Papago Golf Course in interclub matches in 2017. She is also once again their club champion.


Media

When Lancaster became a professional golfer and attempted to qualify for the LPGA Tour at sixty three years of age, her story garnered international media attention. It started after Paola Boivin (senior sports columnist for the ''
Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. History Early years The newspap ...
'') received a complaint from a fan about how inappropriate it was to see her playing on the Cactus Tour. This resulted in a full-length feature about her golf dreams, her personal life and her work as a physician. The story was picked up nationally and Boivin was nominated for a Sports Emmy. Following that article, stories appeared in the Canadian newspapers, ''Huffington Post'', ''USA Today'', ''Good Morning America'', ''Canadian Medical Post''. Lancaster agreed to interviews with TMZ Sports, Channel 12 News, ''New Times'' weekly newspaper, ''McMaster Times Alumnae'' magazine, ''Echo'' magazine, Freedom for All Americans and The League of Fans. There was a documentary that appeared on national television produced by the
Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply "Golf" or "NBC Golf") is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently ba ...
(interview conducted by multiple Emmy Award-winner Jimmy Roberts). There were also documentaries exploring Lancaster's life by Cronkite News, ''Sports Illustrated'' (golf.com) and the
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 L ...
(Arizona).


Advocacy

As a result of the media attention, Lancaster has become a minor celebrity. She has been asked to give educational and motivational speeches to various groups including students at the University of Kansas, Arizona State University, Chandler and Gilbert Community Colleges, Stanford School of Law and McMaster School of Medicine. She has also given speeches to Phoenix Valley Leadership, the Arizona Women Lawyers Convention in Tucson, the Performing Artists Medical Association International Symposium (NYC 2016). Lancaster's efforts promoting awareness of transgender issues caught the attention of the Human Rights Campaign. She was awarded their 2015 Equality Award at a gala in Phoenix in 2015 where her famous Humpty Dumpty acceptance speech can be found on YouTube. She was elected to their national Board of Directors in 2016. She has worked tirelessly on their behalf, lobbying on Capitol Hill and at the Arizona State Capitol. Lancaster has participated in a White House Summit, at town hall meetings and has canvassed and phone-banked for pro-LGBTQ candidates. She has also partnered with One Community and One n Ten to advocate for transgender acceptance and equality and has lobbied on her own as a private citizen. Lancaster was also elected to Echo Magazine's Hall of Fame in 2015.


Publications

Lancaster has authored many short nature stories that were published in the ''Gold Canyon Ledger''. She also wrote and illustrated a children's book called ''My Friend Flutter'' and wrote a short book about an unlikely meeting with her deceased father titled ''Fairway Secrets''. She has recently completed a full-length memoir called ''The Red Light Runner'' and is actively looking for a publisher at this writing.


See also

* Lana Lawless,
transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
former police officer who sued the LPGA for the right to compete on the woman's circuits in 2010, leading to the change in regulations


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster, Bobbi Canadian female golfers LGBTQ golfers Golfing people from Ontario Transgender sportswomen Canadian transgender women Canadian transgender sportspeople Canadian transgender writers Transgender academics Sportspeople from Chatham-Kent 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Transgender women writers Canadian women short story writers Canadian women memoirists Canadian children's writers Transgender memoirists 1950 births Living people 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people 21st-century Canadian memoirists Canadian LGBTQ academics 20th-century Canadian sportswomen