'Equal' docuseries on HBO: Who was Jack Starr? Transgender man held multiple times for offending 1920s 'gender code'
In the 21st century, it is not hard to realize that queer people have existed for as long as humanity has existed. Yet, being gay or lesbian or even different in any way was often dangerous for queer people in the history of the world, especially in the United States. For people who felt like they were born different, they were forced to hide their identities to avoid persecution.
One such person was a transgender man known as Jack Starr aka Jacques Moret who was arrested many times in Montana in the 1920s. We are introduced to Moret's story in the second episode of HBO Max's latest docuseries, 'Equal'. In four episodes, 'Equal' focuses on the history of the LGBTQ+ movement, specifically, the people who are generally pushed to the sidelines of history and not often remembered. As far as television programs go, 'Equal' is one of the more comprehensive accounts of the movement's history.
Moret is played by Theo Germaine, who is best known for their roles in 'The Politician' and 'Work in Progress'. When we see Moret, he is a jack of all trades -- a piano player, a private detective, a bootlegger --, and held many jobs. According to an article by the Montana Women's History, in 1926, when a number of young men were standing on the corner of Park and Main "ogling at girls," Moret was arrested not for loitering, but for "impersonating a man." The newspapers of the time outed Moret as a "twenty-three year old woman."
It did not matter then that Moret had insisted he had dressed in men's clothing since he was 13 years old and that he had been offered more opportunities to see the world as a man than as a woman had ever been at the time. For society then, what Moret was doing was morally wrong and a criminal act. When Moret was tried, his attorney, former Mayor, William H. Maloney argued that Moret only violated an obsolete statute that forbade cross-dressing. However, Judge Daniel F. Shea took a broader interpretation of the law and said that Moret was falsely trying to impersonate a man.
Moret was fined $50, which would have been suspended if he would stop dressing as a man. However, Moret continued to dress according to his identity. Shea ordered the police to arrest Moret every time he appeared in public in men's clothing. Moret was, of course, not easily dissuaded and within a week of the trial, he was arrested and put in jail. Later, the police arrested him in a room at the Grand Hotel in the company of a 19-year-old cabaret singer. Judge Shea would sentence him for violating the "gender code." The cabaret singer would go on to say that Moret was an attentive companion who was "thoughtful at all times."
Moret would continue dressing in the way he felt was truthful to his identity, but doing so meant that he had to live as a criminal for his whole life. To avoid continued persecution, Moret became anonymous and disappeared into the pages of history. No one knows what happened to Moret after his run-in with the cruel laws of 1920s America, but Moret's story is likely not a unique one.
'Equal' is available to stream on HBO Max from October 22.