Robina Asti

Robina Asti
Robina Asti
Born	April 7, 1921; New York City, US
Died	March 12, 2021 (aged 99); San Diego, California, US
Known for	Oldest flight instructor; LGBT activism
Awards	Oldest flight instructor
	Aviation career
Full name	Robina Fedora Asti
First flight	PBY Catalina
Famous flights	July 23, 2020 as flight; instructor (age 99)
Air force	US Navy

Robina Fedora Asti (April 7, 1921 – March 12, 2021)^[1] was an American flight instructor and advocate for women's and transgender rights.^[2] Her advocacy changed government rules to allow transgender people to receive Social Security survivor benefits.^[2] In July 2020, Asti was awarded two Guinness World Records for being the oldest active pilot and active flight instructor.^[3]^[4]

Childhood and education

Asti was born April 7, 1921, in Manhattan, New York, to David Astey, a featherweight boxer, and Helen (Jund) Astey, a homemaker.^[2] Asti was assigned male at birth, and did not begin to identify as female until adulthood.^[5] Her father had anglicized their last name for his career; Robina changed it back to the Italian spelling when she transitioned.^[2] She grew up in Greenwich Village, taking an early interest in electrical engineering.^[2] As a teenager, she earned money fixing radios around the neighborhood, with a steady flow of customers.^[2]

She attended Brooklyn Technical High School until age 17, when she dropped out to join the United States Navy.^[2]^[6]

Career

Asti was initially stationed on Wake Island where she was active in installing radios in naval aircraft in the run up to World War II.^[2] She later became a pilot, stationed at Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean where she flew reconnaissance PBY Catalina planes in order to detect Japanese ships.^[7] She was later promoted to test pilot.^[7] She was discharged after the war ended at the rank of lieutenant commander and began a career as a flight instructor.^[8]

Upon returning to New York, she opened a supper club in White Plains, New York with three friends from the Navy, although the restaurant business did not suit her and she soon sold her share of the company.^[2] She would go on to work at the mutual fund company E.W. Axe.^[9] She rose to become a mutual fund vice-president but quit prior to her gender transition, feeling it was not tenable in the workplace.^[5]

Subsequently, she took the jobs available to her as a woman,^[5] including as a makeup artist at Bloomingdale's to learn how to sew and use an iron on clothing in order to become the "best goddamned woman I could be".^[10] She also was chairperson of the Hudson Valley chapter of the Ninety-Nines women's aviation organization.^[11]

Personal life

Asti married Evangeline Diaz-Perez of Palm Beach, Florida in 1958. They had four children, one of whom died in childhood.^[2]

With the support of her wife, Asti began hormone replacement therapy on February 14, 1976, following the birth of their youngest child.^[5] This was followed by sex reassignment surgery.^[5] The couple amicably separated soon afterwards, and Asti moved back to New York City. There, she met artist Norwood Patten; they married in 2004.^[5]

Activism

Asti was not an activist for much of her life but also did not shy away from confronting injustice where she encountered it.^[2] Shortly after transitioning, Asti learned from her doctor that the Federal Aviation Administration required an internal physical exam in order to renew her pilot's license.^[2] She found this highly objectionable and working with an organization of female pilots, the Ninety-Nines, successfully petitioned the government to drop the rule.^[2]

Following her husband's death in 2012, Asti applied for Social Security benefits, but was denied due to her being transgender. She successfully challenged this in court with representation from Lambda Legal.^[2]^[5] A film titled Flying Solo: A Transgender Widow Fights Discrimination about her life and struggles with Social Security was produced and aired at the 2015 TransReelization event.^[12] After having seen the ongoing discrimination against trans people, Asti became more actively involved in LGBT activism throughout her 90s.^[13] She gave a TEDx presentation in 2016 titled "War Stories and a Woman's Changes" about her life as a trans individual and her advice for young LGBT people and the ongoing fight for equality.^[14] She worked with her grandson to found the Cloud Dancers Foundation in 2019 in order to ensure there is active advocacy for elderly trans people.^[13]

Awards and recognition

On July 23, 2020, Asti gave a flight lesson at Riverside Municipal Airport in California at age 99, establishing a new world record for oldest flight instructor.^[15]^[3] She was listed in the 2020 edition of the Out100 list of most influential LGBTQ+ individuals of the year.^[16]

Death

Asti died on March 12, 2021, in San Diego, California at the home of her daughter, where she had moved during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[2] She was 99.

References

^ "Notice of Change of Name". The Journal News. May 28, 1981. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Risen, Clay (March 21, 2021). "Robina Asti, Who Made History on the Ground and in the Air, Dies at 99". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 22, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "At age 99, IE woman becomes world's oldest active pilot and flight instructor". KABC-TV. July 26, 2020. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ Asti, Robina; Martini, Brandon (August 3, 2020). "99-Year-Old Pilot Is Going The Distance For 2 World Records". NPR (Interview). Interviewed by Rachel Martin; Noel King. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Forde, Kaelyn (May 9, 2016). "A Remarkable Life: One 95-Year-Old Shares Her Hope For Fellow Trans People". Refinery29. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ "Changing of the Guard". Foreign Policy. No. 215. November 2015. pp. 22–27 – via ProQuest.
^ ^a ^b Padgett, Donald (March 18, 2021). "Robina Asti, Trans World War II Pilot and Noted Activist, Dies at 99". Out. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ Kirkliauskaite, Kristina (August 7, 2020). "World's oldest flight instructor and active pilot: Robina Asti". AeroTime. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ Crowther, Linnea (March 22, 2021). "Robina Asti (1921–2021), WWII veteran and transgender advocate". Legacy.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ "Transgender Victory: A Triumph For Love". People. Meredith Corporation. 2016. ISBN 9781683302988. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ Asti, Robina (February 1990). "Lifesaving Action" (PDF). Ninety-Nines. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 24, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ Hammond, Gretchen Rachel (August 30, 2015). "2nd Annual TransReelization opens hearts and unlocks doors". Windy City Times. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ ^a ^b Goodyear, Sheena (March 22, 2021). "Remembering Robina Asti, 99-year-old pilot, WW II veteran and transgender icon". CBC.ca. Archived from the original on March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ Robina Asti (January 25, 2016). War Stories and a Woman's Changes – Robina Asti – TEDxCUNY (YouTube). TED. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ Gramson, Sillona (September 13, 2020). "Oldest flight instructor: world record set by Robina Asti". World Record Academy. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ Oliver, David (November 19, 2020). "Janelle Monáe, Rachel Maddow, Mary Trump featured on annual Out100 list of LGBTQ celebrities". USA Today. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2021.