On the Future of the Transgender Community (1998)
Considering the profound nature of the change I expected, I thought it expedient to begin with a look at the transgender community as it existed at the time I began writing and end with speculation about the community’s future.
Read MorePreserving Trans History: A Short History and Suggestions for the Future (2014)
Clearly the mere establishment of a trans archive at the University of Michigan has resulted in donations in the form of money and materials—and clearly the university itself is proud of the collection and is motivated to grow it. And clearly, the collection has grown since 2000.
Read MoreResults of AEGIS Survey on Community Building (1998)
As AEGIS was winding down in preparation for rebaselining as Gender Education & Advocacy, I mailed a questionnaire to members, asking them to rate the services we provided. As you will see, respondents identifying as providing some sort of professional service to transsexual and transgendered people ranked items quite differently from respondents who did not identify as providing services. \
Read MoreThe Price of Inclusion (1998)
With transgender acceptance by the larger gay/lesbian/bisexual community now the norm, the question must be asked: can and will existing G/L/B organizations take on the support of transsexual and transgendered folks? Can they do a better job than the existing transgender organizations to meet our needs? And more importantly, should we hitch our wagon to organizations which were not interested in meeting our needs in the past and may not be interested in the future?
Read MoreMeeting the Information Needs of Transsexual People (1998)
We’ve been an important voice in transforming the treatment setting from one in which we were grateful for and unquestioning of whatever courtesies and services professionals chose to give us to one in which we have the same rights as other consumers—believe it, in 1990, this was not the case.
Read MoreWhither the Transgender Community? Whither AEGIS? (1997)
The growth of the transgender community, the changes in the ways we view ourselves, demand that our organizations evolve to meet today’s needs. It’s no longer possible for a volunteer-based agency to serve the many persons coming out about their transgender issues, or of persons in transition, or of helping professionals. We need professional organizations with paid staff.
Read MoreHow NOT to Get Rid of Unwanted Hair (1997)
One day, no doubt, some ingenious soul will figure out a safe, fast, painless, and inexpensive method of permanent hair removal. When that happens, those who have had electrolysis will of course be miffed because newcomers will not have to go through the same pain and expense they did. But until that day, it is only those who have had electrolysis who have thrown away their razors.
Read MoreDoes Laser Electrolysis Work? (1997)
Is it possible for coherent (laser) light to kill hair? Certainly. Has anyone yet devised a laser treatment system which kills hair permanently and safely? Perhaps. Has anyone demonstrated permanent hair loss with laser electrolysis. Not yet, at least not to our knowledge.
Read MoreMy Invited Comments on Proposed Revision of HBIGDA Standards of Care (1997)
In issue no. 9 of AEGIS News I took a look at helping professionals as part of the multi-issue Vision 2001: A Gender Odyssey. I expressed my concerns about the in-process revision of the Standards of Care of the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association. I drew heavily upon statements made by Dr. Stephen Levine, chair of the revision committee. Dr. George R. Brown, a member of the committee, took exception to what I wrote. I published his comments as a letter to the editor in AEGIS News No. 10.
Read MoreIs There a Price for Political Activism? (1996)
The transgender and transsexual community tends to fractionate along lines of opinions about political activism: is it a good thing, or a bad thing? Not surprisingly some of those most opposed tend to characterize activists as ego-driven, sensationalizing dunderheads and even to claim that activists’ efforts have set us back rather than moving us forward. Equally unsurprising, some activists show little understanding of or concern for those who wish to keep their identities secret.
Read MoreWinning Transgender Support and Acceptance at PFLAG (1996)
I didn’t think the best place to ask PFLAG, “What constitutes homosexuality when gender is fluid?” was in the hot sun in a milling crowd on a Sunday afternoon, so a week or two later I sent the Atlanta chapter a letter, accompanied by Chrysalis, the AEGIS Transition Series booklets, and other materials, respectfully asking that we begin talking about our common issues.
Read MoreVision 2001: A Gender Odyssey (1996-1997)
In mid-1995 The International Foundation for Gender Education—the trans community’s largest organization—did an assessment of the transgender community. I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen. Issue 6 of AEGIS News began my own assessment. It was fact-based, at least as much as possible considering the scant data that were available. The assessment ran four or five issues. Jessica Xavier was invaluable as a collaborator and author.
Read MoreFor Transssexuals, 1994 is 1969 (1994)
As organizers for the Stonewall 25 march were completing their preparations, they found themselves facing a potentially embarrassing threat from an unexpected source. Angry at having been excluded from the march’s formal title— the International March on the United Nations to Affirm the Human Rights of Lesbian and Gay People— transgendered activists were planning to stage civil disobedience actions on the march route.
Read MoreFTM Conference a Huge Success! (1995)
The weekend of 18-20 August, 1995 saw more than 360 transsexual and transgendered men, their partners, and helping professionals assembled in San Francisco for the first FTM Conference of the Americas. Conference organizers had hoped for 125 attendees. It was a great success and spawned several more national FTM conferences. I made it possible.
Read MoreBibliography of HIV & AIDS in Transgendered Persons (1995)
Back in 1995 there were only a handful of scientific papers about HIV & AIDS in the trans population. Most researchers included male-to-female transsexuals and transgendered people in the Men Having Sex With Men group. I did find a few articles, and published a brief bibliography in the fourth edition of AEGIS News. AEGIS News was one of the newsletters of the nonprofit American Educational Gender Information Service.
Read MoreThe Paradigm Shift is Here! (1995)
In 1995, in the pages of AEGIS News, I noted the change of paradigm from the medical model of transsexualism to a healthy transgender model.
Read MoreVaginal Politics (1994) (NSFW)
Does having a vagina make me any more a woman than if I had a penis? No. Women are not judged by their vaginas, nor men by their penises, except when in bed with their lovers, and most people are not their lovers.
Read MoreAEGIS News Issues (1994-1998)
AEGIS News was the newsletter of the nonprofit American Educational Gender Information Service, which I founded in 1990. I designed, wrote, edited, laid out and published some 13 issues, all of which were distributed internationally.
Read MoreXV HBIGDA Symposium: Vancouver Highlights (1997)
Dr. Holly Devor set the tone for the conference by pointing out that gender variability is not prima facie evidence for psychopathology, but can be a healthy adjustment to restrictive gender roles. Dr. Devor brought many attendees to their feet with a call for HBIGDA to acknowledge and serve the many kinds of gender-variant people.
Read MoreTwo Reviews of Gordene MacKenzie, Transgender Nation (1994)
Having transsexual surgery is a political act, but it is not a conformist act. Transsexual persons go against gender norms to exercise their right to modify their bodies as they wish so their bodies reflect their inner visions of themselves.
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