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Read MoreBody of Work
I’m a prolific writer, and much of my work is archived here. You’ll find my books, essays, magazine and journal articles, book chapters, interviews, and presentations from conferences; my work as editor of two national journals and Executive Director of The American Educational Gender Information Service; and short stories, novels, plays, poetry, and songs. My entire creative output is online here.
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Read MoreBlogs
I’ve been blogging since 2006 and have writen thousands of image-filled posts. One blog is for whatever I find interesting or decide to write about. Another is about my tiny town of Pine Lake, Georgia, and yet another about the 3-D virtual world Second Life. Click Read More to learn about and visit them.
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Read MoreActivism
I’ve been writing about and advocating for transsexual and transgender people since 1988. In 1990 I founded AEGIS, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, where I published and disseminated materials, started a support group, and launched and maintained a telephone help line. In this century I’ve served and continue to serve in leadership positions in other trans organizations. I am still writing prolifically about trans issues.
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Read MoreEditing and Layout
In the 1990s I created, edited, and laid out a magazine called Chrysalis, four or five newsletters, and books. Between 1999 and 2008 I was editor of Transgender Tapestry, a magazine published by the International Foundation for Gender Education. In the early 2000s I edited and laid out a political newsletter in my tiny town of 800 souls. Now I’m designing and populating this website!
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Read MoreMusic and Creative Writing
Fiction and music are a big part of my life. I wrote my first short stories and poems in high school and haven’t stopped. I’ve been performing and writing songs since my teens. My best are posted here as rough demos. My short stories, novels, poetry, and plays are here as well. To view and listen, click Read More or use the menus at top.
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Read MorePhotography
For my fourteenth Christmas my parents gave me a camera. It was inexpensive and flimsy and wasn’t light-proof, but I loved it. These days photography is an absolute joy, thanks to my Canon digital SLR and my virtual camera in Second Life. Click Read More to view samples of my work.
Most Recent Articles
Does 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.
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My 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.
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Is 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.
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Winning 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.
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Office Care of Transgendered and Transsexual Clients (1997)
The very presence of transgendered and transsexual persons can have an impact on other clients and office staff. What should a clinician know about how to address the client, how to prepare billing records, what to tell receptionists and nurses, and which restroom to direct the client to? In other words, what is proper office protocol?
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Advisory: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in FTMs (1997)
This is one of several medical advisories issued by AEGIS after being vetted by our 30-member advisory board. It was released in August, 1997 and re-released in 2002 by Gender Education & Advocacy, Inc., the renamed AEGIS. It also appeared in August, 1997 in the premiere issue of AEGIS’ Transgender Treatment Bulletin, accompanied by an article on PCOS by Jamison Green.
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What is the Role of the Helping Professional? (1997)
This was the lead article in the first issue of AEGIS’ Transgender Treatment Bulletin.
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Transgender Treatment Bulletin (1997-1998)
In 1997 and 1998 the nonprofit American Educational Gender Information Service published three issues of the Transgender Treatment Bulletin. The bulletin addressed a variety of health issues faced by transsexual and transgender people and was meant to be read by both helping professionals and transfolk. I was editor and I did the layout and some of the writing.
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Vision 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.
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AEGIS Public Service Advertisements (1990s)
AEGIS designed a series of public service ads, which ran on the inside front covers of Chrysalis Quarterly, the house journal. We also distributed them as flyers. The ads addressed assorted health issues of transsexual and transgendered people, including silicone injections, overuse of hormones, and HIV/AIDS. Margaux Schaffer designed the first two ads.
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The View from the Other Side of the Treatment Fence (1991)
This article is best read in situ, as it is a counterbalance to my article The Politics of Diagnosis and a Diagnosis of Politics: How the University-Affiliated Gender Clinics Failed to Meet the Needs of Transsexual People.
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How to Shop for Service Providers (1991)
In 1991 professional help for transsexuals was so hard to find we tended to be grateful for anything offered—whether good or bad.
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Review of Shocking Asia (1991)
This film is the first I came across that had anything whatsoever to do with transsexualism.
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CQ’s Quotations From the Literature (1991-1993)
The first six issues of Chrysalis Quarterly contained a short feature called Quotations from the Literature. In each, I highlighted one or two offensive, stupid, or absurd (and in some cases insightful) passages from articles in textbooks or professional journals.
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Transgender Cross-Cultural and Historical Models (1997)
This book chapter looks at historical, cross-cultural, and contemporary models of gender variance and provides suggestions for researchers, authors, and mental health professionals.
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No Regets: The Standards of Care (1991)
The Standards are a road map for service providers, telling them what they must do, at minimum, to provide competent care to transsexual people. To the majority of service providers, who are ignorant about transsexualism, the Standards can serve as a cookbook, giving them the necessary confidence to treat men and women they might not otherwise agree to serve.
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Weight and Transition (1991)
Extreme weight is a counterindication for any form of surgery; medical risk is increased dramatically. Here I interview a transsexual woman who committed to lose an extreme amount of weight so she could meet the weight requirements for sex reassignment surgery.
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Sex Reassignment, Hormones, and Health (1991)
The theme of the first issue of AEGIS’ Chrysalis Quarterly Journal was transsexualism and disability. This was the lead article.
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Beware Philip Salem (1991)
AEGIS’ first advisory was about a pill-peddler named Philip Salem.
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Selected Readings on Transvestism, Transsexualism and Related Subjects (2000)
JoAnn Roberts took lead on the publication of this bibliography. Most of the references and annoations were drawn from my 1994 book Gender Dysphoria: A Guide to Research.
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AEGIS Recommends Breast Self-Examination (1995)
AEGIS recommends that all MTF transsexual and transgendered persons who have experienced significant breast development from hormonal therapy and all FTM transsexual and transgendered persons who have not had mastectomy/chest reconstruction do a breast self-examination on a monthly basis.
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AEGIS Advisory on Vaginoplasty (1996)
This is one of several medical advisories issued by AEGIS after being vetted by our 30-member advisory board.
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My Transsexual Autobiography (2006)
For me, gender reassignment was a good thing, a fulfilling thing. It removed the pebble from my shoe. Life is good.
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Idiot Box (1981)
I wrote this song on the 25-mile drive to my parents house. I had spent the evening at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, where I heard four kick-ass songwriters perform in a circle. I was inspired.
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The Ballad of Me and Josie (1982) (NSFW)
When a girl works at the Chicken Ranch, there’s a price tag on her bed.
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The Great American Getaway (1978)
In 1976 both my marriage and doctoral programs were falling apart. Between quarters I left my home near Knoxville, headed for California in my 1954 Chevrolet. The 22-year-old car (now it would be 59 years old!) made the 7500-mile trip without incident, but I often thought, “What if it hadn’t?”
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Ghost in a Machine (2009)
This song is about the virtual world Second Life. If you are unfamiliar with that 3-D world, it won’t make a lot of sense; if you are familiar, it will make perfect sense.
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No One Lives it For You (1983)
I stay the hell away from pawnshops with my silver-string guitar
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My Big Award (1995)
In 1995 the International Foundation for Gender Education gave me their Trinity Award. It was a distinction I didn’t particularly want, because IFGE was fond of giving the award to its inner circle. I certainly wasn’t a part of that circle (nor did I want to be), so when I was notified I would receive the award I had mixed feelings about getting. That’s where this song came from.
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