Transgender Archive Visiting Fellowship

In November 2022 I had the opportunity to visit the University of Victoria’s Transgender Archives - "largest transgender archive in the world"- to conduct research on transgender histories. They are committed to the preservation of the history of pioneering activists, community leaders, and researchers who have contributed to the betterment of trans and other gender-diverse people.

Some of my favourite finds included

P1 “Tranny Biker” by Red Jordan Arobateau, who was a prolific writer of street lit, especially trans erotica. Also, the Arobateau collection is a brand new and very exciting addition to the archive. Find out more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3nAOakSrBw

P2 – A single photo of a dolphin within Reed Erickson’s archive. https://www.uvic.ca/.../collections/reed-erickson/index.php Erickson was an affluent white trans man who contributed millions of dollars to early trans research, including the creation of the Harry Benjamin Foundation, which later became WPATH. Erickson’s foundation aimed to "to provide assistance and support in areas where human potential was limited by adverse physical, mental or social conditions, or where the scope of research was too new, controversial or imaginative to receive traditionally oriented support." He also funded research on dolphin-human communication and….

P3 – Erickson was interested in studying the impact of substances on human psychology, and in particular, Ketamine. In his files, all ketamine related research was sorted under “keys to the kingdom”

P4 – The book “TransCuba” by Mariette Pathy Allen which was full of beautiful full-colour photos

P5 – Touching a first edition of Psychopathia Sexualis by Richard von Krafft-Ebing (1893, originally published 1866)

P6 – The inside cover of first edition of Psychopathia Sexualis

For those of you interested in the archive, be sure to check out the upcoming, annual MOVING TRANS HISTORY FORWARD conference. Keynote this year is Julia Serano!