Chair in Transgender Studies

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2023 Student Scholarships

Apply now! Doctoral, Master’s, and Undergraduate Scholarships.  Closes May 31st, 2023.

2023 Student Scholarships

MTHF23 Highlights – "4 Days in 9 Minutes"

Watch our YouTube highlights video from Moving Trans History Forward 2023, "4 Days in 9 Minutes!"

MTHF23 Highlights – "4 Days in 9 Minutes"

An oral history digital exhibit

Word of Mouth showcases the Trans Activism Oral History collection. It tells some of the story about how Trans+ communities & networks developed in North America throughout the latter half of the 20th century.

An oral history digital exhibit

Chair in Transgender Studies

Territory acknowledgement


We acknowledge and respect the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands, and the Songhees, Esquimalt and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

Our Vision


A world where Trans+ and all gender-diverse people can thrive free from the limitations of gender and intersecting oppressions.

Our Mission


Provide inspiration and hope to Trans+ people and our allies everywhere. Contribute to the development and dissemination of accurate knowledge about Trans+ people. Help to build strong and resilient Trans+ social and cultural communities

Our Commitment


We are committed to applying an intersectional lens in our work to advance reconciliation, racial justice, equity, and inclusion for all.

Our work is fostering research and scholarship in Transgender Studies

  • Encouraging both existing and new scholars to pursue careers in Transgender Studies and building local, national and international linkages with others working in Transgender Studies
  • Hosting visiting academic and community scholars
  • Proactive community outreach and knowledge mobilization
  • Teaching and mentoring related to the area of Transgender Studies
  • Assisting faculty to integrate Transgender Studies content into their courses
  • Subject matter expert of the Transgender Archives
  • Fundraising in support of the Chair in Transgender Studies and the Transgender Archives

 

Visiting scholars

Academic and community-based scholar visit with us throughout the year. Many of them have come to make use of the Transgender Archives.

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Moving Trans History Forward

Community activists, researchers, educators, artists, service providers, and allies come together to create a better future.

Read more

Public events

The Chair in Transgender Studies holds a variety of public events, including guest speakers, social and arts events, and honorary degrees!

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Video message

A donation by the Tawani Foundation, founded and led by Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer N. Pritzker, US Army (Retired), supports the inaugural chair in UVic’s Faculty of Social Sciences for five years.

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See more of @transchair on Instagram

Jonah Garde - Visiting Doctoral Student
https://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/ JONAH GARDE PhD Student, Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies, University of Bern. Visiting Doctoral Student, Chair in Transgender Studies Animal Connections: “Sex Change,” Racial Fantasies and Trans* Possibilities in the Early 20th Century Jan. 12th, 2023, 12:00 - 1:00 PM Hybrid Talk UVic Clearihue C108 and on Zoom In the spring of 1931, a strange story made headlines in the Austrian daily press: In order to change their sex, a well-known Viennese artist had successfully persuaded the imperial zoo to sell them a black male goat as an organ donor. Transplanted into the person’s abdomen the goat’s gonads were hoped to take root and transform the person’s sex by secreting “male hormones.” Performed by a well-respected Viennese doctor the sensational surgery quickly attracted several newspapers who sought interviews with the person in question and opened a debate about the possibilities of so-called “artificial sex changes.” In my talk, I ask what fragmented stories like these tell us about trans* history, its colonial discontents, and how animals animated early ideas of “sex change.” I outline the contours of these trans*species encounters by tracing its origins in modern endocrinology and analyzing the human/animal divide, its racial underpinnings and the global entanglements that animated the discourse on “sex change” in early 20th century Europe. Drawing on a range of newspaper articles, medical case files and endocrinological research, I argue that the extraction and valorization of animals as well as the dehumanization of racialized Others served to rewrite and reimagine sex as malleable and plastic. Jonah I. Garde (they/them) is a PhD student at the Interdisciplinary Center for Gender Studies at the University of Bern, Switzerland and currently a Visiting Research Student at the Chair in Transgender Studies at the University of Victoria, Canada. For their PhD thesis, which looks at the modern/colonial entanglements of early 20th century trans* histories, Jonah has received a Rosa-Luxemburg doctoral grant (2018-2021) and a mobility scholarship by the University of Bern (2022). Recent publications include “Provincializing Trans* Modernities” (2021) and, together with Simon Noa Harder, “Approaches to Trans*formative Pedagogies. A Conversation” (2021). Contact: jonah.garde@izfg.unibe.ch

See more videos from the Master Playlist playlist on YouTube.

Rikki Swin

See more from the Transgender Archives on Flickr.

Moving Trans History Forward 2023

See more videos from the Moving Trans History Forward 2023 playlist on YouTube.

Transgender Archives

"Word of Mouth" Panel
Website: https://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/what-we-do/events/speakers/index.php Word of Mouth exhibit: https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/trans-activists DONATE https://extrweb.uvic.ca/donate-online/transchair "Word of Mouth" Launch LIVE panel discussing the question: “When did you first discover you were not alone?” Friday, October 7th, 2022 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM Pacific Online on Zoom While some of us are lucky enough to take the existence of today’s Trans+ communities for granted, this is a relatively recent experience. It was not so long ago that sharing any kind of Trans+ related information was difficult, dangerous, and almost universally illegal. Join Aaron Devor, Chair in Transgender Studies, in conversation with six Trans+ activist elders and leaders. This live panel discussion is in recognition of the launch of a digital exhibit about Trans+ oral histories, Word of Mouth. Word of Mouth is an oral history digital exhibit that tells some of the story about how Trans+ communities and networks developed in North America in the latter half of the twentieth century. The interviews are a part of The Trans Activism Oral History Project, an initiative of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory. The full oral histories are housed at the Transgender Archives and are available through the Word of Mouth digital exhibit. The 17 Trans+ activist who were interviewed only represent a small slice of Trans+ history. This online panel conversation will bring together additional stories, so that future generations can learn from a more diverse group of Trans+ activists and experiences. Marsha Botzer has served the LGBTQIA+ and progressive communities for over 45 years. She has served on boards of Pride Foundation, Safe Schools, Lambert House, Seattle Counseling Service, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. She currently serves on the Martin Luther King County Labor Council Executive Board and is a founding member and current Commissioner of the Washington State LGBTQIA+ Commission. Jules Gill-Peterson is an associate professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. She is the author of Histories of the Transgender Child (2018) and a General Co-Editor of TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly. Her next book, A Short History of Trans Misogyny, will be published by Verso. David Harrison is an actor, playwright and musician. His eclectic career includes being a professional psychic, hypnotherapist and dominatrix. He has primarily created and toured original work - including "FTM" (1994) based on his first year of transition. The show toured internationally over 9 years. His ongoing project at the moment, is stage and web series alter-ego, 60s rock star Reggie Wingnutz. Recent work includes his recurring guest star appearance as Russian spymaster, Ivan Stepanov (opposite James Spader) in Season 8 of NBC's The Blacklist. Andrea Jenkins made history in 2017 as the first African American openly trans woman to be elected to office in the United States. Now serving as Council President, she is also a writer, performance artist, poet and transgender activist. Jenkins moved to Minnesota to attend the University of Minnesota in 1979. She worked as a Vocational Counselor for Hennepin County government for a decade. Jenkins worked as a staff member on the Minneapolis City Council for 12 years before beginning work as curator of the Transgender Oral History Project at the University of Minnesota's Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies. Nicki Ward's decades-long advocacy includes environmental issues and extends substantially into the areas of LGBTQ, Disability Human Rights and Community. In addition to private sector board experience, Nicki has also served on volunteer boards of public sector, charitable and institutional organisations. While raising a family here, she served as a consultant in science and technology sectors before accepting a long term assignment in senior management with a major financial services company. Chase Willier is a nehiyaw (Cree) Two Spirit transman who was adopted out as part of the 60’s Scoop and grew up in Syilx territory. He joined the RCMP as the second indigenous woman in BC in 1979. He was out as lesbian and later identified as Two Spirit/Trans before he retired in 2010 although he didn’t transition until retirement. After over 25 years of service, he finally took some time out to address his PTSD which is something he writes about in The Remedy. He is passionate about health and wellness and as such is involved in numerous projects in the Two Spirit/Trans community. His work in Vancouver also extended into areas of safety, justice and reconciliation specific to indigenous peoples whether urban or local First Nations.
43 Hours in 7 Minutes: Trans Activism Oral History Project
Highlights from the Trans Activism Oral History Project Digital Exhibit: https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/trans-activists Chair in Transgender Studies: https://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/index.php Transgender Archives: https://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/index.php "Word of Mouth" tells some of the story about how these communities and networks developed in North America in the latter half of the twentieth century. It is a project of the Chair in Transgender Studies. The Trans Activism Oral History Project is a project of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory, founded in 2014 by historian Elspeth Brown and funded by the Social Science & Humanities Research Council of Canada. In order to establish and preserve Trans-specific and Trans-positive primary source historical narratives for future generations, the Trans Activism Oral History Project recorded elders’ oral histories of activism on behalf of Trans+ people and communities. The collection consists of 17 video and audio interviews, collected 2019-2020, with elders who were leading Trans+ activists and allies from across North America. In total, the recordings are 43 hours in length. In 2020, the oral histories were donated to the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria Libraries and The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives. Aaron Devor, the Chair in Transgender Studies at the University of Victoria, is the project lead for Word of Mouth.
"Word of Mouth" - digital exhibit
https://exhibits.library.uvic.ca/spotlight/trans-activists What is Word of Mouth? While some of us are lucky enough to take the existence of today’s Trans+ communities for granted, this is a relatively recent experience. It was not so long ago that sharing any kind of Trans+ related information was difficult, dangerous, and almost universally illegal. Nevertheless, Trans+ people have always found ways to share information vital to their survival, using media ranging from hand-written letters to the World Wide Web. Word of Mouth tells some of the story about how these communities and networks developed in North America in the latter half of the twentieth century. It is a project of the Chair in Transgender Studies. https://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/index.php An incomplete story It must also be noted that there are silences in the archives: present collections largely document privileged individuals and organizations. This reality also carries through into this exhibition. There will always be more to uncover, more stories to be told, within the Transgender Archives and in the Trans Activism Oral Histories upon which this exhibition draws. The Trans Activism Oral History Project The Trans Activism Oral History Project is a project of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory, founded in 2014 by historian Elspeth Brown and funded by the Social Science & Humanities Research Council of Canada. In order to establish and preserve Trans-specific and Trans-positive primary source historical narratives for future generations, the Trans Activism Oral History Project recorded elders’ oral histories of activism on behalf of Trans+ people and communities. The collection consists of video and audio interviews, collected 2019-2020, with elders who were leading Trans+ activists and allies from across North America. In 2020, the oral histories were donated to the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria Libraries and The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives. Aaron Devor, the Chair in Transgender Studies at the University of Victoria, is the project lead for Word of Mouth.

See more videos from the Transgender Archive Videos playlist on YouTube.

Years in Review

See more videos from the Years in Review playlist on YouTube.

Moving Trans History Forward 2021

[MTHF21 HIGHLIGHTS] 4 Days in 11 Minutes
Conference Website: https://www.uvic.ca/mthf2021/ Chair in Transgender Studies: https://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/index.php Transgender Archives: https://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/index.php Donate: https://extrweb.uvic.ca/donate-online/transchair The Moving Trans History Forward conferences are not just for scholars, or just for community people. MTHF conferences are a unique blend that create opportunities for cross-fertilization among members of general public; students and faculty; artists; activists; Trans, Nonbinary, Two-Spirit, and other gender-diverse people; family members; allies; and service providers. Conferences consider both our history, and the crucial issues which impact us today, and into the future—locally, nationally, and globally.
[YOUTH PANEL] Moving Trans History Forward conference 2021
Conference Website: https://www.uvic.ca/mthf2021/ Chair in Transgender Studies: https://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/index.php Transgender Archives: https://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/index.php Donate: https://extrweb.uvic.ca/donate-online/transchair THE YOUTH PANEL PRESENTED BY RBC IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SKIPPING STONE (CALGARY, ALBERTA) Three youth (ages 11, 14, and 18) show a PechaKucha style art presentation about their experiences of being Trans+ youth. A panel of three additional Trans+ youth (14, 17, 19) provide LIVE responses and discussion.
[KEYNOTE] Miss Major w/ Kelendria Nation & Syrus Marcus Ware - Moving Trans History Forward 2021
Conference Website: https://www.uvic.ca/mthf2021/ Chair in Transgender Studies: https://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/index.php Transgender Archives: https://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/index.php Donate: https://extrweb.uvic.ca/donate-online/transchair THE MOVING TRANS HISTORY FORWARD CONFERENCE PRESENTS MISS MAJOR SATURDAY KEYNOTE MARCH 13 2021 11:15 AM PST Miss Major is a Black, transgender activist who has fought for over fifty years to create a better world. ABOUT MISS MAJOR Major is a veteran of the infamous Stonewall Riots, a former sex worker, and a survivor of Dannemora Prison and Bellevue Hospital’s “queen tank.” Her global legacy of activism is rooted in her own experiences, and she continues her work to uplift transgender women of color, particularly those who have survived incarceration and police brutality. Miss Major is featured in the 2015 documentary film, MAJOR!, which explores the life and campaigns of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy. IN CONVERSATION WITH KELENDRIA NATION & SYRUS MARCUS WARE Kelendria Nation is a Black woman of Trans experience of Caribbean descent who uses her perspective and unique experience to bring awareness to the various issues surrounding trans people; especially trans women of colour. She has dedicated herself to using her voice to impact change and bridge understanding across all communities. She provides advocacy, resolutions and transitions for Trans identified peoples. Through her work in community space through advocacy, she strives to allow folks to see that Trans, Non binary, and 2spirit identified folks because of their multiple intersections are often times left out in conversations. With collaboration and standing in solidarity with other community members she has been given the tools of being able to communicate her experience which has allowed her to tell her own story in her own voice. It is her hope that in time there will be more opportunities to empower other BIMPOC identified folks in the same which she has been. Syrus Marcus Ware is a Vanier scholar, visual artist, activist, curator and educator. Syrus uses drawing, installation and performance to explore social justice frameworks and black activist culture, and he’s shown widely in galleries and festivals across Canada. He is part of the Performance Disability Art Collective and a core-team member of Black Lives Matter – Toronto. He has won several recognitions including the TD Diversity Award 2017, “Best Queer Activist” NOW Magazine 2005, and the Steinert and Ferreiro Award 2012. He is the co-editor or the best-selling Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada (URP, 2020). Photo Credit: Jalani Morgan

See more videos from the Moving Trans History Forward 2021 playlist on YouTube.

Martine Rothblatt - Hon. Degree Recipient

Dr. Martine Rothblatt - Convocation Ceremony
CHAIR IN TRANSGENDER STUDIES: https://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/index.php TRANSGENDER ARCHIVES: https://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/ DONATE: https://extrweb.uvic.ca/donate-online/transchair Martine Rothblatt, Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) November 13, 2019 | 10:00 a.m. Martine Rothblatt, PhD, MBA, JD, is a technologist, entrepreneur, lawyer and author, and a leader in communications, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and bioethics. As an entrepreneur, Rothblatt launched the navigation system GeoStar and the broadcasting company that became SiriusXM. After coming out as transgender she founded the biotech company United Therapeutics (UTHR), to develop a drug for lung disease that ended up saving her own daughter’s life—and those of thousands of others. Projects in development include creating transplantable organs using a 3D-printer and a person’s own cells. She was included in Forbes Magazine’s “100 Greatest Business Minds.” Rothblatt also supports transhumanism and experiments with robotic and artificial intelligence. Her Terasem Movement Foundation helps people upload records of their lives to computers to prepare for “mind clones” in the future. As part of this exciting work, her team created an intelligent, lifelike robot called Bina48.
Dr. Martine Rothblatt - Fireside Chat
CHAIR IN TRANSGENDER STUDIES: https://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/index.php TRANSGENDER ARCHIVES: https://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/ DONATE: https://extrweb.uvic.ca/donate-online/transchair DR. MARTINE ROTHBLATT UVic Honorary Degree Recipient Nominated by the Chair in Transgender Studies In 2017, Forbes Magazine named Dr. Martine Rothblatt as one of the “100 Greatest Living Business Minds of the past 100 years.” On Wed., Nov. 13th, 2019, Martine Rothblatt will be receiving an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree from the University of Victoria (watch the live webcast). On the following evening, Thurs., Nov. 14th, 7:30 PM, Martine Rothblatt will join Aaron Devor, Chair in Transgender Studies, for a "Fireside Chat" about her remarkable life and accomplishments. Martine Rothblatt, PhD, MBA, JD, is a technologist, entrepreneur, lawyer and author, and a leader in communications, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and bioethics. As an entrepreneur, Rothblatt launched the navigation system GeoStar and the broadcasting company that became SiriusXM. After coming out as transgender she founded the biotech company United Therapeutics (UTHR), to develop a drug for lung disease that ended up saving her own daughter’s life—and those of thousands of others. Projects in development include creating transplantable organs using a 3D-printer and a person’s own cells. She was included in Forbes Magazine’s “100 Greatest Business Minds.” Rothblatt also supports transhumanism and experiments with robotic and artificial intelligence. Her Terasem Movement Foundation helps people upload records of their lives to computers to prepare for “mind clones” in the future. As part of this exciting work, her team created an intelligent, lifelike robot called Bina48.

See more videos from the Martine Rothblatt - Honorary Degree Recipient playlist on YouTube.

Scholars & Fellows

Tobias Wiggins - Fellowship Recipient
Website: https://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/index.php Tobias Wiggins Tobias B. D. Wiggins is an assistant professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Athabasca University. His research centers transgender mental health, queer visual culture, clinical transphobia, accessible community-based wellness, and psychoanalysis. During his fellowship, Wiggins will be pursuing archival research for “The Trans Sexualities Digital Storytelling Project.” This project aims to redress the significant dearth in knowledge surrounding the history of transgender people’s sexuality by investigating the records, documents, art, and rare publications that contain traces of trans sexual narrativization across generations. The groundwork built by this archival research will inform data collection with trans participants through cutting-edge art-based participatory storytelling research in collaboration with Re•Vision: The Centre for Art and Social Justice at the University of Guelph. Learn more at tobywiggins.com

See more videos from the Scholars & Fellows playlist on YouTube.

Speakers

Jonah Garde - Visiting Doctoral Student
https://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/ JONAH GARDE PhD Student, Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies, University of Bern. Visiting Doctoral Student, Chair in Transgender Studies Animal Connections: “Sex Change,” Racial Fantasies and Trans* Possibilities in the Early 20th Century Jan. 12th, 2023, 12:00 - 1:00 PM Hybrid Talk UVic Clearihue C108 and on Zoom In the spring of 1931, a strange story made headlines in the Austrian daily press: In order to change their sex, a well-known Viennese artist had successfully persuaded the imperial zoo to sell them a black male goat as an organ donor. Transplanted into the person’s abdomen the goat’s gonads were hoped to take root and transform the person’s sex by secreting “male hormones.” Performed by a well-respected Viennese doctor the sensational surgery quickly attracted several newspapers who sought interviews with the person in question and opened a debate about the possibilities of so-called “artificial sex changes.” In my talk, I ask what fragmented stories like these tell us about trans* history, its colonial discontents, and how animals animated early ideas of “sex change.” I outline the contours of these trans*species encounters by tracing its origins in modern endocrinology and analyzing the human/animal divide, its racial underpinnings and the global entanglements that animated the discourse on “sex change” in early 20th century Europe. Drawing on a range of newspaper articles, medical case files and endocrinological research, I argue that the extraction and valorization of animals as well as the dehumanization of racialized Others served to rewrite and reimagine sex as malleable and plastic. Jonah I. Garde (they/them) is a PhD student at the Interdisciplinary Center for Gender Studies at the University of Bern, Switzerland and currently a Visiting Research Student at the Chair in Transgender Studies at the University of Victoria, Canada. For their PhD thesis, which looks at the modern/colonial entanglements of early 20th century trans* histories, Jonah has received a Rosa-Luxemburg doctoral grant (2018-2021) and a mobility scholarship by the University of Bern (2022). Recent publications include “Provincializing Trans* Modernities” (2021) and, together with Simon Noa Harder, “Approaches to Trans*formative Pedagogies. A Conversation” (2021). Contact: jonah.garde@izfg.unibe.ch
[Highlights] "Word of Mouth" panel
HIGHLIGHTS of "Word of Mouth" panel event Full event video: https://youtu.be/5ZFmDZxP-nE While some of us are lucky enough to take the existence of today’s Trans+ communities for granted, this is a relatively recent experience. It was not so long ago that sharing any kind of Trans+ related information was difficult, dangerous, and almost universally illegal. Join Aaron Devor, Chair in Transgender Studies, in conversation with six Trans+ activist elders and leaders. This live panel discussion is in recognition of the launch of a digital exhibit about Trans+ oral histories, Word of Mouth. Word of Mouth is an oral history digital exhibit that tells some of the story about how Trans+ communities and networks developed in North America in the latter half of the twentieth century. The interviews are a part of The Trans Activism Oral History Project, an initiative of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory. The full oral histories are housed at the Transgender Archives and are available through the Word of Mouth digital exhibit. The 17 Trans+ activist who were interviewed only represent a small slice of Trans+ history. This online panel conversation will bring together additional stories, so that future generations can learn from a more diverse group of Trans+ activists and experiences.

See more videos from the Speakers playlist on YouTube.

Chair in Transgender Studies

See more videos from the Chair in Transgender Studies playlist on YouTube.

Scholars in Residence

Esther Suwannanon - Scholar in Residence
CHAIR IN TRANSGENDER STUDIES: https://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/index.php TRANSGENDER ARCHIVES: https://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/ DONATE: https://extrweb.uvic.ca/donate-online/transchair Esther C. Suwannanon, is presently an M.A. student in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand. She is currently researching Kathoey history through the analysis of her personal formal/informal archives and living in Canada as a graduate visiting research student at University of Victoria where she is a Canada-Asian Scholarship and Education Exchanges for Development Scholar.
Dan Wei - Scholar in Residence
CHAIR IN TRANSGENDER STUDIES: https://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/index.php TRANSGENDER ARCHIVES: https://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/ DONATE: https://extrweb.uvic.ca/donate-online/transchair Dan Wei Scholar in Residence from Nanchang University, China Dan Wei, PhD, lecturer at Nanchang University in China, is a visiting scholar funded by the Chinese Scholarship Council. She is interested in gender inequality and transgender issues in China. She is doing research on cross-gender performance in Chinese theater and transgender history, politics, and activism in China.

See more videos from the Scholars in Residence playlist on YouTube.