Transgender Archives

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Virginia Prince. Circa 1954

Virginia Prince. Circa 1954

Virginia Prince was one of the earliest transgender activists.

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Transgender Archives

The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria is committed to the preservation of the history of pioneering activists, community leaders, and researchers who have contributed to the betterment of trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirit people.

Since 2007, we have been actively acquiring documents, rare publications, and memorabilia of persons and organizations associated with activism by and for trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirit people.

We began with the generous donation of the Rikki Swin Institute collection. The Transgender Archives have been enhanced by other significant donations including the personal papers of Reed Erickson, the entire University of Ulster Trans-Gender Archive collection, and the records of Zenith Foundation of Vancouver Canada, among many others.

Our records span over 160 meters or 530 linear feet (1.5 football fields long), go back over 120 years, and are in 15 languages from 23 countries on six continents. Our collections comprise the largest trans archives in the world.  We are accessible to everyone, free of charge.

Featured material

Lammy award

In The Transgender Archives: Foundations for the Future you can read about some of the history of trans activism and research, learn about how the Transgender Archives got started, and see a few highlights from our collections.

The Transgender Archives: Foundations for the Future was chosen as a 2015 Lambda Literary Awards finalist in LGBT nonfiction.

The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria is accessible to the public for free, and available to faculty, students, and scholars for teaching and research.

Learn more about using the archives.

Connect with us

Chair in Transgender Studies & The Transgender Archives at UVic

Chair in Transgender Studies & The Transgender Archives at UVic

2 days ago

Naaz Joshi, recently won Miss World Diversity for the third time in a row! Read her story.

India’s 1st International Transgende...
Ms Aizya Naaz Joshi’s life has been an incredible journey filled with obstacles that could devastate the best of us. Her story is more than the empowerment of a long-oppressed community. It is also a story of a person who overcame childhood trauma of rape, ostracisation by the community and being ...
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A.J. Lowik - Visiting Speaker
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 A.J. Lowik PhD Candidate - University of British Columbia Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality & Social Justice "Creating Trans-Inclusive Abortion Services: Challenging the Gendered Silos of Reproductive Health Care" FREE PUBLIC TALK (bring your lunch) Friday, May 3rd, 2019 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM UVic Cornett A317 A.J. Lowik is a PhD Candidate with the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia. Their dissertation research considers trans people's reproductive decision-making processes, building on their MA thesis which focused on access to abortion and trans people's inclusion into women-only spaces. A.J. teaches Intro to Trans Studies at UBC, and has facilitated many workshops on trans-inclusion, including the Promoting Trans Literacies workshop series at UBC, a workshop on menstruation movements with PERIOD, and numerous workshops with yoga studios. They also work part-time at the B.C. Centre for Substance Use, as part of a team focused on creating substance use research, policy and treatment options that are inclusive to trans, as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual and queer people. They recently co-authored a commentary with the Journal of Addiction Medicine on creating gender-inclusive alcohol interventions for pregnant people. "This presentation will explore A.J.’s previous life as an employee at a women-only abortion clinic, their subsequent MA thesis which considered the barriers and obstacles to trans-inclusive abortion services, and the manual for abortion providers that they have since written on this topic, which has been distributed across Canada. By considering the abortion clinic as an exemplar, this presentation will challenge and critique the gendered silos of reproductive health care more generally, where embodied reproductive experiences like pregnancy and abortion, childbirth, lactation, etc. are understood as exclusively women’s experiences, and frequently delivered in women-centred or women-only spaces. It will address the clinical landscape of abortion in Canada and the United States and identify areas of concern for trans folks experiencing unwanted or unplanned pregnancies. It will also explore the opportunities for trans-inclusive abortion care that are opened up when we allow for self-managed pregnancy termination, bringing abortion out of the clinics and hospitals and into the hands of pregnancy people."

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Rikki Swin

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Transgender Archives Visitors

See more videos from the Transgender Archives Visitors playlist on YouTube.

Scholars & Fellows

Julian Gill-Peterson - Fellowship Recipient
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 Julian Gill-Peterson Chair in Transgender Studies Fellowship Recipient University of Pittsburgh Julian Gill-Peterson is Assistant Professor of English and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. They are the author of Histories of the Transgender Child (University of Minnesota Press, October 2018). I am visiting the Transgender Archives to research my current book project, Gender Underground: A History of Trans DIY, which sets out to retell the story of the trans twentieth century by framing it not through institutional medicine, but the myriad do-it-yourself practices of trans people that forged powerful and long-invisible social worlds.

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

Speakers

A.J. Lowik - Visiting Speaker
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 A.J. Lowik PhD Candidate - University of British Columbia Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality & Social Justice "Creating Trans-Inclusive Abortion Services: Challenging the Gendered Silos of Reproductive Health Care" FREE PUBLIC TALK (bring your lunch) Friday, May 3rd, 2019 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM UVic Cornett A317 A.J. Lowik is a PhD Candidate with the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia. Their dissertation research considers trans people's reproductive decision-making processes, building on their MA thesis which focused on access to abortion and trans people's inclusion into women-only spaces. A.J. teaches Intro to Trans Studies at UBC, and has facilitated many workshops on trans-inclusion, including the Promoting Trans Literacies workshop series at UBC, a workshop on menstruation movements with PERIOD, and numerous workshops with yoga studios. They also work part-time at the B.C. Centre for Substance Use, as part of a team focused on creating substance use research, policy and treatment options that are inclusive to trans, as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual and queer people. They recently co-authored a commentary with the Journal of Addiction Medicine on creating gender-inclusive alcohol interventions for pregnant people. "This presentation will explore A.J.’s previous life as an employee at a women-only abortion clinic, their subsequent MA thesis which considered the barriers and obstacles to trans-inclusive abortion services, and the manual for abortion providers that they have since written on this topic, which has been distributed across Canada. By considering the abortion clinic as an exemplar, this presentation will challenge and critique the gendered silos of reproductive health care more generally, where embodied reproductive experiences like pregnancy and abortion, childbirth, lactation, etc. are understood as exclusively women’s experiences, and frequently delivered in women-centred or women-only spaces. It will address the clinical landscape of abortion in Canada and the United States and identify areas of concern for trans folks experiencing unwanted or unplanned pregnancies. It will also explore the opportunities for trans-inclusive abortion care that are opened up when we allow for self-managed pregnancy termination, bringing abortion out of the clinics and hospitals and into the hands of pregnancy people."
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 Suwannanon Scholar in Residence from Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand "From KATHOEY to TRANS*: History, Politics and Activism in Thailand" FREE PUBLIC TALK (bring your lunch) Wed. Mar. 20th, 2019 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM UVic Cornett A317 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. Thailand has been known by outsiders as a land of tolerance for gender-variant people. The existence of the word ‘Kathoey’ to describe gender-variant people can be traced back over a long period in Thai history, and has long been called a ‘third sex/gender’ category (Phet thi-sam, เพศที่สาม) within public and academic discourses. Even though Thailand has never been colonized, a variety of Western ideas have been incorporated into Thai society, and Thai Sex/Gender concepts have been shaped by Western ideas adopted by Thai elites. After WWII, the acceptance of aspects of American culture led to the recognition of Western medical knowledge. Western-inspired terms, for instance, Gay, Lesbian and Ladyboy, have become wide spread in Thai society, and since at least the 1970s western scholars have used the term Third Sex/Gender as a framework to explain sex and gender beyond the duality. Since the early 21st century, gender non-conforming people are more visible in society and the term Transsexual/Transgender has been emerged and combined with Kathoey activism and identity. I re-examine what Kathoey meant in the past, and what Kathoey means nowadays, and consider the limitations of “Thirdness” in Thai society.
Leo Rutherford & Corey Keith - Community Speakers
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 Leo Rutherford & Corey Keith "Rainbow Community Health Initiative: Progress & Strategy" Free Public Talk (bring your lunch) Wednesday, March 6th, 2019 12:00 - 1:30 PM UVic Cornett A317 Leo Rutherford is a PhD student, queer and trans community members and advocate for sexual health and rights. He is passionate about community based participatory research and the health of transgender people. Leo’s background is in Psychology and Human Sexuality; his proposed dissertation will determine the sexual satisfaction of trans men who have undergone surgery on their genitals. Leo works on a few different research projects, each addressing the health, rights or sexuality of trans people. He is excited to be a part of the ‘Our community health initiative’ team! Corey Keith uses the pronouns per and pers. Per provides passion, experience and knowledge through counselling, consulting, and workshops in the areas of sexuality and gender since 2006. Integrating Western and Eastern wisdom to enhance already existing practices to further create a sense of Radical Self Love, Authenticity, Spiritual Connection and Sacred Relationships. In September of 2018, Corey became part of the Rainbow Health Team. Per taught in the Bachelors of Social Work program, Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression, in 2013 and 2015. In 2009, Corey received a Bachelors of Aboriginal Social Work from NVIT, a diploma in Professional Counseling in 2011 from Rhodes Wellness College and then in 2016, a Masters of Education from Thompson Rivers University. Our Community Health Initiative is a 5-year, province-wide community-based program, that seeks to determine the state of healthcare for Transgender, Two-spirit, Non-Binary (T2ENBY) people. This program, newly funded by the Vancouver foundation, and previously funded by the CIHR will also include documenting changes in healthcare or access to care. Our intention is to bring the T2ENBY community members together to create lasting change to increase the health of these diverse communities. This endeavor involves several community projects designed to fill gaps in physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health services for T2ENBY people. The largest goal is the creation and maintenance of a T2ENBY-led collation made of members from across the province. Research outcomes include the documentation of healthcare challenges, changes and improvements to these as well as understanding what is important to T2ENBY people in the province. We believe in ongoing knowledge translation and intend to obtain these communities’ input at each stage of our research and project development processes. We are excited to work with the T2ENBY and broader communities to create lasting and innovative change.

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Moving Trans History Forward 2018

MTHF18 Youth Panel
MOVING TRANS HISTORY FORWARD 2018 CONFERENCE WEBSITE: https://www.uvic.ca/mthf2018/ 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 YOUTH PANEL The Moving Trans History Forward conference is proud to present “The Youth Panel" featuring a panel of trans youth speaking about their experiences as local activists in their schools and communities. Sponsored by Vancity. WHEN: 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM, Saturday, March 24th, 2018 WHERE: B150 - Bob Wright Centre HOW MUCH: FREE for all conference registrants. Open to the public by donation. Jocelyn Baker Jocelyn Baker co-leads the Pride Alliance at St Michaels University School in Victoria (SMUS), a club that advocates for transgender rights and supports LGBTQ individuals in SMUS and in the local community. She has worked to create more inclusive facilities for transgender students at her school such as adopting non-gender-specific uniforms and creating more gender-neutral bathrooms. Jocelyn has educated SMUS on the rights of transgender students and helped faculty understand how to include them. She also founded SMUS' Debate Workshops, which teach students civil discourse skills, fostering open-mindedness and discussion. In her free time, Jocelyn enjoys reading and hiking Mount Douglas. Danny Charles My name is Danny. I am a female to male transgender. Pronouns are he/him. I love to sing, paint, and write! Jay Jay is a Canadian transgender teenager. He started his transition over 5 years ago and during that time has sat on panels geared towards the LGBTQ+ community, in Canada and the USA. Tru Wilson Tru Wilson is an articulate and bold fourteen-year-old transgender advocate from Vancouver, BC. Tru first made headlines when she filed a human rights complaint against her local Catholic school board for not supporting her transition, which resulted in the first known policy in any Catholic school in North America supporting a child's transition. Since then, Tru has become a proud and voracious speaker for trans rights, and in 2015 was recognized by Vancouver Magazine as one of the city's 50 most powerful and influential people. In 2016, she was named Options for Sexual Health’s Sexual Health Champion, and in 2017 her entire family was nominated to be grand marshals is the Vancouver Pride Parade. Tru was also chosen to be a speaker at Vancouver’s 2017 TedX East Van event. Tru continues to share her story to educate and inspire others. Still a growing teen, Tru enjoys cosplay, drawing for hours and playing with her girlfriends next door.
MTHF18 Elders Panel
MOVING TRANS HISTORY FORWARD 2018 CONFERENCE WEBSITE: https://www.uvic.ca/mthf2018/ 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 “The Elders Panel" features a panel of trans elders providing live first-hand oral testimony about their experiences as elders of trans activism. WHEN: 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM, Sunday, March 25th, 2018 WHERE: B150 - Bob Wright Centre HOW MUCH: FREE for all conference registrants. Open to the public by donation. WHO: Christine Burns: “Rescuing Trans History” Miqqi Alicia Gilbert: “One Week A Year: The Pragmatic Reality of Self-Actualization” Aidan Key: “A Gender Odyssey: Aidan Key’s Journey to Leadership, Education & Activism” Maria Sundin: “Ending Forced Sterilization in Sweden” CHRISTINE BURNS "Rescuing Trans Histories" Christine was a key part of Britain’s ‘Press for Change’ campaign for transgender rights from 1993 until 2007, becoming one of the vice-presidents in 1996. This means that she was involved throughout the years when the organisation was at its peak and had a key role in many of the groundbreaking successes which occurred, culminating in the passage of the UK's Gender Recognition Act in 2004. She has written several books, including a two-part history of the PFC campaign, Pressing Matters. She also penned the first National Health Service policy guide relating to trans patients and staff. She is now editing an anthology-based history of Britain’s trans community. Christine lives in Manchester, England, officially retired in 2013, and concentrates most of her time doting on her grandchildren, researching her family’s ancestry, reading detective fiction, gardening and riding her bike. MIQQI ALICIA GILBERT "One Week a Year: The Pragmatic Reality of Self-Actualization" Miqqi Alicia Gilbert, Ph.D. aka Michael A. Gilbert, is Full Professor of Philosophy at York University, Toronto, Canada. Miqqi Alicia has published scholarly articles in gender theory including an essay in Hypatia in 2009, “Defeating Bigenderism.” S/he is a life-long cross-dresser and an activist in the transgender community. Miqqi Alicia has made a point of being out and public and has appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines in Canada and the US, as well as interviews on radio and television. S/he has been the book review editor and regular columnist for Transgender Tapestry, a recipient in 2007 of an IFGE Trinity Award, and Director of Fantasia Fair for 8 years. S/he has presented workshops at numerous trans events including Fantasia Fair, Southern Comfort, Esprit, IFGE and First Event. Hir website is located at: http://gilbert.info.yorku.ca/. Hir newest book, Arguing with People, was published by Broadview Press in the spring of 2014. AIDAN KEY "A Gender Odyssey: Aidan Key’s Journey to Leadership, Education & Activism" Aidan Key is the founder of Gender Diversity, an organization dedicated to providing support and educational services with respect to the inclusion of transgender and gender-diverse children. Key has served as a consultant to dozens of school districts across the United States navigating the questions and concerns regarding transgender K-12 student inclusion. Key is the co-author of Gender Cognition in Transgender Children (Psychological Science 2015), the Trans Bodies, Trans Selves (Oxford University Press, 2014) and Transgender Student Advocacy and Support: Evolving Ethics in a Time of Devolving Policy (presented 2017: Philosophy of Education Society Annual Conference). He facilitates the nation’s largest network of parent support groups and offers trainings and policy development for schools, organizations, and other youth-based agencies across the nation. MARIA SUNDIN "Ending Forced Sterilization in Sweden" Maria Sundin is a senior Swedish trans activist, sexologist and clinical social worker. She has been involved in trans as well as LGBT organizations for the past 25 years. She is a member of the Innovative Response to Global Trans Women and HIV (IRGT). She also serves on the Steering Committee of The Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF) and is a Board Member of Sweden's LGBTQ Social Democrats. Maria served for a long period as a Board Member of the Swedish Federation for LGBTQ Rights (RFSL) as well as a Co-chair and Executive Board Member of Transgender Europe (TGEU). She is also extensively involved in trans de-pathologisation, transgender human rights and combatting HIV in our community Stephen Whittle was previously scheduled but is no longer able to attend.

See more videos from the Moving Trans History Forward 2018 playlist on YouTube.

Moving Trans History Forward 2016

Opening Ceremony: Moving Trans History Forward 2016
Moving Trans History Forward: Building Communities - Sharing Connections conference took place at the University of Victoria March 17-20, 2016. Trans and gender non-conforming (GNC) community-based scholars and activists, academics, archivists, librarians, family members, and allies of trans and GNC people will explore preserving and recounting the history of trans and GNC people and communities in all eras and regions of the world. Opening Ceremony: Madison Thomas: Transperson from the Esquimalt Nation Shelagh Rogers: Chancellor, University of Victoria Aaron Devor: Chair in Transgender Studies, Founder and Academic Director, The Transgender Archives Randall Garrison: Member of Parliament, Esquimalt — Saanich — Sooke Twitter: @TransArchives Facebook: UVicTransArchives Instagram: TransArchives YouTube: Transgender Archives Flickr: Transgender Archives @ UVic Sponsored by the Chair in Transgender Studies & The Transgender Archives and UVic. Video production & editing provided by Anna Malkin -- thank you!
Martine Rothblatt: Moving Trans History Forward 2016 Keynote
Moving Trans History Forward: Building Communities - Sharing Connections conference took place at the University of Victoria March 17-20, 2016. Events included: inspiring keynote speakers Martine Rothblatt and Jamison Green, oral presentations, posters, workshops, art exhibits, feature-length trans-themed film Two4One, and panel discussion with founders of trans activism and research. Martine Rothblatt Co-CEO United Therapeutics Keynote speaker Martine Rothblatt, PhD, Co-CEO of United Therapeutics, delivered a virtual keynote address based on her books From Transgender to Transhuman and Virtually Human and Virtually Human: The Promise—and the Peril—of Digital Immortality in which she lays out her vision for a future in which gender dimorphism becomes obsolete, human bodies become optional, and human consciousness has the potential to become immortal through advancements in artificial intelligence. The title of her talk is "From Transgender to Transhuman to Virtually Human." Rothblatt is a tremendously innovative and accomplished trans woman who has a stellar record of creating new advances that have enhanced the lives of people around the globe. She created Geostar satellite navigation, Sirius satellite radio, and United Therapeutics, which saves the lives of lung-disease sufferers and is working to create a limitless supply of organs for transplants. Introduction: Dr. Aaron Devor, Chair in Transgender Studies, Founder and Academic Director, The Transgender Archives Moving Trans History Forward: http://www.uvic.ca/mthf2016/index.php The Transgender Archives: http://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/ Chair in Transgender Studies: http://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/
Jamison Green: Moving Trans History Forward 2016 - Keynote
Moving Trans History Forward: Building Communities - Sharing Connections conference took place at the University of Victoria March 17-20, 2016. Trans and gender non-conforming (GNC) community-based scholars and activists, academics, archivists, librarians, family members, and allies of trans and GNC people will explore preserving and recounting the history of trans and GNC people and communities in all eras and regions of the world. Keynote Speaker Jamison Green, President of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) speaks on Triumphs and Challenges for Transgender People around the World. Green is internationally known as a leader in transgender health, policy, law, and education. Author of the prize-winning book Becoming a Visible Man, he led FTM International 1991 to 1999. He has served on Boards of numerous trans* organizations and has appeared in over a dozen educational documentary films. His policy work has impacted governments and businesses throughout the world. He is one of the most widely-recognized trans* men in the world today. Twitter: @TransArchives Facebook: UVicTransArchives Instagram: TransArchives YouTube: Transgender Archives Flickr: Transgender Archives @ UVic Sponsored by the Chair in Transgender Studies & The Transgender Archives and UVic. Video production & editing provided by Anna Malkin -- thank you!

See more videos from the Moving Trans History Forward 2016 playlist on YouTube.

Moving Trans History Forward 2014

See more videos from the Moving Trans* History Forward 2014 playlist on YouTube.