Transgender Archives

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NEW Discovery Tool

We are proud to launch our online discovery tool (beta) to search the world’s largest collection of trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirit publications!

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Apply TODAY to present at the Moving Trans History Forward conference. Closes Nov. 18th, 2019.

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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.

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Ann Travers - Lansdowne Lecturer
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 Lansdowne Lecturer ANN TRAVERS Professor of Sociology - Simon Fraser University "TRANSGENDER KIDS AND SOCIAL INEQUALITY: SITUATING SOCIAL MOVEMENTS WITHIN WHITE SUPREMACY, COLONIALISM AND ENFORCED POVERTY" Thursday, January 16th, 2020, 7:00 PM Hickman Bldg 110 UVic By donation In recent years transgender children have gained visibility via mainstream and social media but most of the stories we hear belong to white and relatively affluent kids. Given the range of complex experiences trans kids are vulnerable to, it is crucial to situate transgender kids within broader relations of power and oppression. This lecture draws on critical theory from trans scholars of colour and allies to outline the importance of an integrated anti-oppression approach for understanding and supporting more precarious transgender kids. ABOUT ANN TRAVERS Dr. Ann Travers is a Professor of Sociology at Simon Fraser University. Their recent book, The Trans Generation: How Trans Kids (and Their Parents) Are Creating a Gender Revolution, situates trans kids in Canada and the US, white settler nations characterized by significant social inequality. They are also the Principal Investigator on a SSHRC Insight Grant titled ”Gender Vectors of the GVA: using video game technology to assess social safety nets for transgender and gender nonconforming children and youth in the lower mainland." In addition to a central research focus on transgender children and youth, Dr. Travers has published extensively on the relationship between sport and social justice, with particular emphasis on the inclusion and exclusion of women, queer and trans people of all ages. Such publications include “Women’s Ski Jumping, the 2010 Olympic Games and the Deafening Silences of Sex Segregation, Whiteness and Wealth,” in the Journal of Sport and Social Issues; “Queering Sport: Lesbian Softball Leagues and the Transgender Challenge,” in International Review for the Sociology of Sport,” co-authored with Jillian Deri; and “The Sport Nexus and Gender Injustice,” in Studies in Social Justice Journal. Travers’ first book, entitled Writing the Public in Cyberspace: Redefining Inclusion On the Net, released in 2000, is an analysis of the ways in which equity of participation is inhibited in public spaces fostered by new information technologies. Ann Travers has been appointed Deputy Editor of the journal, Gender & Society.

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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

Terrence Abrahams - 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 Smokii Sumac - You are Enough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP0YL9t2L1E&t=24s Terrence Abrahams MA candidate - Literatures of Modernity - Ryerson University, Chair in Transgender Studies Visiting Fellow “THE EFFORT, EFFECT, AND AFFECT OF TRANS POETICS” Tues., Nov. 26th, 2019 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM Cornett A319 (Bring your lunch) Drawing from Terrence’s MA thesis, this presentation will aim to resist the urge to define transgender poetics. Trans poetics are, simply put, poetics written by trans people, but within such a genre of writing exists a myriad of forms, styles, themes, subject matter, and uses of language that are, arguably, unique to trans poetics. This presentation will honour and highlight the work of trans writers, past and present, in shaping trans poetry. It will also look to the personal poetics of many of the selected authors by addressing interviews, personal essays, and other ephemera in order to have a better understanding of how transgender authors express their poetics, as well as how they read and understand the poetics of others. As a transgender individual who is also a student, a burgeoning educator, and a poet himself, Terrence’s research and subsequent writing comes from a place of consideration, of care, and of a kind of necessity. ABOUT TERRENCE ABRAHAMS Terrence Abrahams is a MA candidate in the Literatures of Modernity program at Ryerson University. A University of Toronto alumnus and poet, Terrence is currently in the process of completing his major research paper. His research focuses on exploring, examining, and learning more about the distinct forms of poetry and poetics utilized by transgender writers across North America, with a particular interest in writers based in Canada. His aim is to contribute to the ongoing and necessary work of ensuring the creative efforts and contributions of trans writers are allowed space in academic study.
MT Vallarta - 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 MT Vallarta PhD Candidate, University of California, Riverside Chair in Transgender Studies 2019 Visiting Fellow MT Vallarta is a poet and Ph.D. candidate in Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Riverside, studying contemporary queer Filipina/o/x poetry and its role in conducting transformative resistance and futuristic desire that challenge the (hetero)normative regime of U.S. capitalism and colonialism in the Philippines and the Filipina/o/x diaspora. A Kundiman Fellow, MT’s poetry has been published in Nat. Brut, Rabbit Catastrophe Review, Apogee Journal, TAYO Literary Magazine, and others. They are extremely honored to receive this fellowship, and look forward to conducting research at the Chair in Transgender Studies Archive and being a part of UVic’s community of scholars.

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

Speakers

Ann Travers - Lansdowne Lecturer
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 Lansdowne Lecturer ANN TRAVERS Professor of Sociology - Simon Fraser University "TRANSGENDER KIDS AND SOCIAL INEQUALITY: SITUATING SOCIAL MOVEMENTS WITHIN WHITE SUPREMACY, COLONIALISM AND ENFORCED POVERTY" Thursday, January 16th, 2020, 7:00 PM Hickman Bldg 110 UVic By donation In recent years transgender children have gained visibility via mainstream and social media but most of the stories we hear belong to white and relatively affluent kids. Given the range of complex experiences trans kids are vulnerable to, it is crucial to situate transgender kids within broader relations of power and oppression. This lecture draws on critical theory from trans scholars of colour and allies to outline the importance of an integrated anti-oppression approach for understanding and supporting more precarious transgender kids. ABOUT ANN TRAVERS Dr. Ann Travers is a Professor of Sociology at Simon Fraser University. Their recent book, The Trans Generation: How Trans Kids (and Their Parents) Are Creating a Gender Revolution, situates trans kids in Canada and the US, white settler nations characterized by significant social inequality. They are also the Principal Investigator on a SSHRC Insight Grant titled ”Gender Vectors of the GVA: using video game technology to assess social safety nets for transgender and gender nonconforming children and youth in the lower mainland." In addition to a central research focus on transgender children and youth, Dr. Travers has published extensively on the relationship between sport and social justice, with particular emphasis on the inclusion and exclusion of women, queer and trans people of all ages. Such publications include “Women’s Ski Jumping, the 2010 Olympic Games and the Deafening Silences of Sex Segregation, Whiteness and Wealth,” in the Journal of Sport and Social Issues; “Queering Sport: Lesbian Softball Leagues and the Transgender Challenge,” in International Review for the Sociology of Sport,” co-authored with Jillian Deri; and “The Sport Nexus and Gender Injustice,” in Studies in Social Justice Journal. Travers’ first book, entitled Writing the Public in Cyberspace: Redefining Inclusion On the Net, released in 2000, is an analysis of the ways in which equity of participation is inhibited in public spaces fostered by new information technologies. Ann Travers has been appointed Deputy Editor of the journal, Gender & Society.
Terrence Abrahams - 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 Smokii Sumac - You are Enough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP0YL9t2L1E&t=24s Terrence Abrahams MA candidate - Literatures of Modernity - Ryerson University, Chair in Transgender Studies Visiting Fellow “THE EFFORT, EFFECT, AND AFFECT OF TRANS POETICS” Tues., Nov. 26th, 2019 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM Cornett A319 (Bring your lunch) Drawing from Terrence’s MA thesis, this presentation will aim to resist the urge to define transgender poetics. Trans poetics are, simply put, poetics written by trans people, but within such a genre of writing exists a myriad of forms, styles, themes, subject matter, and uses of language that are, arguably, unique to trans poetics. This presentation will honour and highlight the work of trans writers, past and present, in shaping trans poetry. It will also look to the personal poetics of many of the selected authors by addressing interviews, personal essays, and other ephemera in order to have a better understanding of how transgender authors express their poetics, as well as how they read and understand the poetics of others. As a transgender individual who is also a student, a burgeoning educator, and a poet himself, Terrence’s research and subsequent writing comes from a place of consideration, of care, and of a kind of necessity. ABOUT TERRENCE ABRAHAMS Terrence Abrahams is a MA candidate in the Literatures of Modernity program at Ryerson University. A University of Toronto alumnus and poet, Terrence is currently in the process of completing his major research paper. His research focuses on exploring, examining, and learning more about the distinct forms of poetry and poetics utilized by transgender writers across North America, with a particular interest in writers based in Canada. His aim is to contribute to the ongoing and necessary work of ensuring the creative efforts and contributions of trans writers are allowed space in academic study.
MT Vallarta - 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 MT Vallarta PhD Candidate, University of California, Riverside Chair in Transgender Studies 2019 Visiting Fellow MT Vallarta is a poet and Ph.D. candidate in Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Riverside, studying contemporary queer Filipina/o/x poetry and its role in conducting transformative resistance and futuristic desire that challenge the (hetero)normative regime of U.S. capitalism and colonialism in the Philippines and the Filipina/o/x diaspora. A Kundiman Fellow, MT’s poetry has been published in Nat. Brut, Rabbit Catastrophe Review, Apogee Journal, TAYO Literary Magazine, and others. They are extremely honored to receive this fellowship, and look forward to conducting research at the Chair in Transgender Studies Archive and being a part of UVic’s community of scholars.

See more videos from the Speakers playlist on YouTube.

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.