Update from Aaron H. Devor and the Transgender Archives

Dear Friends,

The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria is about to get a lot bigger! Our movers have packed up the equivalent of more than 125 bankers’ boxes (158 linear ft) of transgender books, magazines, articles, audio tapes, video tapes, photographs, artifacts, etc. in Northern Ireland, and we expect them to arrive in Victoria sometime around the end of July.

Richard Ekins, Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Cultural Studies at the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, UK, has most generously entrusted his extensive collection of transgender materials to the University of Victoria Transgender Archives. Originally called the Trans-Gender Archive, the collection was founded by Professor Ekins in January 1986 with the collaboration of the President and the Librarian of the UK-based Self Help Association of Transsexuals (SHAFT). The ground-breaking University of Ulster Trans-Gender Archive collection ceased its connection with the University of Ulster in July 2010, upon the retirement of Professor Ekins, and it is now on its way to the University of Victoria.

The collection is focused on understanding how attitudes and representations of transgender people  have developed and changed over time. It looks at three broad aspects of transgender--biology and the body, gender expression, and erotic expression and representation--through the lenses of expert knowledge, as recorded by scientists and social scientists; transgender community member knowledge, as recorded by and for transgender people themselves; and common-sense knowledge, as recorded by and for members of the general public. It is truly a treasure and we are honoured to become its guardians.

Visit the University of Ulster TGA Collection on The Transgender Archives website.

If you would like to talk about donating your personal collection to the Transgender Archives, please contact me at ahdevor@uvic.ca.

Click here to make a financial contribution to the Transgender Archives.

Best wishes,

Aaron H. Devore

Trans laws in each state/RE: Daily Queer News Jan 7, 2009

Over the year I have seen a dozen or more Trans groups and I would like to know what efforts they are making, other than fussing at gay/lesbian publications and groups, to get laws changed and the public educated. I see no effort from the New Orleans group, which is too afraid to even be seen at the gay center. But the g/l communitythere was also slow in getting on our movement's work. They were satisfied with how they were "dealing" with the problems. Yet we see that New orleans, with the bet possible background has not solved its racial issues.

We have eased the path for other sexual communities. And we need to support them, but we have to focus on our issues that still need to be accomplished. I argue with a friend in CA who is handicapped,or he fusses if I use the wrong term, but I keep pointing out to him that it is not the g/l community's job to do their work-even though there is obviously an overlap, as there is with the black or women's movements. I would like to support a lot of causes, but I am realistic. I chose one. And will stay with it, even though most of what we actually wanted has been achieved.

As to the constant harping from some sections of our community about Obama, I wonder what they were doing when Bush 43 got elected. And I just happened to find a book by George Stephanopolus, or however you spell it and you will not be surprised to read the same issues with Clinton, which means that every issue we have today was faced with each previous administration. And the same people, for instance he describes the meeting with Jesse Jackson. But it is really very ignorant of all these new "gays" to keep fussing about the order of when some gay is involved with the Inauguration. Or Warren vs Robinson. Obama's one blessing is that he owes NO ONE anything, for no one group got him elected. And in fact Clinto made an error listenking to the "professional "gays." Obama can find very good homosexuals in Chicago who can give him good counsel. The ones who helped lose Prop 8 are sure not the ones he needs to guide him.

I'm hoping I can get to PFLAG tomorrow, to visit with oy et al and hear Rodney. But it would also be nice to "hear" from other people and groups in LA. The time is past when New Orleans can do whatever and ignore the rest of the state. And to have been involved with and then oppose a campaign of a Shreveport man (D.A.) for Representative, and not tell anhyone, is nonsense. This constant fear and contuining need for secrecy is what these "gays" thought was silly when Mattachine started, but it they who are wasting our energy by worryhing about what the rightwingers already know. How queer that our enemies-and this applies to our nation's work-that the terrorists know more about what we are doing than the American citizens. And several times we hear of some gay issue from the bigots' publications before we hear from our won media. Apparently some eliteist gays think we average queers need to be protected from the real world. So what we get in Prop 8. Will we ever learn?