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Rupert Raj - FTM #11

Rupert - FTM Newsletter #11.pdf

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Title

Rupert Raj - FTM #11

Subject

Rupert Raj wrote articles often reprinted in FTM International, edited by Lou Sullivan.

Description

A just married Rupert Raj-Gauthier attends the 11th (his first) International Symposium on Gender Dysphoria sponsored by the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association lHBIGDA). It was held at the Stouffer Tower Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio, from September 20-23. He drove there from Toronto with his new wife, Michelle.

Rupert offered an extensive report on persons and topics with lots of detail. However, most significant for the present work is the information he learned about the emotional issues that arise for transitioning trans people.

At the time, he was excited to learn more about FTMs who identified as gay, a topic he says was "practically unknown." He also heard a paper by Dr. Ira Pauly (a Reno psychiatrist) who "introduced" the existence of the "female-to-gay male'' and showed a videotaped interview he conducted with Lou Sullivan (a gay F-M man).

The most poignant paper, by far, was Dr. Leah Schaefer's and Dr. Connie Wheeler's crucial look at guilt as a significant motivating factor in the gender-dysphoric person and the vital importance of slowing down the transitioning process so that the devastating effects of guilt on self-concept can be effectively understood and managed. These New York psychotherapists also touched on the possible guilt felt by the helping professional.

Rupert continued to report how his wife announced at the conference that he and she "were there not as consumers, but as providers - to help fill the gap left by health care professionals."

Before attending the symposium, Rupert proposed presenting a paper entitled "Some Sociological Variables Affecting the Differential Therapeutic, Counseling and Peer-Support Needs of Female and Male Transsexuals." However, it was turned down by Dr. Billowitz (the Program Committee Chairman, because "... it has been the policy that formal presentations at the meeting be given only by professionals with formal training."

Finally, this issue contains an announcement.

FTM extends its sincere thanks to Rupert Raj for the first
'Gender Worker Award,' a beautiful wall plaque with the
following inscription:

Presented by Lou Sullivan in Appreciation for Your Dedication and Outstanding Contributions to the F-M TS Community, 1990.

Source

"FTM Newsletter #11." Periodical. 1990. Digital Transgender Archive, https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/w95050678 (accessed March 22, 2023).

Text Item Type Metadata

Text

Rupert Raj-Gauthier

Citation

“Rupert Raj - FTM #11”, The Historical Development of BIPOC Trans-Spiritual Leadership, LGBTQ Religious Archives Network, accessed November 15, 2024, https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/exhibits/show/bipoc-trans-spiritual/item/2164.