#rupert raj

[halogen2]

Black and white photographs of trans man Rupert Raj (circa 1970s) posing shirtless in bed (from the digital transgender archive)

[homohistoric]

Rupert Raj by J. Loewen (1975)

[genuflecting]

Correspondence from Rupert Raj to Lou Sullivan (February 20, 1983)

[catastrfy]

"suits me" by diane middlebrook

(the billy tipton biography from 1998)

been meaning to post this since november but hello body not working much. so,

a while back i saw a bunch of comments about "suits me", the biography of billy tipton, in which people were very angry at the author for disrespectful language. and it took me a minute to process that until i realised it's a time thing. eg sure, the language is outdated now. but that's because billy died in 1989, his ex approached middlebrook 2 years later in 1991 because she (kitty) wanted his story told and appreciated the care & respect middlebrook had used in another biography, middlebrook did years of research,and the book came out in 1998. the language that we, the trans community, use for ourselves is constantly evolving, & moreso (& faster!) online among younger people than in meatlife among older folx (ime, ymmv, etc)

i've been online since 1993. i first looked for trans spaces in the late 90s, but i found exactly ZERO that weren't specifically only for mtf or ftm people until about 10 years later. and even then, none of the spaces i found were comfortable; they were decidedly NOT supportive for either non-medicalised nor nonbinaried trans folx

hell, i only learned that other genderqueer folx were getting top surgery and taking hormones in the past decade or so! and i don't think i saw the word nonbinary until the last 5-10 years either.

even a decade ago, the loudest voices speaking about the trans community seemed to be binary voices who far too often spoke about & treated those of us outside that binary in very similar ways to how bi people were often treated durnig the biphobia surge during the aids crisis.

so yes, while the language IS outdated, i hope people do recognise that middlebrook reached out to four very well known and very well respected members of the trans community-- three trans men, at least 2 of whom are activists, and one person who had about as much use for binaries or being shoved into boxes as i do.

image description: text reading "To Stormé DeLarverié, Jamison Green, Jay Prosser, and Rupert Raj-Gauthier, I am grateful for views from inside the transgendered life."

(yes, "transgendered life" is also outdated. i know. i'm old!) to me this strongly suggests that middlebrook may have recognised that billy (a married man with kids who had a lifelong affectionate relationship with 2 of his cousins who knew all about his life and with whom he chose to be dorothy) might be a trans man or might have had more complex sense of self. and we'll never know, but middlebrook made space for possibilities while trying to not push one way or the other. or at least that's my read.

[undeath1245]

Headcanon full names for the TD contestants

I figured that I should share my list of headcanon full names of each of the characters of Total Drama, with a couple of exceptions here and there (i.e. Chris McLean, Blainely O'Halloran, Alejandro Burromuerto, Cody Anderson, Harold McGrady, Devon "DJ" Joseph, Dakota Milton, Lightning Jackson, Cameron Wilkins, Nichelle LaDonna, Valentina MacArthur). Results may possibly vary.

Original Total Drama contestants

Gwendolyn York (sharing the same name as the York Region)

Trent McAllister

Duncan van Jensen

Courtney Ferrera

Heather Yang

Lindsay Berglund

Tyler Greenwood

Bethany Collins

Geoff Baskerville

Brigette Heinemann

Justin Carroway

LeShawna Martin

Isabella Crampton

Eva Alexandrova

Sierra McAnthony

Katie Bisonette

Sadie Jeong

Ezekiel Brimstone

Revenge of the Island contestants

Michael Holmvik

Zoey Abendroth

Brick Hopkins

Scott Bronson

Josephine "Jo" Arnold

Samuel Braxton

Anna Marie Lombardi

Dawn Nicholson

Beverly "B" Norwood

Staci Murray

Pahkitew Island contestants

Shawn Romero

Jasmine Abbott

Sky Rouleau

David Corduroy

Sugar van Hoffman

Amanda Dufresne

Samantha Dufresne

Topher Fellows

Ella Grimm

Maxwell Hunter

Scarlett McGrady

Rodney Fieldston

Leonard Hammersmith

Winslow Beardman

The Ridonculous Race contestants

Devin Letterman

Carrie Brennan

Thomas Wesley

Jennifer Walcott

Brody Simpson

Stephanie Fairchild

Ryan Carmichael

Rosalind Sanders

Josée Guillaume

Jacques Beaumont

Emma Zhong

Katherine Zhong

Stuart Rockford

Theodore Spudman

Dwayne Broker Sr.

Dwayne Broker Jr.

Kelly Greenwood

Taylor Greenwood

Jay Henderson

Mickey Henderson

Ennui Craven

Marie Crimson

Tammy Lundgren

Laurie Delcroix

Kristoffersen Miles

Ellody Newton

Marie Poindexter

Chet Levett

Lorenzo Antonelli

Gerry Drummond

Peter McLean

Total Drama Revival contestants

Caleb Edwards

Priya Rouhani

Millie Baldridge

Hezekias "Zee" Wanchai

Julie Martinson

Mary Kate "MK" Chung

Wayne Rupert

Raj Samaroo

Bowie Davison (based on the late English pop star)

Emma Wahlgren

Damien Laurence

Ripper Alderman

Axel Emerson

Chase Rodgers

Lauren "Scary Girl" Metcalf (sharing the same name as the actress)

Why don't you share me your fan name ideas?

[makingqueerhistory]

Hi there, I hope you're all well, thank you for your work!! Do you have any resources about Rupert Raj, I think he might be my new idol! Happy Pride!!

Hello, thank you so much! I am so glad that you appreciate it! I will say, we don't directly have any resources on Rupert Raj, as we only write about people who have died, but I found a couple of things that might be helpful to look into!

After a cursory look, it seems like there are some letters between him and Lou Sullivan, which piqued my interest!

[nopesjsgwhqgsx]

Who's the first person that comes to your mind when you hear the phrase "queer icon"?

Rupert Raj, you?

[transmascore]

hiyo

i wanted to ask if you have any advice for overcoming the thought that i cant be a gay trans man because "what makes gay men gay is the fact that they only like dick and not female parts"

(im sorry if thats rather graphic but this is literally the thing stopping me from acceoting myself or transitioning socially or physically)

Something to keep in mind is that orientation is people-based. The reason gay men date other men is because they're attracted to men themselves - the way they present outwardly, the way they speak, the way they wear their hair. Genitals aren't the only or even the main part of the equation (although they can factor in). There's every other aspect about a person to consider.

I'm T4T (trans for trans) so my attraction to men is framed by that lens. I find I'm attracted to patchy facial hair and androgynous voices - things that signal transmasculinity to me. And, for me, it's because I know I will have things in common with these men. We have shared community, shared experiences. I know I can open up to another trans man and that he will understand me. And, aside from that, I do legitimately feel a strong sense of desire and romantic love when I encounter other trans men. It isn't just safety, but a genuine want to be with them.

And gay men, regardless of AGAB, feel pretty much the same way across the board. It's attraction to little details here and there, as well as the entire person, and it's also that sense of relating to one another on the basis of queerness. Knowing that you can be yourself around this person.

Now, sure, men looking for a quick hookup on Grindr aren't in the same headspace as someone looking for an actual relationship. So it's important to keep that in mind. People on hookup apps tend to be rude or chasers (a cis person that fetishizes trans people). But there are also genuine men you'll encounter (regardless of AGAB) that are totally cool with hooking up with a trans guy and aren't weird about it. Everybody's different.

And while some sections of the gay male community can come across as very phallocentric, we (transmascs) have been in those spaces the entire time.

I'll share some gay trans men now.

Billy Lane, who in 1998, WON the Mr. Leather competition:

Lou Sullivan, an activist and author who fought for gay trans men to be recognized by the medical field so we could receive gender affirming care:

Rupert Raj (pansexual rather than gay), who did so many things it's easier for me to just show you than to recap.

Dr. James Berry, an extremely talented surgeon who fought in two wars, was a duelist, and slept with men.

We have always been here, we will always be here, and we are here right now! Even though a lot of our history has been overshadowed and lost to time. 

Also, something I tell every transmasc, especially gay transmascs, is this: When we first come out, first realize who we are, we feel very vulnerable. We want to be seen as people. We want to be validated and comforted. Like Pinnochio, we want someone to tell us "you're a real boy." And, often times, trans men will seek out that validation from cis men, because they view them as some higher authority - a gatekeeper of masculinity that will confirm your identity and metaphorically hand you a Man Card. And a lot of trans men get hurt, have their hearts broken, because they're putting all of their stock into this.

But I'm here to deliver you good news: Transness stands on its own, it doesn't require cis men to prop up the pillars. You are just as much of a man as cis guys are, and their opinion of you is irrelevant. It may not sound true right now - we all go through this initial stage, especially if our dysphoria is bad. But you'll get through it - and once you make it out the other side it is incredible. To expedite the process, best thing you can do is surround yourself with trans art and videos and books and friends.

The other thing, too, is that fear of not being loved. Society can have us believe cruel things about ourselves. That we, transmascs, are not worthy of love. That we're somehow inferior. And that just isn't true - there so many happy, partnered trans men out there. Many of them married! Many of them polyamorous with multiple partners! Many of them who have started families, are fathers!

Don't delay your transition - or call off your transition entirely - because you are afraid of what a future partner might think. People date each other for a reason: because they love each other. You want to find someone who will love you for you, unconditionally. And those people ARE out there. A real partner will be supportive of your endeavors, will be happy to see you comfortable in your own skin. Take care of yourself first, and the rest will come. The pieces will fall into place.

In the meantime, to be kind to yourself. Know that you are enough. Know that you are loveable. Know that you are desirable. Know that you have a future. Know that you don't need permission from anyone to be who you are. And know that you belong! Know that you're gay and you're a man and you're trans and that none of these things contradict one another. They weave together like beautiful threads to form the person that is you. And that there are many people like you - always have been. And if anyone is an asshole about it, ignore them. 

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Ann Telnaes, Washington Post

* * * * 4 takeaways from the bombshell Fox News legal filing

1. How leaders at Fox viewed their business model

The filing is rife with examples of Fox News hosts and executives worrying that departing from Trump’s line, or questioning his team’s claims, might hurt their business model. They worried especially about Newsmax, which was less discerning in its coverage of Trump’s election conspiracy theories and saw a ratings boom at the time. The Fox executives acknowledged the shoddiness of Newsmax’s 2020 election coverage but also expressed concern the rival network was taking its viewers. 

On Nov. 10, Fox News president Jay Wallace texted, “The Newsmax surge is a bit troubling — truly is an alternative universe when you watch, but it can’t be ignored. On Nov. 16, Fox Corporation Chairman Rupert Murdoch emailed: “These people should be watched, if skeptically. … We don’t want to antagonize Trump further, but Giuliani taken with a large grain of salt. Everything at stake here.”

On Nov. 18, Fox executive Ron Mitchell put it more bluntly while noting that Newsmax was citing sources like the conspiracy theory website Gateway Pundit: “This type of conspiratorial reporting might be exactly what the disgruntled FNC viewer is looking for.” Throughout, Fox seemed to recognize that it could not question fraud claims too thoroughly. After Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell’s news conference full of false and baseless claims on Nov. 19, Mitchell spoke derisively about their statements: “Will you be mentioning the international crime conspiracy to steal the election featuring Soros, Maduro, Chavez, Antifa, Cuba, and China?” he asked rhetorically.

2. Calling Out a False Statement by a GOP BigWig Will Get Your Fired

The filing repeatedly shows Fox News hosts and superiors objecting to how their colleagues fact-checked the Trump team’s claims. In one example, host Neil Cavuto cut away from White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who had claimed Democrats took positions on voting issues because they were “welcoming fraud” and “illegal voting.” “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Cavuto said, adding, “Unless she has more details to back that up, I can’t in good countenance continue showing you this. I want to make sure that maybe they do have something to back that up.” The filing says Fox News executive Raj Shah’s team notified senior leadership that Cavuto’s actions amounted to a “Brand Threat.” The next day, another executive, Porter Berry, noted Newsmax was going after Cavuto and said, “They are just whacking us. Smart on their part.” In another instance, reporter Kristin Fisher fact-checked Giuliani and Powell’s Nov. 19 news conference, saying, “So much of what he said was simply not true or has already been thrown out in court.” She correctly noted the claims did not line up with what Trump lawyers were saying in court and that they had failed to provide evidence.

3. Deriding Giuliani, Powell and Fox hosts

The filing also makes clear that Fox acknowledged, broadly speaking, that the likes of Giuliani and Powell were total buffoons who should not be treated seriously and whose claims were certainly false. But such figures still got platforms on the network, as did certain hosts, even as some high-ranking people at the company derided their coverage. In addition to saying Giuliani should be taken with a “large grain of salt,” Murdoch called his Nov. 19 performance “Really crazy stuff. And damaging.” On Nov. 11, Hannity said, “Rudy is acting like an insane person.” 

The evening of Nov. 19, Giuliani again appeared on Hannity’s show, with Hannity referring to “thousands of ballots out of thin air … a couple weeks after the election, which should concern everybody.”A Dobbs producer on Nov. 18 referred to “keeping in mind [Giuliani’s] insanity lately.” Dobbs’s show interviewed Giuliani repeatedly over the next week, including that night. Two days afterward, Fox executive David Clark called it “Crazy town” and said he was glad host Jeanine Pirro did not interview Giuliani and Powell on-air.

The reviews of Powell were even harsher. Ingraham called her a “complete nut” on Nov. 18. Shah called her claims “outlandish” on Nov. 23. Carlson called her a “lunatic” and a “Crazy person” earlier that month. He added that she was an “unguided missile” and again, perhaps presciently given the current circumstances, “dangerous as hell.” (Carlson, unlike others, applied on-air skepticism to Powell’s claims.) Powell appeared on Hannity’s show on Nov. 30.

4. The full picture of the dual posture at Fox

This, of course, is not the first time a spotlight has fallen on Fox’s handling of this period. During the hearings on the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, text messages emerged in which Fox hosts were much more critical of Trump’s actions surrounding that day than they ever were on the air.

They privately derided Trump for his conspiracy theories and for his delayed response when the riot began but showed little if any such concern to viewers. They recognized Trump was the catalyst for the Jan. 6 riot in a way they publicly discounted or ignored. It is no secret that the inner workings of any organization — news or otherwise — can be untidy when they come to light. That has been the case with past defamation suits against media companies.

But the entire, still-emerging picture of Fox is one of an organization that was scared to tell its viewers the full truth and instead internalized what it saw as the business value of airing false and baseless claims from noncredible actors (whether its own staff explicitly endorsed them or not). And its product reflected that posture in a way that has now put it in legal and financial jeopardy.

[yourdailyqueer]

Rupert Raj

Gender: Transgender man

Sexuality: N/A

DOB: Born 1952

Ethnicity: Indian, Polish

Occupation: Activist, writer

[halogen2]

looking through the digital transgender archive again

"10 Most Damaging Myths About Transmen and FTMs" by Rupert Raj from March 20, 1999

10 Most Damaging Myths about Transmen and FTMS

10. All FTMS come from the lesbian community, and after transition are heterosexual. (that is, attracted to women) 9. Transsexualism/transgenderism can be "cured" by psychotherapy. Transsexual men are really just lesbians. 8. FTMs did not exist until after World War II, with the advent of hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery. 7. Female-to-Males are far rarer than Male-to-Female transsexuals. 6. Transmen seek to live as and be recognized as male in order to obtain male privilege and economic advantages. 5. All transman exhibit stereotypically male behavior and want to be as macho as possible. 4. Taking testosterone makes Female-to-Male transsexuals much more aggressive and angry than they were before taking hormones. 3. All FTMs want genital reconstruction as the driving force of their transition. (not necessarily the social aspects that go along with masculinity) 2. Historically, all women only chose to live as men to pursue careers that were otherwise unattainable to them, to seek economic opportunities, or to justify lesbian relationships. 1. Transmen are really just butch lesbians who change sex to justify same-sex relationships or to avoid harassment.

[homohistoric]

LETTER FROM RUPERT RAJ TO MTF TRANSSEXUALS (1979)

[mademoiselleclipon]

Canadian advocate Rupert Raj appears on the Sally Jessy Raphael show in 1986.

[buckyslostarm]

Incorrect HP quotes:

* AU WHERE RON FELL ASLEEP IN A FREE PERIOD AND WAS LATE FOR LESSON *

Ron: Thanks for waking me up.

Hermione: I woke you up 40 minutes ago!

Ron: Well you didn't do a very good job!

[transmasculine-history]

For Trans Day of Visibility, here are some brave trans men who have contributed to trans rights activism

Reed Erickson (1917-1992) was an American philantrophist. In 1964, he founded the Erickson Educational Foundation, which researched transsexuality and medical transition, and provided resources for trans people and their families. He also funded many other LGBT groups in the 60s through the 80s.

Lou Sullivan (1951-1991) was an American author and activist. In 1986, he founded FTM International an organization for trans men to help access resources and create a community. He had an immense contribution to the ftm community in the US.

Jamison Green (1948-) is an American activist, author, and educator. He has been advocating for better legal and medical policies for trans people since the 1980s. After Lou Sullivan passed away, Green took over writing the FTM International Newsletter. He wrote the book Becoming a Visible Man, about his own transition and about the shared experiences trans men in society.

Rupert Raj (1952-) is a Canadian activist and author, who has been active since the 70s. He is the founder of various trans rights publications and organizations, such as the Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Transsexuals, the Metamorphosis Medical Research Foundation, Gender Worker, and the FTM Peer-Support Group.

Max Wolf Valerio (1957-) is a Native American poet, writer, musician, actor and activist. He transitioned in 1989, and in 2006 published The Testosterone Files, a memoir about his transition and experiences as a trans man.

Pepe Julian Onziema (1980-) is a Ugandan LGBT rights and human rights activist. He has campaigned against homophobic laws and coordinated pride parades. In 2013, he received the David Kato Vision and Voice Award, and was chosen as Stonewall's Hero of the Year in 2014.

[genderkoolaid]

could we get the pdfs of trans poetry you mentioned? it sounds wonderful and i'd like to read them.

Sure thing!

Of Souls & Roles, Of Sex & Gender : A Treasury of Transsexual, Transgenderist & Transvestic Verse from 1967 to 1991 by Trish Salah and Rupert Raj, 2018 <- this is divided into MTF & FTM transsexualism, MTF & FTM transgenderism, and MTF transvestism, & i think that makes an interesting experience seeing the differences in the different categories.

We Want It All: An Anthology of Radical Trans Poetics by Andrea Abi-Karam and Kay Gabriel, 2020

Fat and Queer: An Anthology of Queer and Trans Bodies and Lives edited by Bruce Owens Grimm, Miguel M. Morales, and Tiff Joshua TJ Ferentini, 2021

Nepantla: An Anthology Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color by Christopher Soto, 2018 <- this one is all in pictures of the actual pages, so there's no actual text you can click on. Still, very good.