Willow Arune and transgender people

Willow Arune is a Canadian former lawyer and transgender troll. Arune was the most notorious USENET troll of all time on transgender newsgroups.

Background

Willow Cheryle Arune was born December 20, 1946. Arune practiced law before becoming a nudist who lives on disability. Arune claims to be an “escaped person under Thai law.” [1]

“Autogynephilia” activism

Arune is also a frequent defender of Ray Blanchard, formerly of Canada’s infamous Clarke Institute (now CAMH), and Arune is a prominent supporter of a disease model of gender variance called “autogynephilia,” made up by Blanchard in 1989. [2] Blanchard defines this sex-fueled mental illness as “a man’s paraphilic tendency to be sexually aroused by the thought or image of himself as a woman.” [3] Blanchard claims this disease explains gender variant behavior among “nonhomosexuals.” Many believe it is a spurious diagnosis akin to “nymphomania” and other discredited illnesses made up to pathologize socially unacceptable behavior.

Blanchard and his proteges J. Michael Bailey and Anne Lawrence frequently suggest that a “handful” or “subgroup” of trans people have concerns about describing this behavior as a psychosexual pathology. This is a blatant distortion. In reality, the opposite is true. Most gender-variant people, their service providers, and experts on gender variance have expressed concern about this diagnosis. The tiny but vocal minority who base their identities on this diagnosis are a small group, typically older divorced people who can’t or won’t adapt to culturally proscribed appearance and behavior based on gender roles. Most also identify through metaphors of disease and impairment, which is why this concept appeals to them.

Beyond Arune and about ten people on an “autogynephilia” support group Arune started in 2003 (and inadvertently destroyed in 2005 due to Arune’s incompetence), there is little community support for this diagnosis. Arune was one of the three people responsible for about two-thirds of all the content on the group. In fact, about one in three posts on that forum were Arune’s, mostly unoriginal cut-and-paste jobs from other publications and newsgroups and attacks on people Arune didn’t like.

Arune is well-known both on and off the internet as a prodigious kook. Arune has probably been kicked off more email lists and out of more moderated transgender groups than any other person in North America. Arune enjoys trolling and baiting people online “to get a quotable quote,” [4] which then gets used as evidence that Arune is being attacked.

Shortly after publication of J. Michael Bailey’s defamatory book The Man Who Would Be Queen in 2003, Arune began a quest to replace Anne Lawrence as the poster child for “autogynephilia.” Both seek validation from clinical diagnoses, because neither get much approval beyond “approval” letters they sought and received from therapists to qualify for vaginoplasty. Like Anne Lawrence, Arune has an interest in nudism, and both appear to have other erotic interests considered unusual or socially unacceptable in many places. Given Arune’s more florid behavior, it is more likely that the people promulgating this diagnosis will choose Arune over Lawrence as exemplifying this spurious disease. Lawrence’s only saving grace for retaining the crown may be a combination of florid behavior and academic credentials.

Of special interest to Arune are matters in Thailand, where Arune claims to have spent time in jail on a forgery charge. My guess is that there is more to be learned about Arune’s alleged illegal misadventures in Thailand, which also includes an alleged sexual assault. Arune told a reporter in 1999 that after returning from being jailed in Thailand, “his therapist suggested becoming a woman.” [5] Following this suggestion, Arune was able to manipulate the Canadian health system to indulge an erotic interest in vaginoplasty. Arune is apparently drawing Canadian welfare, while being able-bodied enough to spend 12 to 16 hours a day devouring and regurgitating anything related to transgender issues. Arune seems to have a compulsion toward hoarding, especially with online materials, books about transgender topics, and animals. This hoarding impulse seems connected to the amount of energy Arune spends on this topic, and Arune’s identification with a disease that characterizes Arune’s behavior as a sexual compulsion.

Arune attacks critics

As the controversy around Bailey’s book unfolded in 2003, Arune and I had agreed to carry on private correspondence after the Bailey book came out. Arune stopped honoring this agreement once Arune got a “quotable quote” from me. I asked Arune to confirm or deny allegations that Arune is a registered sex offender. Arune immediately published this far and wide as evidence of something or another, prompting me to ignore this type of trolling from that point on. As expected, Arune’s trolling continued to escalate the insults in hopes of regaining the attention I’d been giving Arune, including comparing me to Osama bin Laden [6] as well as all sorts of other inflammatory personal attacks.

Arune has tried to get a number of other prominent transwomen to pay attention to various rants, goading Professor Dierdre McCloskey and other critics of Bailey’s book with childish taunts and mockery.

Arune also appears to have a vendetta against Professor Lynn Conway for presenting a wide array of Transsexual Women’s Successes from around the world. In November 2002, about four months before Bailey’s book came out, Arune sent the following complaint to Professor Conway, stating that post-transition success is “not typical” and that most people who contact Arune “are not great scholars” who lack the intellect to have realistic expectations:

While I appreciate your website and believe that it is good to have success stories available for these people, I truly believe a big warning should be attached. Such would state that the TS women shown are *not typical* and any financial success after transition is rare.

Not only from my own personal experience, but also on the few statistical reports available, TS women suffer from great prejudice in the workplace. This is acknowledged in every book on transsexuality. Generally, I advise those that seek me out that they should be prepared to loose everything – their families and friends, their job and career, their assets and more. Only if their need is great enough to risk all of that should they go forward. I also advise them that the chances of “passing” totally are minimal as is the case in the majority of transsexual women that I know. So after I dampen their enthusiasm and get them thinking, they head off and find your site. “Willow, you are all wrong!!!,” they say. “We can pass and still be successful. We saw Lynn’s page on the Web”.

Please, amend your site so that potential TS patients are not lured into transition by unrealistic dreams. Many of these people are not great scholars; they need a caution in big, bold letters. [7]

In what appears to be a case of narcissistic projection, Arune’s “personal experience” with failure post-transition becomes the standard trajectory, when in fact by any objective standard, Arune is near the lower bound of what anyone might realistically expect after transition.

Since Professor Conway disregarded Arune’s suggestion in 2002, Arune has resorted to a series of lies and misrepresentations, including claims that Professor Conway had allegedly suggested that a woman who started transition over a certain age was an aging crossdresser. Professor Conway has stated many times that this is a bogus accusation on Arune’s part.

Here’s an example where Arune claims Professor Conway transitioned at the same age as Arune:

They had maybe 50 years of being males and being forceful and aggressive and shouting to get what they want as men. They’re only a few years, relatively, into their lives as women when they have these strong feelings that Bailey is wrong, but they don’t yet know how to control feelings the way a woman would, so they go about arguing against him in a very male way. I know that’s the worst insult I can aim at a fellow tranny, but look, these people like McCloskey and Conway are used to being powerful in their respective occupations, and they demand to be listened to. [8]

This is typical of Arune’s tactics. Lynn Conway began transition in her 20’s and finished by age 30, after which she started over in her field in steath, because of the staggering prejudice at the time. Professor Conway had been summarily fired by IBM when she transitioned in 1968, despite being one of their most promising researchers. Luckily, she was able to successfully move on into her new life after that, and then make many of the advances in computing for which she is now famous.

Getting back to the quotation, it was of course Arune who had maybe 50 years of being male before “his therapist suggested becoming a woman.” Much of the rest of the quotation also sounds like projection on Arune’s part: only a few years into transition, arguing in a “very male way” (whatever that means), demanding to be listened to…

Professor Conway has also prepared a report describing Arune’s involvement in this matter, which exposes the type of sleazy, dirty tricks Arune uses to lash out at perceived enemies.

Arune’s collaborations with other kooks

In May 2003, Arune teamed up with Lisanne Anderson, aka Lori Anjou, to create their online “autogynephilia” support group. See those pages for more on the similarities in behavior and outlook between these two. Arune and this group were both kicked off Yahoo for violations of Terms of Service in 2005, allowing Arune to retain the crown of biggest transgender netkook, and adding another group to the long list of groups and services which had to remove Arune for trolling and baiting.

In December 2004, Arune teamed up with yet another unstable kook named Kimberly Williams, a deeply troubled person who became obsessed with the idea that I was “pagejacking” Williams’ website, despite my attempts by phone and email to explain that Williams was very confused. Arune and Williams began working together, spreading lies that I had filed for bankruptcy and had fabricated my academic degrees. Williams may actually be even more incompetent and obnoxious than Arune, which is no small feat. Williams has referred to me with Nazi epithets and claims I am using several aliases. Williams also brags in a self-published autobiography about terrorizing an immobilized hospital patient, snatching the patient’s wig off and swirling it in the toilet before putting it back on the patient’s head. Williams then brags about moving the call button just out of reach, leaving the patient helpless. [9] Arune and Williams are certainly cut from the same cloth, so it was no surprise when they began working together to attack me, nor is it a surprise that Arune continues to cite Williams as a reliable source of corroborating information. This incompetent and libellous collaboration led to the demise of Arune’s support group on Yahoo in 2005.

In March 2005, Arune’s continued escalation of personal attacks on me led to yet another incompetent decision. Arune set up a Yahoo group devoted to insulting, harassing and cyberstalking me, so Yahoo removed both this new group and Arune’s older group for violations of their Terms of Service. Though Arune was obviously the only person to blame for this incident, Arune was unable to see that this was yet another instance where Arune’s incompetence led to a bad decision, just like the fateful trip to Thailand that landed Arune in jail and subsequently triggered Arune’s belief that Arune is a transsexual. I had not had much interaction with people at this level of incompetence previously, and it is remarkable how many of them I have come into contact with as a result of their support of Bailey and his book. In many ways, it’s probably good that they don’t understand how they appear to others. Arune has vowed to bring this “support” site back on another service, but for now, it’s just more evidence of Arune’s incompetence.

As with most of these fringe element kooks and trolls, Arune’s personal attacks are better left ignored. Some of these kooks will escalate things to cyberstalking and violence when provoked. The Registrar’s Office at my alma mater had to update their cyberstalking policy because of Arune’s activities [10]. I recommend only countering the misinformation Arune and friends spread. They crave attention, even if it’s negative attention, from those who are “respected authorities,” as a way to compensate for their own incompetence. Ignore them, and they will find some other compulsion to indulge in time.

Taking the sick role

As I discuss on my page about disease models of gender identity, some gender-diverse people agree with “experts” who consider them diseased and sexually disordered.

As an aside, it’s interesting to note that the clinical literature is is full of references about people like Arune, who normally defers to clinicians as experts. People like Arune have been described by so-called experts as “transvestitic applicants for sex reassignment” [11] who are “aging” [12] and “distressed,” [13] suffering from “pseudotranssexualism,” [14] a “non-transsexual” variant of “gender identity disorder” (GIDAANT), [15] and “iatrogenic artifact.”[16]

Arune is especially fond of claiming that we are mentally ill, asserting that without a mental illness diagnosis, there is no way to get trans health services through government health programs. Unfortunately for Arune, this is simply untrue in many countries. Had Arune read the GIRES materials available on this site since Bailey’s book came out, Arune would know that the UK goverment among others do not consider this a mental illness and continue to fund trans health services. Arune defends the alleged “experts” at one regressive Canadian clinic, while the rest of the community looks to the current consensus of 24 world-renowned experts who are signatories to the document on causes of transsexualism, the final draft of which was provided to this site via lead investigator Milton Diamond. [17]

Arune dismisses the 2002 UK policy that allows funding of trans health services without the stigma of mental illness, because it badly undermines Arune’s identity as a mentally ill man. Arune claims the UK policy “merely serves a political role and distorts any scientific judgement in favour of appeasement.” [18] Because Arune’s incompetence clouds rational judgment, Arune can only view this policy as a problem, rather than a major step forward brought about by progressive transactivists.

As seen with the “forced feminization” script played out by Arune with Arune’s own therapist, the deference to an expert for validation is an important part of Arune’s identity. “Let’s face it, honey… We’re the patients in this exercise. We’re not the experts.” [19]

Arune needs an “expert” diagnosis to maintain a legitimate identity as a type of diseased man. Some of us feel that we are in a better position to define and describe ourselves, and we feel that Arune’s bizarre outlook and self-identity is different than a transsexual identity. People like Arune will go down in history as similar to the gays and lesbians who consider themselves diseased, or other oppressed groups who buy into the idea they are biologically inferior. Those folks defer to experts, too– many of the same “experts” Arune defends.

In a newspaper interview, Ray Blanchard called Arune a “man without a penis.” [20] If Arune wants to defend someone who says that about all of us, I personally can’t fight for Arune’s rights.

Resources

Transgender Tapestry ()

Elizabeth (2004). On the Science of Bonerism and the Identity Politics of “Single Heterosexual Men,” originally published in Transgender Tapestry #107, Fall/Winter 2004, pp. 45-51 {archive]

Lynn Conway (lynnconway.com)

Who Is Arune?

Datenbank über Transsexualität (transray.com)

Willow Arune bibliography [archive]

CEN-TA (centa.com)

A scam that keeps on rolling by Willow Arune

The Autogynephilia Resource (autogynephilia.org) [archive]

I AM ARUNE [archive]
- via Lambda Literary Foundation [archive]
- via Transgender Tapestry #106 pp. 44-51 [archive]

References

1. Kruger J, Dunning D (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. December 1999 Vol. 77, No. 6, 1121-1134
http://www.phule.net/mirrors/unskilled-and-unaware.html

2. Blanchard (1989). The concept of autogynephilia [ sic ] and the typology of male gender dysphoria. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease . 1989 Oct;177(10):616-23.
http://www.genderpsychology.org/autogynephilia/male_gender_dysphoria/ (full text)

3. Bailey JM (2000). Phenomenology and classification of male-to-female transsexualism. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the International Academy of Sex Research , Paris. June, 2000. Slide 38.
http://www.psych.nwu.edu/psych/people/faculty/bailey/Blanchard’s%20Paris%20Talk.ppt (requires reader)

4. Arune WC (2004). USENET post 11 April 2004.
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=g:thl101135305d&dq=&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&c2cof f=1&safe=off&selm=Kxoec.84223%24Ig.10853%40pd7tw2no

5. Plant D (1999). Willow sculpts a life. Kelowna Daily Courier January 27, 1999. For more on Arune’s incarceration in Thailand, see:
http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/bailey-willow-arune.html

6. Arune W (2004). “Autogynephilia” support, 21 August: “The same reason as Ben Laden – able to justify any act due to belief and faith”
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/autogynephiliasupport/message/3570

7. Arune W (2002). Letter to Professor Lynn Conway, 20 November. Reprinted with permission of recipient.

8. Rodkin D (2003). “Sex and Transsexuals.” Chicago Reader, 12 December 2003.
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Bailey/Reader/Chicago%20Reader.12-12-03.html

9. Williams K, Killeen MJ (2004). The Transsexual Gladiator: The Sword of Apodictic and The Shield of Woe. Apodictic, Inc., p. 258.

10. Arune W (2005). “A matter of degree.” “Autogynephilia” Support, 12 January.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/autogynephiliasupport/message/4699

11. Wise TN, Meyer JK (1980). The border area between transvestism and gender dysphoria: transvestic applicants for sex reassignment. Archives of Sexual Behavior . 1980 Aug;9(4):327-42.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=7416946

12. Lothstein LM (1979). Psychological treatment of transsexualism and sexual identity disorders: some recent attempts. Archives of Sexual Behavior . 1979 Sep;8(5):431-44
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=496624

13. Wise TN, Dupkin C, Meyer JK (1981). Partners of distressed transvestites. American Journal of Psychiatry . 1981 Sep;138(9):1221-4.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=7270729

14. Wise TN, Lucas J (1981). Pseudotranssexualism: iatrogenic gender dysphoria. Journal of Homosexuality . 1981 Spring;6(3):61-6.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=7341667

15. American Psychiatric Association (1987). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM III-R).
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0871400499/qid=1094416834/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-8778638-7938457?v=glance&s=books

16. Moser C, Kleinplatz PJ (2002). Transvestic fetishism: psychopathology or iatrogenic artifact? New Jersey Psychologist , 52 (2) 16-17.
http://home.netcom.com/~docx2/tf.html

17. Diamond M (2003). Personal correspondence with the author, 16 July 2003.18. Arune W (2004). “Autogynephilia” support, 10 November.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/autogynephiliasupport/message/4243

19. Rodkin D (2003). “Sex and Transsexuals.” Chicago Reader, 12 December 2003.
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Bailey/Reader/Chicago%20Reader.12-12-03.html

20. Armstrong J (2004). The body within, the body without. Globe and Mail, 12 June 2004, p. F1.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040612/COVER12/TPComment/TopStories

Willow Arune: harassment and cyberstalking

This is a subpage for the main article on Willow Arune. Please start at the main article for an overview.

“It is easy to be a bully on Usenet – all it takes is a computer, a modem, and an ugly being. Suddenly you are a hero in your own mind.”

— Willow Arune

Willow Arune is a notorious eccentric who posts primarily on USENET, because Arune has been kicked off almost every moderated online forum due to trolling and baiting. Checking the statistics for the USENET group alt.support.srs will show Arune (as pangarune@shaw.ca) among the top ten posters in any given month. Many of the posts will be cut and paste jobs from other publications (usually marked FYI), but the rest will be flames and trolls aimed at Arune’s perceived enemies.

Despite claims to the contrary, Arune sends a steady stream of emails to me, including four on 2 June 2005 alone. Arune mentions me at least once a week on alt.support.srs and is clearly obsessed with me. In early 2005, Arune started a Yahoo group called “Survivors Support Group” about me (AJSSG):http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AJSSG

This was a members-only clearinghouse of personal information about me, created by several people harassing and cyberstalking me. This incompetent decision by Arune led Yahoo to terminate all of Arune’s accounts, which subsequently led to the demise of another “support” group Arune used to publish various rants. Now that Arune is limited primarily to USENET, the attacks there have escalated, to the point that Arune is responsible for much of the content on that nearly defunct forum, long ago abandoned by most to the kooks.

Below are some selected emails to me during the time Arune was “leaving me alone.” Since no one is going to be interested in slogging through all these rants, I have put a short summary in front of each one.

Here’s one where someone quotes this site and is equated with a murderer.

From: Willow Arune <pangarune@shaw.ca>
Date: Sat, 05 Feb 2005 17:40:41 -0800
To: Andrea <andrea@tsroadmap.com>
Subject: Fw: Bailey resigns!

There you go – one of your most avid readers…

Like the minister who preaches hatred of gays, and then says “I did nothing” when two of his congregation go out and murder one. You bred Jenny and others like her…

Such a sweetie…

W.

Here’s an excerpt from one citing Arune’s collaborator Kimberly Williams.

From: Willow Arune <pangarune@shaw.ca>
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 17:26:21 -0800
To: autogynephiliasupport@yahoogroups.com, Muliebrety@yahoogroups.com
Cc: Andrea <andrea@tsroadmap.com>, cburns@plain-sense.co.uk, Kimberly Williams <bsoelectrolysis@cox.net>
Subject: Fw: False Statements

A new site contains a bit more concerning Ms. James. One wonders how she supports all those web pages? Go here:

http://www.bostonelectrolysis.com/index.php

(The University of Chicago has confirmed that it has never awarded a degree of Masters in English to Andrea James, by the way). After she accused Mike Bailey of living too close to Boystown in Chicago, guess where she lived and partied??? You got it – next to Boystown. Proof is found on her former web pages, easily available:

http://web.archive.org/web/20010604130122/www.andreajames.com/imageindex.html

Bankruptcy court records might show how AJ “paid” for her Full Facial Surgery. Not included in her helpful hints. If indeed her family is rich, they most certainly did not assist in that aspect of her life. A soon to be breaking story, in the mode of James/Conway…

Loathing is a mild word. James has attacked others in the same fashion. Unhappily, as with her vaulted “Masters in English” few think to challenge her assertions.

Willow

Arune’s incompetence has led Arune to believe I do not have a Master’s Degree in English from University of Chicago, which can be easily confirmed by following the instructions at the Registrar’s Office. Arune emailed two department secretaries who do not keep official records, and in Arune’s incompetent mind, that constitutes proof.

From: Willow Arune <pangarune@shaw.ca>
Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 17:37:21 -0800
To: Andrea <andrea@tsroadmap.com>
Subject: Web Changes

Ah yes, Andrea,

The modifications to your web site have been brought to my attention.

Strange. The University of Chicago has no record of you, at least for a Masters in English. Not the English Department, nor Graduate Studies, and not the Registrar. At this point, as the saying goes, the onus moves to you. Would you care to provide particulars?? I can, of course, easily provide copies of e-mails from the University.

As to Kimberly Williams, I fear you have hurt a great many over the years with your standard tactics of ducking behind the web site. Kimberly is definitely not alone. Even I was astounded at the number of those who do not like you at all. Your recent effort to demean the Transkids was a farce. Placing Christine Burns in the position of having to issue an apology and retraction on the eve of her award from the Queen was a callous thing to do.

The bankruptcy? An innovative way to pay for FFS, I agree. One more step and that public record shall be available, and I fear some might wish to publish it on a web site given what you have done to them. Not me, mind.

This is rather silly. As is normal with things of this nature, no doubt certain matters will surface when you least wish them to do so. While I cannot claim the number of investigators you seem to have, there are not that many US states and areas north of Chicago where mobile homes, especially converted buses, are not that common. It is not the numbers that are important, but more the placement – one clerk in a government office is better than fifty amateurs lurking in bushes.

TTFN,

Willow

From: Willow Arune <pangarune@shaw.ca>
Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2005 18:42:01 -0800
To: Andrea <andrea@tsroadmap.com>
Subject: Tsk, Tsk…

Gee, Andrea – you do write the strangest things on your web page…

If there were an award for inaccurate reporting, I am sure you would make the finals.

As to the University of Chicago, the *fact* remains that I have three posts from them, each of which officially denies that you ever obtained a Masters in English. As you asked me on Dec. 24, 2003, will you affirm or deny that you have the degree you have claimed? This is much easier than similar question post to me. I do so hope you, as a good alumni, donated funds to Chicago. I would love to think that some of the monies they are paying me came from you. Stay tuned – oh, so sorry. You are not on the new list are you? So sad.

In the meantime, please remember that Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville were followed by Gettysburg. One small victory, even two, do not a war win.

You see, honey, the world has passed you by – perhaps me too for that matter. Save for the Internet, and even major portions of that, nobody cares. Sycophants you may have, but step outside that circle and nobody knows or cares about transexuality or autogynephilia. Many, probably most, have not even hear of you, me or the term itself. The great last campaign for civil rights you claimed to represent is a group of huddled silly types gathered around a dwindling fire in the cold. You had your fifteen minutes; that time has passed.

Have a great day and if you have some time, read either of Colette Chiland’s books. Not all of the world is as caught up “professional transsexuality” as you are. Some sanity remains.

Until we meet again, I shall take great delight in imagining all the truly stealth types wearing your tee-shirts and using your mugs at work. And some thought wearing a TS Menace Tee was bad!!!

Hugs,
Willow

This one is my favorite. Arune writes to tell me Arune is not thinking about me.

From: Willow Arune <pangarune@shaw.ca>
Date: Fri, 08 Apr 2005 20:01:00 -0700
To: Lisanne <lisanne001@verizon.net>
Cc: Andrea <andrea@tsroadmap.com>
Subject: It is…

…nice…

I realized today that I have not thought or spoken or written the name Andrea James for days, weeks even…

Who says you have to die before you go to heaven???

Hugs,
Willow

This one is to remind me of my irrelevance, and to let me know Arune has decided “enough is enough” and will no longer be involved in any of this.

From: Willow Arune <pangarune@shaw.ca>
Date: Sat, 21 May 2005 19:08:22 -0700
To: Andrea James <andrea@tsroadmap.com>
Subject: Fw: I Want What I Want

Time to crow, honey. You pages on me are totally irrelevant, part of history.

The new freedom is wonderful. Keep on with the professional transsexual route – it suits you. Others have better things to do.

Willow

—– Original Message —–
From: Willow Arune <mailto:pangarune@shaw.ca>
To:
Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2005 7:05 PM
Subject: Re: I Want What I Want

Hi Rosie,

It was fun to collect – and read – the books that frame our history. Given the nature of TS people, what I got most was insults – Andréa James determined I was hoarding or worse, and most simply did not care.

It got so bad that one night, I looked and the collection and said enough is enough. I kept the Brown and a few early ones, but most are now at the University if Chicago and I am happily doing more renovations to my home.

I have retreated. No TS meetings, no TS internet, no TS counselling. Being up north in Canada, there is not any interaction save former clients and now a few of us are friends. No more reviews of books and such either. Simply, the bad of dealing with other TS was too great. Too many are, at best, dysfunctional and delusional. A few are downright dangerous and others are simply evil – Andrea James I put in that category.

Fine. Others can follow like little sheep, telling themselves that myths are true. One cannot create a fiction, unsupported by anything really and demand all others in society follow it. Perhaps the best view is that of Dr. Colette Chiland, and two of her books have been translated and are available in the US.

Coddled. Those private types who “help” are – I am convinced – in it for the money. That includes surgeons. The university approach demanded by Stoller was indeed the best – now we have paid types advising those who want to get what they want. Bah!

Anyway, good luck with all. Best advise – avoid other tS like the plague…

Hugs,
Willow

Of course, Arune was back to “leaving me alone” five days later.

From: Willow Arune <pangarune@shaw.ca>
Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 08:14:07 -0700
To: Andrea James <andrea@tsroadmap.com>
Subject: Ah Yes, Your Site

A friend brought the recent changes to your web pages to my attention.

Silly and stupid, as always. I seem to be your boogieman, hiding in hallways ands under beds to do battle. In fact, as you well know, I have withdrawn from the lists (used in an historic context) and no longer care – with one exception.

As you well know, your site is both insulting and libellous. At this point, there is no reason to proceed with legal action as that would result in costs but no recovery – you have no assets to speak of as we all know. Thus, I continue to request that you delete the libel immediately and reserve the right to proceed with legal action if and when I elect so to do.

Of course, each time you add to the defamation, you extend the time for filing, which suits me just fine.

Your pawn almost lost her job and certainly has been effectively muzzled but that was no doubt your plan when you egged her on. As to Christine Burns, you lies got her in trouble at the worst possible moment yet you continue with those lies as well, I note. You hurt the Transkids merely to hurt – the mark of a psychopath. And you did that from cover, the mark of a coward.

You truly are the ugliest being I have met in this lifetime. A soul so retched that you simply love to add lies after lie even after the supposed foe is no longer on the field.

No doubt this response pleases you, in your own sick way. From my viewpoint, I have moved on. You remain as you were – a professional, but flawed, transsexual.

Willow Arune

Hugs,
Willow

I got half a dozen emails from Arune in a 24-hour period in early June 2005. These two give the flavor.

From: Pangarune Corner <pangarune@shaw.ca>
Date: Thu, 02 Jun 2005 18:23:39 -0700
To: andrea@tsroadmap.com
Subject: Fw: An Observation about Will Orobko

You should be soooooo happy. Why, having a surrogate like Diane is only bettered by having both Diane and Jenny Usher.

You must be so proud. Quoted so often by your peers – and they are indeed *your* peers. Every time one of your idiots quotes your lies it reflects on your personality.

Willow.

From: Pangarune Corner <pangarune@shaw.ca>
Date: Thu, 02 Jun 2005 20:20:32 -0700
To: andrea@tsroadmap.com
Subject: Fw: alt.support.will.orobko

You see, your followers are so loyal…

I really think you should contact Diane and give her a medal – she is using your material just as you wanted it to be done…

W.

Here’s a long one about Arune’s most recent paramour. Not sure why I got this one.

From: Willow Arune <pangarune@shaw.ca>
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2005 19:42:06 -0700
To: Andrea James <andrea@tsroadmap.com>
Subject: Re: Will Orobko is a very fat man

Sonia, cur was married in Singapore, separated, came to Canada and served as a registered nurse for many years. She was disabled due to back problems. During that time, she raise four daughters, without any financial assistance from hubby, of whom three are now registered nurses, two with advanced degrees, and one computer whiz who after university has gained a top job with a stock brokerage firm. For her work during the initial AIDS crisis, she is regarded as almost a saint by the Vancouver Gay community; She was with over 50 of those who died, who otherwise would have died alone. In one one case, the fellow was denied medicine due to our former premier. Sonia married him solely to get him medical coverage. He was one of those that died.

You are not fit to even grovel at her feet. As expected, you place total emphasis on appearance, and none on soul and spirit. That is why you are such a callow thing – and thing is one good word to describe you. As with your mentor, Andrea, you attack not the ideas, but the person of those who do not share your opinions. As Andrea attacked Bailey’s children, you attack Sonia. Thankfully, I did not expect you had reached as low as you could.

Heaven knows there are enough types here to follow your way. No matter. Your mentor, dear Andrea, is a self-confessed AG, and in her own words even worse. I can think of no two people who deserve each other as much as you and she. In fact, I shall copy her with this post to show how well you imitate her style. As with her, you are not doubt an AG too – not that such is a problem, mind.

Disgust is a mild word to describe you. Attacking one who is so good that she would even take you in off the streets on a cold night. As has already been pointed out, you have laid claim to all sorts of deeds of derring- do, money beyond wealth, and more. In fact, you are but a trembling leaf – a thing. Not male or female, a THING. Henderson and the lower ranks of the Air Force deserve you.

W.

This flurry came about after I demanded a retraction from a student newspaper after Arune once again claimed I have filed bankruptcy.

From: Willow Arune <arune1529@shaw.ca>
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2005 11:47:58 -0700
To: Andrea James <andrea@tsroadmap.com>
Subject: NW

Would you like an Address for Service??? As I assume you would be suing in Canada, please note I shall require Security for Costs.

Would you like the quotes for the definition of “professional transsexual”??

Perhaps Deirdre McCloskey can join you? I am sure her family members would be still willing to testify.

Willow Arune

From: Willow Arune <arune1529@shaw.ca>
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 10:11:10 -0700
To: Andrea James <andrea@tsroadmap.com>
Subject: Fun and Games

You seem to have far too much time on your hands these days. Not enough to do as a big “Hollywood Producer”?

Now, I did offer you an Address for Service. Certainly if you wished to start a legal action, I am delighted to respond. I think your site has enough nasty material on myself and others (the Transkids, Lisanne Anderson and more) to present some interesting law. But then, suing you does not do much good, does it? Not unless you have full access to Lynn’s Star Wars contract funds.

When will you wake up to realize that you are fighting a war in which no one has any interest? The new crop of transsexuals could care less about any theory or concept and most do not recognizes the names of Blanchard, James, Conway or any of the other participants – and could care less.

You are certainly amusing in a childish sort of way; you are certainly a nuisance in far too many ways. Try a job that better occupies your time and energy – that would be my suggestion. Being a professional transsexual is not that rewarding – soliciting donations and selling mousepads and such.

TTFN,
Willow Arune

Hugs,
Willow

Willow Arune: words and actions

Former Northwestern University psychology department chair J. Michael Bailey is like the Jerry Springer of academia, and many of his supporters share Bailey’s eccentricities and “credibility issues.” Since Bailey’s book was deemed “not science” by the director of the prestigious Kinsey Institute, [1] the issues of author motivation and credibility are obviously important.

The story below is based on first-hand accounts by Bailey supporter Willow Arune, known as Will O [2] at the time of the incident described below. Given the claims of incarceration and criminal charges, statements by this person should be verified independently, even those repeated by journalists, before being considered factual.

According to self-reports [3], on 25 February 1995, Canadian citizen and self-confessed eccentric Will O traveled to Thailand on a visa to broker a $1 million loan through Citibank for a private hospital. [4] Will O has a long history of making incompetent life choices, and this was apparently no exception. Will O claims to have been arrested with two Americans during the meeting and subsequently incarcerated on charges of forging a bank certificate worth $50 million. [5] Will O was allegedly held for 92 days before getting out on bail. [6] Will O claims that after being released, Thai authorities withheld Will O’s passport and did not return it for over a year. [7] During that time, Will O variously claims “I could not work” [8] or “I worked in a law office” in Thailand. [9]

Will O claims to have been “trapped” in Thailand through 1995 and 1996 with little assistance from the embassy, until Reform Party leader Preston Manning and Alberta M.P. Bob Mills personally took up the case by traveling there. [10] Will O claims to have been formally deported in late 1996, noting “I am now an escaped person under Thai law” [11] and “a fugitive from Thailand.” [12]

According to Will O, the case number is Black 2870/2538 (Southern Bangkok Criminal Court) [13], and it involved a five year trial, with two appeals of four years each. [14]

Will O claims to have endured six weeks of sexual abuse and rape at the hands of guards. [15] Upon returning to Canada in November 1996, Will O sought counseling, and “his therapist suggested becoming a woman.” [16] According to Will O:

“Subsequent therapy helped with the Post Traumatic Stress problems, but out popped transsexuality. In retrospect, this was a blessing – a special talent given to a few to understand and BE both genders. My former ‘personality’ was in essence destroyed, and Willow emerged.” [17]

“It totally destroyed my sense of being… I didn’t know who I was when I got out.” [18]

If the concept of a female personality emerging from a destroyed male’s sense of being sounds familiar, it’s probably because you have seen the ending of the Hitchcock film Psycho. [19]

Now, if you ask me, if a nudist club [20] former officer [21] gets arrested in the sex tour capital of the world [22] and is then sexually abused while in prison, one begins to wonder if the forgery charge is the entire story, or the story at all. Further, if that same person is deported back to Canada, goes on permanent disability welfare for post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the incarceration [23], and then has a therapist suggest becoming a woman on the government dime, one has to marvel at how generously the Canadian welfare system has benefited this fugitive from Thailand. Perhaps Bailey can write a sequel starring Arune called The Man Who Would Be Welfare Queen.

As far as the claim that “out popped transsexuality,” people like Arune have been described in the medical literature as “transvestic applicants for sex reassignment” [24] who are “aging” [25] and “distressed,” [26] suffering from “pseudotranssexualism,” [27] a “non-transsexual” variant of “gender identity disorder” (GIDAANT), [28] and “iatrogenic artifact.” [29] Therapist Mildred Brown has suggested several non-transsexual motivations that can apply, including:

Victims of sexual assault or abuse, who therefore want to distance themselves as much as possible from the bodies in which they were victimized. If one result of the sexual abuse is that they cannot function sexually as the sex in which they were born, they hope that becoming the other sex will put all the trauma behind them.
Persons who dislike the behavior they have fallen into in their original sex —e.g. rape, child-molestation, exhibitionism, and other anti-social or criminal behavior. They want to get rid of the parts of their bodies —usually penises—that have led them astray.
Individuals with psychiatric disorders, who have delusions that they are the other sex. [30]

Maybe these twelve people who rally around Bailey are (to use his phrase) “fundamentally different” [31] from transsexual women because they are not transsexual women. Maybe they are “eccentrics” who defensively claim to be “real transsexuals” but are in fact, to put it bluntly, kooks. Since Bailey would rather engage in science by press conference [32], and he won’t engage those who have written extensive scientific criticisms of his model [33], terminology [34], methodology [35], and book [36], maybe Bailey’s work is not science. After all, that’s what was asserted at the International Academy of Sex Research right before he stepped down from his position with that group. Maybe Bailey is just someone who is into exploiting kooks, gullible students, and sex workers for professional gain and personal pleasure.References

1. Conway L. Report from IASR Conference at Kinsey Institute. 19 July 2003. via lynnconway.com.
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/IASRmessage.html

2. James A. Willow Arune on “autogynephilia.”
http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/willow-arune.html

Note: Name shortened from William Orobko to Will O throughout for clarity.

3. Arune W. Nightmare in Bangkok. 8 January 1998 via usenet newsgroup: soc.culture.thai

4. Gradon J. Free at last. Calgary Herald. 24 November 1996.

Note: When I contacted the author in 2004, Mr. Gradon noted, “Orobko always was and still is apparently a different breed of cat, of that we are and always were certain.”

5. McDougal I. Ex-local man seeks sex change, citing weeks of Thai jail torture. The Edmonton Sun. 26 September 1999.

6. Arune W. Nightmare in Bangkok. 26 December 1997 via usenet newsgroup: soc.culture.thai

7. Arune W. Nightmare in Bangkok. 8 January 1998. via usenet newsgroup: soc.culture.thai

8. Arune W. Nightmare in Bangkok. 27 December 1997 via usenet newsgroup: soc.culture.thai

9. Arune W. Re: My Post “Don’t Move to Thailand”. 30 December 1997 via usenet newsgroup: soc.culture.thai

10. Gradon J. Free at last. Calgary Herald. 24 November 1996.

11. Arune W. Nightmare in Bangkok. 27 December 1997 via usenet newsgroup: soc.culture.thai

12. Arune W. Nightmare in Bangkok. 8 January 1998 via usenet newsgroup: soc.culture.thai

13. Arune W. Nightmare in Bangkok. 8 January 1998 via usenet newsgroup: soc.culture.thai

14. Arune W. Re: SPAM attacks on Thai recently. 4 January 1998 via Newsgroup: soc.culture.thai

15. Plant D. Willow sculpts a life. The Kelowna Daily Courier. 27 January 1999.

Opening lines: “Meeting Willow Arune for the first time can be a little unsettling. After all, you don’t have to look hard to realize there’s a man inside the make-up, dress and heels.”

16. Plant D. Willow sculpts a life. The Kelowna Daily Courier. 27 January 1999.

17. Arune W. Transsexuality. 16 April 1999 via usenet newsgroup: alt.religion.mormon

18. McDougal I. Ex-local man seeks sex change, citing weeks of Thai jail torture. The Edmonton Sun. 26 September 1999.

19. Stefano J. Psycho. Screenplay for 1960 film by Alfred Hitchcock:

DR. RICHMOND: You see, when the mind houses two personalities, there’s always a conflict, a battle. In Norman’s case, the battle is over–and the dominant personality has won.

20. Craft N. Nudist/naturist hall of shame.
http://www.nostatusquo.com/ACLU/NudistHallofShame/

21. Van Tan Nudist Club Guestbook, 29 October 2002 entry by Arune:

“Many years ago, in 1971, I joined your club and after that served as Secretary for one year… When I was secretary, I was rather inconvenently male. I now take pride in being female not just in mind, but body as well. It should be fun!”

22. US Department of Justice. Sex Tourism. Retrieved 14 October 2005.
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/sextour.html

23. Arune W. Willow 22 July 2003. via usenet newsgroup: alt.support.srs.

“My status as disabled is already known.”

24. Wise TN, Meyer JK (1980). The border area between transvestism and gender dysphoria: transvestic applicants for sex reassignment. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 1980 Aug;9(4):327-42.

25. Lothstein LM (1979). Psychological treatment of transsexualism and sexual identity disorders: some recent attempts. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 1979 Sep;8(5):431-44.

26. Wise TN, Dupkin C, Meyer JK (1981). Partners of distressed transvestites. American Journal of Psychiatry. 1981 Sep;138(9):1221-4.

27. Wise TN, Lucas J (1981). Pseudotranssexualism: iatrogenic gender dysphoria. Journal of Homosexuality. 1981 Spring;6(3):61-6.

28. American Psychiatric Association (1987). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM III-R).

29. Moser C, Kleinplatz PJ (2002). Transvestic fetishism: psychopathology or iatrogenic artifact? New Jersey Psychologist, 52 (2) 16-17.

30. Brown ML, Rounsley CA. True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism-For Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals. 1996 Jossey-Bass, ISBN: 0787902713 pp. 106-107.

31. Bailey JM. Academic McCarthyism. Northwestern Chronicle. 9 October 2005.

32. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. New York Times suggests bisexuals are “lying”: Paper fails to disclose study author’s controversial history. 8 July 2005.

33. Wyndzen M. Everything you never wanted to know about autogynephilia but were afraid you had to ask. Via genderpsychology.org, 2004.

34. Roughgarden J (2004). The Bailey affair: Psychology perverted. via lynnconway.com.

35. James AJ (2004). Plethysmograph a disputed device. and “Autogynephilia”: a disputed diagnosis. via tsroadmap.com.

36. Bockting W. Biological reductionism meets gender diversity in human sexuality. [Review of The Man Who Would Be Queen]. The Journal of Sex Research, Volume 42, Number 3, August 2005: pp. 267—270.