Ray Blanchard at Toronto’s notorious Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has accused me of spreading “misinformation” about him, so let’s get all his biographical details out on the table in order to make my point more clearly.
Blanchard is widely reviled by transsexual people. He once declared that a trans woman who has transitioned is merely “a man without a penis,” and said of trans men, “They get a kind of lump that in the best, most expensive, $100,000 cases, kind of, maybe, look like a penis from across a room.” His comments on trans people’s genitalia echoes his fixation on “phallometrics,” the measurement of penile length, width, and tumescence when subjects are exposed to erotic stimuli. The field of “phallometrics” was developed by Blanchard’s mentor at CAMH to determine if army recruits were gay or not. Blanchard, who has not disclosed his own sexual orientation publicly, is considered an expert in determining the size and tumescence of male genitalia.
Blanchard took umbrage at my publication of his 2008 taxpayer-funded salary and my comment that he and Zucker both left America for Canada during the Vietnam War. Why is Blanchard so touchy about military matters, and what personally motivates his life’s work? What drives this key figure in the oppression of sex and gender minorities? Since he feels entitled to ascribe labels and motivations to others, let’s turn the tables. Why is Ray so reticent about revealing his own sexual interests and behavior, when his career involves “catching” people not being open and honest about their sexual interests and behavior?
This article examines Ray’s childhood, family life, sexuality, Catholic upbringing, and interest in penile tumescence. It also examines how CAMH became the world’s largest publicly-funded forced feminization sex dungeon and transgender reparative therapy clinic. Finally, it examines what Blanchard’s most important legacy will be: the broad expansion of “paraphilia” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) to further oppress sex and gender minorities as mentally disordered.
I recently had That Talk with my HR person. While I was putting together my coming out letter that I addressed to my HR person, I found very few examples of what I imagined would be an appropriate letter. Of the few existing examples, I found them to be too personal or that they focused on details that I didn’t feel I needed to tell people.
The letter that I did produce was very well received by management. Please feel free to publish this anonymized version of my letter, as a resource for all the other trans folk that are looking for more reference material.
Bill,
I have recently come to terms with some personal issues that will affect the way in which I continue my work here at Initech. After much consideration and with the support of both my doctor and family, I must disclose that I am transsexual. That is to say that in every aspect of my personality I am a woman, and that having a male body causes me great distress in my day-to-day life. I am currently in the process of transition, after which I intend to live as a woman for the rest of my life. I will need the Initech to accommodate some of my basic needs during this period.
I would like to work with the company in order to devise a process in which I can easily make this transition with minimal discomfort to myself or my coworkers. I have included an information pamphlet produced by the Ontario Human Rights commission on the subject of gender identity, as well as a sample company policy for employees and managers regarding transition in the workplace published by the Chevron Corporation. I can also provide additional resources upon request.
I would suggest that we agree on a date within the near future, at which point I will begin working with a female gender presentation. In the time immediately preceding this date, the staff should be tactfully informed that I will be continuing my work here as a woman. Following this, I should return to work in a female role with all the rights and responsibilities of any other female employee. My personal preference would be to have the management organize a mandatory presentation by a speaker or consultant that specializes in explaining concepts of gender identity in a corporate environment.
I know that the Initech values diversity and our unique sense of community. These key aspects of our company have made this the most fantastic environment in which I have had the pleasure of working. And I am fully confident that my coworkers will have no trouble accepting me for who I am.
This interactive map reveals that the Centre for Addiction and mental Health (CAMH) not only controls the fate of gender transitioners in Ontario, but in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland too. It also reveals that CAMH requires a two-year RLE in all cases, in non-compliance with the WPATH Standards of Care.
Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of meeting director and musician Vittoria Colonna and producer Rachel Lysaght, who were in LA for our Irish Film Festival. They have a new film out called ‘Identities.’ It profiles five trans people in Ireland, each representing an aspect of the trans experience. The stories themselves are given room to breathe, and each story has a relaxed pace that allows time to get to know each subject better than most transdocs.
As the bar gets set higher and higher on the transdoc genre, we’re starting to see better production values and more innovative lensing. This film has beautifully shot color interstitials before each black-and-white interview, which gives the whole piece a performative tone. One of the central themes of each interview is the performativity of gender, and the whole film feels joined thematically despite the very different backgrounds and experiences of each trans person.
The film has a great score which includes some singing by the director. Anyone considering a documentary should look at this as an example of where production quality needs to be these days to break through.
UK series ‘Bodyshock’ aired a somewhat sensationalized but generally respectful episode on transgender youth, featuring two families we’re working with at TransYouth Family Allies. Availability of this may be limited, as I believe it’s posted without permission.
