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 echo 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.
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.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission issued the 27th in their Research Report Series on trans issues. This 100-page report is a detailed compilation of findings in various areas of law and health. They note in their conclusions:
The following implications emerge from the review:
- Work needs to be done with the Government to ensure that the needs of trans people are included in policies and legislation.
- The Department of Health could undertake an investigation of the need for and feasibility of specific trans services in health and social care (including transition and non-transition-related healthcare).
- The Department of Communities and Local Government could undertake an investigation of the need for and feasibility of specific trans services in housing provision.
- All central Government departments could review their gender equality schemes to ensure that they have paid due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment of transsexual people.
- A national online resource could be developed that brings together advice and information on a range of trans issues.
- Anti-homophobic bullying strategies could address bullying related to gender-variant behaviour.
- Employers need to respond to their legal obligations and implement good practice on trans.
TRANS RESEARCH REVIEW
Martin Mitchell
Charlie Howarth
Equality and Human Rights Commission 2009
First published Autumn 2009
ISBN 978 1 84206 160 2
Office Hours is for you if you:
· are an adult who is thinking about going back to school
· have gone back to school and find campus to be transphobic or overwhelming
· want educational mentoring
· are having difficulty with your schoolwork and need tutoring
·need help preparing for your placement exams
· want a supportive, community atmosphere in which you can study and relax.
Office Hours is offered:
· by trans-identified college and university instructors
· by people whose interest lies in empowering trans folk to pursue higher education
· to empower trans people to assert their right to higher education and to take charge of their academic development.
Fridays from 11:00am to 2:00pm
Behavioral Health Services, Inc
6838 West Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
[1 block west of Highland on the south side of the street]
There is ample, free parking in the lot behind the building, accessible off of Mansfield. Please enter through the front of the building.
For more information, please contact: Ryka Aoki at 310.434.8533 or rykaryka@yahoo.com, or Talia Bettcher at 323.343.4179 or tbettch@calstatela.edu
This is talk, not advice. See Terms of Use for details.
