Dr Aaron Devor portrait by Blake Little (2020)

Aaron H. Devor (born 1951), is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

sociologist and

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists a ...

known for researching

transsexuality Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignm ...

and transgender communities. Devor has taught at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

since 1989 and is the former dean of graduate studies. Gartner, Hana (October 13, 2004)
Becoming Ayden.
'' the fifth estate'' Devor is the current Research Chair in Transgender Studies at the University of Victoria, and the Founder & Academic Director of The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria Libraries. ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...

,'' a Canadian weekly news magazine, described Devor as "an internationally respected expert on gender, sex and sexuality."MacQueen, Ken (May 26, 2003)
Understanding gender: Male and female may mean less today than ever, but they still mean plenty.
''

Early life and education

Devor earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in 1971, a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

from

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...

in 1985, and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

in 1990. A

trans man A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that inc ...

, Devor transitioned in 2002 at age 51.

Career

Devor was a member of the

HBIGDA The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), formerly the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), is a professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity and g ...

task force which created the sixth and seventh edition of The Standards of Care. Currently, he sits as a committee member for the eighth edition and is the Chairperson of the Archives Committee. He has collected first-person narratives of

transsexual Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignmen ...

experiences and has done extensive biographical research on trans man Reed Erickson. Devor's book, ''The Transgender Archives: Foundations for the Future'', was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in the non-fiction category in 2015. In 2016, through her Foundation,

Jennifer Pritzker Jennifer Natalya Pritzker (born James Nicholas Pritzker; August 13, 1950) is an American investor, philanthropist, and member of the Pritzker family. Pritzker retired as a lieutenant colonel from the Illinois Army National Guard (ILARNG) in 20 ...

gave a $2 million donation to create the world's first academic chair of

transgender studies Transgender studies, also called trans studies or trans* studies, is an interdisciplinary field of academic research dedicated to the study of gender identity, gender expression, and gender embodiment, as well as to the study of various issues of ...

, at the University of Victoria in British Columbia; Devor was chosen as the inaugural chair.

Selected publications

*Devor, H (1989). ''Gender Blending: Confronting the Limits of Duality''. Indiana University Press, *889 *Devor, H (1994). Transsexualism, Dissociation, and Child Abuse An Initial Discussion Based on Nonclinical Data. ''Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality'' Volume: 6 Issue: 3 *Devor, H (1997). ''FTM: Female-to-Male Transsexuals in Society''. Indiana University Press, Second Edition (2016) *Devor, A. H, & Matte, N (2004). "ONE Inc. and Reed Erickson: The Uneasy Collaboration of Gay and Trans Activism, 1964-2003." GLQ: A Journal of Gay and Lesbian Studies, 10(2), 179–209. * *Devor, A. & Wilson, M. (Eds.) (2019). "Glimmerings: Trans Elders Tell Their Stories". Transgender Publishings,

References

External links

Aaron H. Devor Page of the University of Victoria Website
1951 births Living people Canadian sociologists University of Victoria faculty LGBT rights activists from Canada Transgender men Canadian transgender writers Transgender studies academics York University alumni Simon Fraser University alumni University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni Transgender academics 20th-century social scientists 21st-century social scientists Canadian sexologists 21st-century LGBT people {{Canada-sociologist-stub