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Duncan T. Osborne (born May 6, 1957) is an American journalist who writes extensively on LGBT issues, especially AIDS. In March 2003, he wrote a positive review of J. Michael Bailey‘s anti-transgender book The Man Who Would Be Queen for Out magazine, later cited in promotional materials from the publisher.

Background

Osborne grew up in the Boston area. His father taught physics at MIT, and his mother eventually was editor at MIT Press. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in theater from University of Colorado, then moved to New York in 1984. He began writing in 1987.

In his review, Mr. Osborne noted that Bailey “focuses exclusively on men, and he covers a broad spectrum—gay men, male-to-female transsexuals, and men who identify as neither gay nor transgender but engage in behaviors that are typically associated with those who do.”

Bailey’s publisher Joseph Henry Press used an excerpt of this review in its publicity and advertisements. Below is the Out magazine review as it appeared on the Joseph Henry Press site:

“…recommended reading for anyone interested in the study of gender identity and sexual orientation. … Bailey has produced a thoughtful book that cites recent scientific studies on homosexuality and transsexuality. It is written, however, in a style that makes it easily accessible to any reader.”

— Out Magazine, March 2003

I contacted Osborne at the time, and he sent the following reply on 20 August 2003:

I was hired by Out to write the review because I have written a number of stories, including one for Out, on gender identity disorder as well as reparative therapy. The quote you cited above is nearly the entire review. It was roughly one hundred words long and I was required to make a recommendation for or against the book with little opportunity to explore it in any depth. I chose to recommend it because I believed, and I still believe, that it is a good primer on the topics of sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity. 

My only contact with Michael Bailey, if it may be called that, was a failed effort to interview him in 1997 for a story on gender identity disorder that I wrote for a gay paper here in New York City. He never returned my phone call.

Hope this is helpful.

When I asked him if I could quote from the letter above, Osborne agreed under the following conditions:

I expect that you will use everything I wrote and it is particularly important that you note that I would still recommend the book. I would not want to read a quote that makes it seem as if I’m backing away from my original recommendation.

2008 update

In the wake of the 2008 announcement naming Ken Zucker and Ray Blanchard to the DSM-V group involved in “gender identity disorder,” Osborne wrote a piece about the early response:

Flap Flares Over Gender Diagnosis

In interviews with the gay press dating back to 1997, Zucker distanced himself from the practitioners of reparative therapy and he has won praise from some gay psychologists and psychiatrists.

He believes, but cannot prove that his therapy with young children can prevent their being transsexual as adults.

Psychiatrist Richard R. Pleak responded in next issue of Out.

References

Osborne D (April 2003). Voices – Identity Crisis. Out magazine

Osborne D (May 15, 2008). Flap Flares Over Gender Diagnosis. Gay City News. http://www.gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19693908&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6

Schulman, Sarah (May 5, 2015). Interview of Duncan Osborne. ACT UP Oral History Project. http://www.actuporalhistory.org/interviews/images/osborne.pdf

Resources

Twitter: @dosborne71

Muck Rack: duncan-osborne


Ethan B. Boatner, also known as E.B. Boatner, is an American author and photographer.

Background

Boatner was born 1941 and made a gender transition around age 60.

Man Who Would Be Queen review (2003)

Boatner is a longtime book reviewer for Minnesota queer publication Lavender. In the “Page Boy” column for the publication, Boatner published a positive review of The Man Who Would Be Queen when it came out in 2003, writing in part:

…a highly readable and well-researched book… Most interesting: his differentiation of the autogynephilic and homosexual transsexual; and his examination of the latest theories of the roles biology and genetics may play in gender determination. Detailed, but never dry. A fascinating book.

Page Boy column, Lavender

Boatner’s review was cited in promotional materials by publisher Joseph Henry Press.

Boatner also self-published a murder mystery and wrote a dramatic trilogy on trans topics called Changes in Time that was performed in 2013. Boatner also teaches at University of Minnesota.

References

Townsend, John (May 2, 2013). E.B. Boatner’s Sweeping Trans Play Trilogy Reveals How Our Time Shapes Who We Are. Lavender. https://www.lavendermagazine.com/our-scene/e-b-boatners-sweeping-trans-play-trilogy-reveals-how-our-time-shapes-who-we-are/

Boatner, E.B. (2013). M-o-t-h-e-r Spells Murder  ISBN 978-1-4759-4990-2

Resources

E.B.Boatner (ethanboatner.photography)

Facebook (facebook.com)

Lavender (lavendermagazine.com)

  • E.B. Boatner
  • https://lavendermagazine.com/author/e-b-boatner/

JJohn Epperson (better known as drag performer Lypsinka) was quoted in marketing materials for The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey. These materials were prepared by Ann Merchant, Marketing Director at Joseph Henry Press, the publishing arm of the National Academies Press.

Below is the quotation excerpted:

“The feminine man maintains an outsider status that can be heartbreaking and confusing, or it can be liberating, depending on one’s ever-shifting point of view. … I applaud Bailey for attempting to disclose information on a subject that many people find discomfiting; that is, the place that resides between ‘male’ and ‘female.’ Perhaps science can lead to understanding.”

– John Epperson (Lypsinka)

Kurt Weber was on the 2003 selection committee for the Lambda Literary Awards. This committee voted to honor The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey as a finalist for an award in the trans category in February 2004.

Kurt Weber

A Different Light Books
8853 Santa Monica Blvd. 
West Hollywood, CA 90069 
Phone: 310-854-6601 
Fax: 310-659-6430 
[email protected]
http://www.adlbooks.com/

On 24 February 2004, the selection committee including Kurt Weber voted to retain the nomination of this book over the objections of the trans community and other concerned parties around the world.

In March 2004, the committee reconsidered and withdrew this nomination.

I will publish any comments or responses from Kurt Weber regarding this matter as I receive them.

Other resources

Lambda Literary Foundation index page (by Andrea James)

LINK: Full Lambda Literary Award coverage (by Professor Lynn Conway)

Lambda Literary is an American nonprofit that “nurtures and advocates for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve our legacies, and affirm the value of our stories and our lives.”

Over the years they have supported many trans and gender diverse writers through several programs:

  • Lambda Literary Awards
  • Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices
  • Lambda Literary Review
  • LGBTQ Writers in School Program
  • Lambda LitFest

Background

Lambda Rising was an LGBT bookstore that operated from 1974 to 2010 in Washington, D.C. In 1987, founder L. Page “Deacon” Maccubbin published the first Lambda Book Report, highlighting notable LGBTQ books. In 1989, Maccubbin announced the first annual Lambda Literary Awards, later nicknamed The Lammys. In 1997, Lambda Literary Foundation was incorporated as a nonprofit organization, and Jim Marks was named as first Executive Director.

The Lambda Literary Awards have been involved in significant controversies around transgender issues, most notably their nominations and subsequent withdrawals of two transphobic books:

The Man Who Would Be Queen (2004)

A 2003 Lambda Literary event in Provincetown listed J. Michael Bailey as a scheduled participant:

THE INFLUENCE OF TRANSGENDER WRITING ON LESBIAN AND GAY LITERATURE
Gail Leondar Wright, Moderator; Toni Amato, J. Michael Bailey, Kate Bornstein, Leslie Feinberg, Gordene McKenzie, Nancy Nangeroni, Riki Wilchins

I contacted Gail Leondar-Wright, who stated this was cleared up and Bailey was disinvited.

The following year, Bailey’s book was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award on February 2, 2004 in the transgender/genderqueer category (LLF 2004a). Executive Director Jim Marks defended the decision for several weeks (Nangeroni 2004a), until LLF judges took the unprecedented step of withdrawing the nomination on 12 March (Seely 2004). Marks said of the decision: “The specific issue was whether the book was transphobic. The judges looked at the book more closely and decided it was.” (Letellier 2004a)

In 2005, LLF accepted Marks’ resignation in June (Smith 2005) and closed their website in September, removing all materials about the controversy in the process (LLF 2005a). LLF eventually opened a new site at a new web address that made no mention of the matter (LLF 2005b).

Key dates

  • February 2: Nomination announcement and immediate criticism (Grubb 2004)
  • February 9: Marks defends the decision on GenderTalk. (Nangeroni 2004a)
  • February 13: Marks announces that LLF is revisiting the nomination.
  • February 24: LLF announced the committee would keep it on their list: “Bailey has not set out to intentionally do harm to gay men and transsexuals.” (Marks 2004b)
  • February 29: A protest petition passed 1,000 signatures in its first few days, ending at over 1,400. (Burns 2004).
  • March 12: Selection committee withdrew nomination (see full text below).

Revocation announcement

Below is an announcement that we are posting on our web site today. I would like to thank everyone for their comments and e-mails. We welcome additional comments or discussion, although our limited staff and resources preclude answering everyone personally.

Jim

March 12, 2004.

The Lambda Literary Foundation announced that “The Man Who Would Be Queen” has been removed as a 16th Annual Lambda Literary Award finalist.

The change was prompted by a request from the panel of judges that is reading all the finalists in the transgender category, which said the book was not appropriate for the category. The Foundation does not identify the judges to the public or each other until the Awards banquet, which this year will be held June 3, in Chicago, IL. Upon receiving the request, executive director Jim Marks went back to the Finalist Committee, which had selected the book originally. A majority of the committee agreed to honor the request.

Because the action was unprecedented, it provoked heated discussion within the Finalist Committee. Finalist Committee member Kris Kleindienst said, “Removing the book from the list is not censorship. The book is widely available, has been widely reviewed and is not about to be denied to the public. What we are doing is behaving in a responsible manner to make sure the list of finalists is compatible with the Foundation’s mission. Having looked at the book closely, I am sure it is not.” Several committee members echoed Kleindienst’s views.

Finalist Committee member Victoria Brownworth, along with several others, disagreed on the censorship issue. “Banning a book and censoring a book are two different things. While I hate to be the titular voice of the ACLU here, especially since I personally disagree with many aspects of Bailey’s book, if we take the book off the list we are indeed censoring it. It doesn’t matter what our reasons are.”

“This has been a difficult and humbling experience for the Foundation,” said Executive Director Jim Marks. “We’ve never before had a case in which a book, whose author and publisher both affirm their support for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual rights, has at the same time been opposed by those who say its content in fact is antithetical to those rights.”

“Throughout the controversy that has raged over the book’s selection as a finalist, we have struggled to maintain the integrity of the process.” Marks said. “Since the impetus for the change came from the within the category’s judges, and was reviewed and voted on by the Finalist Committee, we feel that the decision is consistent with our process.”

The recipients of the 16th Lambda Literary Awards will be announced at a gala banquet to be held June 3, 2004 at the Chicago Mart Plaza Hotel.

Tickets are $125 for the dinner, $175 for the dinner and gala reception, with discounts for tickets purchased before March 31, 2004.

For more information or to order online, go to www.lambdalit.org or call 202-682-0952. (LLF 2004c)

People involved

The key official and the 2003 selection committee are listed below. Many were not involved in the selection process. (MacCubbin 2004) Jim Marks said The Man Who Would Be Queen “was added to the list by a member of the finalist committee and after the finalist committee had selected it, we went back to the publisher, who paid the nominating fee.” (Marks 2006)

Jane Troxell later responded that “Robert Starner, my co-worker, and I did not vote for Bailey and we even suggested Mariette Pathy Allen’s book instead.” However, Troxell voted not to rescind the nomination, thinking that “would be even worse in the long run.” (Troxell 2004)

Lambda Literary Foundation Executive Director

  • Jim Marks

Selection Committee

  • Larry Bailey (openbookltd.com)
  • Victoria A. Brownworth (victoriabrownworth.com)
  • Michelle DiMeo (womenandchildrenfirst.com)
  • Pam Harcourt (womenandchildrenfirst.com)
  • Richard Labonte (btwof.com)
  • Kris Kleindienst (left-bank.com)
  • Sara Look (charisbooksandmore.com)
  • Retha Powers (insightoutbooks.com)
  • Philip Rafshoon (outwritebooks.com)
  • David Rosen (insightoutbooks.com)
  • Richard Schneider, Jr. (glreview.com)
  • Robert Starner (lambdarising.com)
  • Martha Stone (glreview.com)
  • Jane Troxell (lambdarising.com)
  • Kurt Weber (adlbooks.com)

Victoria Brownworth was a key figure in the nomination and defense: “Banning a book and censoring a book are two different things. While I hate to be the titular voice of the ACLU here, especially since I personally disagree with many aspects of Bailey’s book, if we take the book off the list we are indeed censoring it. It doesn’t matter what our reasons are.”

Kris Kleindienst said, “Removing the book from the list is not censorship. The book is widely available, has been widely reviewed and is not about to be denied to the public. What we are doing is behaving in a responsible manner to make sure the list of finalists is compatible with the Foundation’s mission. Having looked at the book closely, I am sure it is not.” Several committee members echoed Kleindienst’s views.

In July 2004, Kris Kleindienst wrote with this addendum:

For the record, the whole Lammy thing was a terrible ordeal, one which took up a month of my time, aside from normal judging duties, in intense engagement with some members of the finalist committee and Jim Marks. I am not paid for this pleasure, in fact I have to pay for the privilege of attending the awards ceremony. (I did not attend this year.) I could have easily chosen not to deal with it, there are no real consequences for simply not responding to an email from the Lambda Literary Foundation. But in fact, I was sickened by the thought that this book could have gotten this far –more by inattention and ignorance than for any malicious reason–I was unaware it was even being considered until the finalists were made public. My FtM partner and I had some very hard conversations about what to do. Hopefully, the final outcome has started a process that is long overdue at the Lammies, one of really putting the T in LGBT.

Flaws in the process

The entire process is in the service of commerce, much like the same problem with the review process at Amazon.com. Books are nominated by the publishers and chosen by a group of booksellers in a symbiotic marketing relationship. Books are chosen more by buzz than by literary merit, which works to the benefit of a book like Bailey’s which uses controversy as a marketing tool.

Jennifer Finney Boylan, the eventual 2003 Lambda Literary Award winner in the trans category, was not even notified of being nominated, suggesting that the process is not about the awards and authors but about the sales. It also came out that the committees involved in the decision had no representation from the transgender community, which explains how they were unaware that the vast majority of the community found the book defamatory and irresponsible.

2005: Marks ousted, building sold, publications ceased, website deleted

In June 2005, Marks was ousted as Executive Director, a position Marks had held almost continuously since 1996. On 7 June, a majority of Lambda Literary Foundation Board of Trustees voted to accept the resignation.

Trustees accepting:

  • Jim Duggins, retired academic who lives in Palm Springs, Calif.
  • Katherine V. Forrest, an author based in San Francisco
  • Karla Jay, an author who lives in New York
  • Don Wiese, a New York editor at Carroll & Graf

Trustees not accepting:

  • Jim Marks, ousted director
  • Nick Apostol, Jim Marks’ domestic partner (Smith 2005)

LLF also sold their building on 16 June and suspended publication of the James White Review and the Lambda Book Report. Founder Deacon Maccubbin noted “issues were skipped or late getting on newsstands,” which “hurt its credibility.” Trustee Katherine Forrest said “Both of the publications have been operating chronically in the red, really, since they left the umbrella of the Lambda Rising bookstore. We’re talking about nine or 10 years that it’s just been sputtering along.” Forrest said there has been an “ongoing, chronic problem” with the Lambda Book Report’s ability to publish in a timely manner. It was supposed to be available monthly, but often was late coming out (Smith 2005). Marks has since claimed the resignation had nothing to do with the financial difficulties cited by LLF’s founder and trustees, nor anything to do with the mishandling of the Bailey fiasco (Marks 2006).

Their lambdalit.org website went offline after the announcement, eventually reappearing in 2006 as a text-only site consisting of three pages that lasted for a couple of years. A new site at lambdaliterary.org went live at the end of 2005, announcing “Welcome to the New Lambda Literary Foundation.” Any mention of the Bailey debacle was gone from the new site. In January 2006, new LLF Executive Director Charles Flowers reportedly initiated a complete overhaul of Lambda’s process.

The 2004 incident has become a centerpiece of Bailey’s evidence that the book was well-received. After the New York TimesBenedict Carey wrote a piece citing Bailey’s version of the LLF incident and omitting the revocation (Carey 2007), Flowers moved to set the record straight (Flowers 2007):

To the New York Times,

In your recent article on J. Michael Bailey and his book, The Man Who Would Be Queen (“Criticism of a Gender Theory, and Scientist Under Siege” by Benedict Carey, August 21, 2007), your journalist reported, “The Lambda Literary Foundation, an organization that promotes gay, bisexual, and transgender literature, nominated the book for an award.”

Mr. Carey failed to disclose that the Foundation later withdrew the award nomination in response to our judges’ assessment of the book, which they ultimately considered transphobic and inappropriate for a Lambda Literary award.

Further, the Bailey incident revealed flaws in our awards nomination process, which I have completely overhauled since becoming the foundation’s executive director in January 2006. Any book with LGBT content may be nominated by its publisher or its author, but the selection of the book as a finalist for an award is in the hands of the category’s judges. Trans writers now serve as judges in our awards process (both in the Transgender category as well as other categories), so that a book such as Bailey’s could be nominated for an award by the author/publisher but not selected as a finalist or recipient by the judges. In addition, we have expanded many of our categories by dropping the “gay” and “lesbian” designation, in favor of “men’s” and “women’s,” to better represent and embrace the literature of bisexual and transgender writers.

Our judges spoke for the foundation in 2004 when they withdrew Bailey’s book from consideration of a Lambda Literary Award, and the foundation’s position remains the same. With the help of the transgender community, we have improved the integrity of our awards, by making them more inclusive and our methods more transparent.

Sincerely,
Charles Flowers
Executive Director
Lambda Literary Foundation

Galileo’s Middle Finger (2016)

In 2006, after failing to stop me from speaking at Northwestern University, historian Alice Dreger published a lengthy revisionist history defending J. Michael Bailey in the Archives of Sexual Behavior. Dreger sent a pre-publication draft to Benedict Carey at the New York Times, hoping to get coverage during a sexology convention. Carey had written several pieces presenting Bailey as a legitimate academic, and Carey’s piece left anti-trans activists “elated.”

Dreger’s article was republished in the 2015 book Galileo’s Middle Finger with some revisions, including Dreger’s further laundering of the Danny Ryan hoax that frames Bailey’s book.

The following year, Lambda Literary nominated Dreger’s book for a Lambda Literary Award. Dreger attempted to build a campaign of support. Unlike the previous controversy, leaders took the error very seriously and quickly rescinded the nomination.

On March 22, anti-trans activist Jesse Singal published the letter that Dreger received from Lambda Literary Executive Director Tony Valenzuela rescinding the nomination:

@LambdaLiterary has withdrawn @AliceDreger’s book from consideration for its nonfiction literary award. The (very strongly) implied message here is that you can’t simultaneously be an advocate for social justice and care about the principles of truth, accuracy, and fairness in argument. It was a message I heard loud and clear after my Zucker/GIC article, and one that will, in the long run, harm all of us greatly.

Singal (2016)

Dreger wrote an open letter to Valenzuela claiming Valenzuela’s letter was dated March 24 and expressing outrage over the recission:

Not too surprisingly, Conway and James soon launched a campaign against my book’s finalist status, but I pretty much ignored this. I figured the Foundation knew this would happen and was prepared to weather the storm. […]

I’m writing in response to your March 24 email informing me that, “After reviewing Galileo’s Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science, the organization has concluded the book is inconsistent with its mission of affirming LGBTQ lives. As a result, the decision was made to rescind the nomination for a 2016 Lambda Literary Award in the LGBT Nonfiction category.” […]

But no. You caved. And quickly—much more quickly than the Foundation did under Marks in 2003. In spite of all the LGBT people who have actively praised my book, who have thanked me for the work, you quickly caved to a small group of bullies who have proven time and time again that they will do anything they can to get attention and to force everyone to adhere to their singular account of transgenderism, even when it negates the reported childhoods of gay and lesbian people, even when it denies the reality of many transgender people and attempts to force them into closets because of their sexual orientations.

Brynn Tannhill wrote in The Advocate:

Dreger endorses and actively promotes the theories in Bailey’s book. She opposes the affirming model of therapy for transgender youth. She supports psychiatrists who use coercive behavior modification on children to prevent them from growing up to be transgender. She urges transgender people to simply accept or embrace living in a society in which they cannot transition, rather than building a more open and affirming society. Finally, Dreger has also publicly opposed laws banning reparative therapy if they include gender identity.

Dreger uses scare tactics on LGB people to convince them that transgender people and affirming therapists are “forcing” innocent gay and lesbian children into being transgender. Anti-transgender splinter groups from the LGBT commnity use Dreger’s fear-mongering as a rationale for why LGB people should abandon transgender people to their fates.

Tannehill (2016)

References

Tannehill, Brynn (March 30, 2016). Lambda Literary Foundation Snuffs Out Anti-Trans Scandal. The Advocate https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/3/25/lambda-literary-foundation-snuffs-out-anti-trans-scandal

Beyer, Dana (March 22, 2016). The Lambda Literary Foundation Trips but Rights Itself Quickly and With Dignity. HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-lambda-literary-found_b_9526090

Dreger, Alice (March 24, 2016). An Open Letter to the Lambda Literary Foundation. https://alicedreger.com/LLF/

  • See also this letter from Bruce Henderson https://alicedreger.com/BH/

Bailey JM (2003a). The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism. Joseph Henry Press. [Online version removed February 2006] http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10530

Bailey JM (2003b). Interview on KOOP-FM, Austin, TX, May 2003 Originally at http://www.donnarose.com/JMBInterview.html [archive]

Burns C and ~ 1,400+ signatories (2004). J Michael Bailey Book Petition. http://www.petitiononline.com/bailey/petition.html [archive]

Carey, Benedict (2007). Criticism of a Gender Theory and a Scientist Under Siege. New York Times, 21 August.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/health/psychology/21gender.html

Chesnut, Saralyn (2003). Report on a J. Michael Bailey Lecture at Emory University8 April. http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/bailey-transsexuals.html [archive]

Conway, Lynn (2005). The gay and lesbian “Lambda Literary Foundation” disses all transsexual women by nominating Bailey’s book for a GLB’T’ literary award. lynnconway.com, revision dated 19 July. https://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Bailey/Lambda%20Literary%20Foundation.html

Flowers C (2007). Letter to New York Times. 20 September.

Grubb RJ (2004). Lambda Literary awards come under fire: Organization criticized for controversial book finalist. Bay Windows, 12 February. 
http://www.baywindows.com/main.cfm?include=detail&storyid=604717 [archive]

Lambda Literary Foundation (2003). LLF website logo and tagline. Retrieved 24 December 2003. 
http://web.archive.org/web/20031001144857/www.lambdalit.org/index_2.html [archive]

Lambda Literary Foundation (2004a). 16th Annual Lambda Literary Award Finalists. 2 February. 
http://www.lambdalit.org/Lammy/lammy_2003_finalists.html [archive]

Lambda Literary Foundation (2004b) Man Who Would Be Queen to Remain on Lambda Literary Awards Finalists List. 24 February.
http://www.lambdalit.org/Lammy/FinalistDecision.html [archive]

Lambda Literary Foundation (2004c) Man Who Would Be Queen Announcement. 12 March.
http://www.lambdalit.org/Lammy/BaileyBook/Baileyaction.html [archive]

Lambda Literary Foundation (2005a). Resources for the debate over The Man Who Would Be Queen [offline as of September 2005] 
http://www.lambdalit.org/lambda_home.html [archive]

Lambda Literary Foundation (2005b) Welcome to the New Lambda Literary Foundation.
http://www.lambdaliterary.org/ [archive]

  • Note: former website http://www.lambdalit.org [archive] went offline at the time they closed publications and sold their building, eventually reappearing in 2006 as a text-only site consisting of three pages.

Letellier P (2004a). Group rescinds honor for disputed book. Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network, 16 March.
http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2004/03/16/3 [archive]

Letellier P (2004b). Gay? Trans? Whatever. The Advocate, 27 April.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2004_April_27/ai_n6141883 [archive]

Maccubbin D (2004). Letter to Andrea James. 15 March.

Marks J (2004). 16th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Finalists named. Press release dated 2 February.
http://www.lambdalit.org/lammy_FinalistsPR_2003.html [archive]

Marks J (2006). Letter to Alice Dreger. 22 July.

Nangeroni N,, MacKenzie G (2004a). Jim Marks discusses the LLF nomination. GenderTalk, 9 February. http://www.gendertalk.com/real/400/gt447.shtml [archive]

  • See also transcript excerpts at https://www.transgendermap.com/politics/media/jim-marks/

Nangeroni N, MacKenzie G (2004b). Jim Marks discusses the LLF nomination withdrawalGenderTalk, 15 March.
http://www.gendertalk.com/radio/programs/450/gt452.shtml [archive]

  • See also transcript excerpts at https://www.transgendermap.com/politics/media/jim-marks/

Scanlon, Kyle (2004). Lost in trans-lation: Nomination revoked / How a book award went so wrong. Xtra!, 15 April. 
http://www.xtra.ca/site/toronto2/arch/body1684.shtm [archive]

Schlessinger L (1998). Dr. Laura’s Website, December 8, 1998 archived by stopdrlaura.com
http://www.stopdrlaura.com/laura/index.htm [archive]

Schwartz N (2005). Lambda Literary Foundation Announces Major Changes. Bookselling This Week, 16 June.
http://news.bookweb.org/news/3606.html [archive]

Seely C (2004). Gay awards shun trans book: Critics say author propagated stereotypes. Southern Voice, 9 April.
http://www.southernvoice.com/2004/4-9/view/actionalert/action.cfm [archive]

Smith, Gwen (2004). Awarding transphobia. Bay Area Reporter, 4 March 
http://www.gwensmith.com/writing/transmissions88.html [archive]

Smith R (2005). Lambda Literary loses leader, closes publication. New York Blade, 17 June.
http://www.newyorkblade.com/2005/6-17/news/localnews/lambda.cfm [archive]

Szymanski Z (2004). Lambda awards finalist sparks anger. Bay Area Reporter, 4 March

  • Archived by Lynn Conway https://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Bailey/Lambda%20Literary%20Foundation.html#Zak [archive]

Troxell J (2004). Letter to Andrea James. 19 March.

Resources

Lambda Literary Foundation (lambdalit.org) [archive]

  • Bailey Action [archive]
  • http://www.lambdalit.org/Lammy/BaileyBook/Baileyaction.html
  • Resources for the debate over The Man Who Would Be Queen [archive]
  • http://www.lambdalit.org/Lammy/BaileyBook/BaileyResources.html
  • [includes materials by J. Michael Bailey, Stephen Mautner, Vernon Rosario, Lynn Conway, Andrea James, and Willow Arune]
    • Professor Bailey’s web site (includes text of The Man Who…) [archive]
    • http://www.psych.northwestern.edu/psych/people/faculty/bailey/controversy.htm
    • Open Letter from the Joseph Henry Press [archive]
    • http://www.jhpress.org/press_release/10530openletter.pdf
    • Review of The Man Who Would Be Queen by Vernon Rosario [archive]
    • http://lambdalit.org/Lammy/BaileyBook/RosarioonBailey.html
    • Lynn Conway Investigation [archive]
    • http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/LynnsReviewOfBaileysBook.html
    • TS Roadmap [archive]
    • http://tsroadmap.com/info/bailey-blanchard-lawrence.html
    • Psychology of Gender Identity and Transgenderism [archive]
    • http://www.genderpsychology.org/autogynephilia/j_michael_bailey/
    • Autogynephilia Transgender Support Group [Willow Arune trolling group banned by Yahoo]
    • Transgender Essay on behalf of The Man who.. [archive] [Willow Arune’s “I AM ARUNE!”]
    • http://www.lambdalit.org/Lammy/BaileyBook/Willowarune.html

Lambda Literary (lambdaliterary.org)

Lambda Literary Review (lambdaliteraryreview.org)

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YouTube (youtube.com)

Facebook (facebook.com)

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Ina Rimpau (born 1958) is an American librarian, a staff member at the Newark Public Library system in New Jersey. Rimpau wrote a review of J. Michael Bailey‘s anti-transgender book The Man Who Would Be Queen for Library Journal, a trade publication that makes acquisition recommendations.

Marketing blurb (2003)

Publisher Joseph Henry Press used this excerpt in online promotions:

“[Bailey uses] chatty, lay readers’ terms and anecdotes from his own personal life and research… Recommended for comprehensive collections in sexuality, psychology, and social science.”
— Library Journal, May 15, 2003

Full review (2003)

[Excerpts used by Joseph Henry Press in italics. Notable omitted part in bold.]

The Man Who Would Be Queen; The Psychology of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism. Bailey, J. Michael. Joseph Henry: National Academy. 2003. c.256p. index. ISBN 0-309-08418-0. $24.95.

Bailey (psychology, Northwestern Univ.) presents himself as a psychologist firmly in the center of discussions surrounding transsexualism in males. He begins by contrasting a therapist who advocates striking a four-year-old boy for “engaging in feminine behavior” [1] (putting clothes on his stuffed animals) with the “anti – Gender Identity Disorder folks” (Bailey’s term) [2] who say that society is sick for being intolerant of unmasculine boys. Using chatty, lay readers’ terms and anecdotes from his own personal life and researchBailey dispassionately presents the two extremes but fails to ask the deeper questions, e.g., if “masculine” and “feminine” traits and identities are so natural, why must masculinity in particular be intensely policed and enforced? He takes as a given that homosexuality has a biological root and describes transsexualism as a “developmental disorder.” [3, 4] Subsequent chapters present discussions and case studies of male-to-female transsexuals, making this book an adequate starting point for discussions on gender; for more radical views, readers are encouraged to read works by Pat Califia and Kate Bornstein. Recommended for comprehensive collections in sexuality, psychology, and social science. – Ina Rimpau, Newark P.L.

Footnotes

  1. Bailey, page 25: “At least once prior to therapy his father spanked Kraig for putting female clothes on his stuffed animals.”
  2. Bailey, page 28: “The anti-GID folks have a logically consistent treatment recommendation: no diagnosis, no treatment.”
  3. Bailey page 167: “This is speculative, and what causes the developmental error is anyone’s guess.”
  4. Bailey page 207: “I suspect that both autogynephilic and homosexual gender dysphoria result from early and irreversible developmental processes in the brain. If so, learning more about the origins of transsexualism will not get us much closer to curing it.”

References

Rimpau, Ina (May 15, 2003). The Man Who Would Be Queen; The Psychology of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism [Review]. Library Journal, p. 110.

Martha Stone was on the 2003 selection committee for the Lambda Literary Awards. This committee voted to honor The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey as a finalist for an award in the trans category in February 2004.

Martha Stone works with Richard Schneider, Jr., another committee member.

Martha Stone

Literary Editor, The Gay & Lesbian Review
[email protected]

PO Box 180300 Boston MA 02118 
617.421.0082 
http://www.glreview.com 
[email protected]

On 24 February 2004, the selection committee including Martha Stone voted to retain the nomination of this book over the objections of the trans community and other concerned parties around the world.

In March 2004, the committee reconsidered and withdrew this nomination.

I will publish any comments or responses from Martha Stone regarding this matter as I receive them.

Other resources

Lambda Literary Foundation index page

LINK: Full Lambda Literary Award coverage (by Professor Lynn Conway)

Chloe Ann Rounsley is an American writer and photographer who co-wrote True Selves with therapist Mildred L. Brown in 1996.

Background

Chloe Ann Rounsley was born in 1950.

As a staff photographer for newspapers, Rounsley “has always focused on the visual and photographic aspects.” Rounsley has written feature stories, book reviews, a regular column called Faces (with portraits and stories), and magazine articles on a variety of subjects. 

One of Rounsley’s relationship articles for the San Francisco Chronicle led to the book True Selves.

Rounsley has also worked as a public relations manager, staff writer, and  copywriter for ad agencies. Rounsley’s own creative agency, Rounsley Associates, develops corporate identity and ad campaigns.

Resources

Rounsley Associates (rounsley.com) [archive]

LinkedIn (linkedin.com)

Digital Transgender Archive (digitaltransgenderarchive.net)

The Advocate is a prominent publication for sex and gender minorities founded in 1967. Below are some of the matters relevant to this project.

The Man Who Would Be Queen

The Man Who Would Be Queen
The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism
J. Michael Bailey

“…fascinating revelations…a scientific yet superbly compassionate exposition.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Recommended reading for anyone interested in the study of gender identity and sexual orientation…. It is written, however, in a style that makes it easily easily accessible to any reader.” — Out Magazine

256pp., 6″ x 8.5″
hardback
ISBN 0-309-08418-0
$24.95
To order: Call toll-free 1-888-624-7651 or
Browse before you buy – preview a full-text, searchable version or buy a downloadable, PDF online at www.nap.edu

Joesph Henry Press an imprint of The National Academies Press www.jhpress.org • 888-624-7651

Response

Calpernia Addams and I called up the Editor that day and got a perspective piece printed in the next available edition. After reading the book, he assured us the ad would not run again.

There’s work to do. For example: J. Michael Bailey, a professor who claims to be a friend of our community, has just put out a very defamatory book. In The Man Who Would Be Queen, he links transsexual women to The Silence of the Lambs and notes that we work as “strippers and prostitutes, as well as in many other occupations.” Because we believe in fighting unjust media depictions wherever we find them, we took time from our other projects to address and counter this insidious book.

References

Joseph Henry Press (June 10, 2003). [ad for The Man Who Would Be Queen]. The Advocate

Addams C, James A (July 22, 2003). Transformations. The Advocate. http://www.advocate.com/html/stories/894/894_transformations.asp

Out is an American media organization for sex and gender minorities founded in 1992. Below are some of the matters relevant to this project.

The Man Who Would Be Queen

In 2003, Joseph Henry Press published The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism by J. Michael Bailey.

In March 2003, Out ran a book review by Duncan Osborne. The parts in bold were used in promotional material by the published Joseph Henry Press. The review is based on a preview copy where the subtitle had not yet been altered The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism.

J. Michael Bailey’s The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Psychology of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism is recommended reading for anyone interested in the study of gender identity and sexual orientation. Bailey, an associate professor of psychology at Northwestern University, focuses exclusively on men, and he covers a broad spectrum—gay men, male-to-female transsexuals, and men who identify as neither gay nor transgendered but engage in behaviors that are typically associated with those who do. Bailey has produced a thoughtful book that cites recent scientific studies on homosexuality and transsexuality. It is written, however, in a style that makes it easily accessible to any reader.

Below is an example of how the excerpted review appeared in The Advocate on June 10, 2003.

'man who would be queen' ad

Below is a classified ad that ran in early 2003 in many gay publications, citing the review above:

'man who would be queen' classified ad

References

Osborne D (March 2003). [Review] The Man Who Would Be Queen. Out. http://www.out.com/bookreviews2.asp?id=2598 [archive]

Resources

Out (out.com)