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John E. Hoopes and transgender people

John E. Hoopes is an American plastic surgeon. Hoopes was the inaugural director of the Johns Hopkins Gender Identity Clinic starting in 1966.

While an early proponent of surgical treatment for transgender patients, Hoopes’ work also reflected the cautious and often pathologizing attitudes of the era.

Background

John Eugene “Jack” Hoopes was born on August 8, 1931 in Boone, Iowa. Hoopes grew up in Midland, Michigan with one sibling. Hoopes earned a bachelor’s degree from Rice University in 1953. Hoopes earned a medical degree from Johns Hopkins in 1957. After one year of internship and one year of residency at Johns Hopkins, Hoopes transferred to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson to complete training in general surgery. Hoopes then spent two more years as a resident in plastic surgery at the University of Virginia Medical Center before returning to the department of surgery at Johns Hopkins in 1964. In 1968, Hoopes began a two-year associate professorship in surgery at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis. He then returned to Johns Hopkins as a professor of plastic surgery, director of the division of plastic surgery, and plastic surgeon-in-charge. 

During his active career, Hoopes practiced a number of clinical specialties, including treatment of congenital deformities of the face, acute and late reconstructive surgery for burn victims, surgery of the hand and lower extremities, breast reconstruction, and aesthetic surgery, especially for cancers of the head and neck.

Hoopes and spouse had four children.

Hoopes was named emeritus professor in 1990. Hoopes founded the John E. Hoopes Foundation for Plastic Surgery, and remains a consultant on topics of plastic surgery.

Johns Hopkins Gender Identity Clinic

In 1965, Hoopes was was appointed Chief of Plastic Surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Under Hoopes’ leadership, the Johns Hopkins Gender Identity Clinic brought together psychiatrists, psychologists, endocrinologists, surgeons, and social workers to establish protocols for the comprehensive evaluation and treatment of individuals diagnosed with “transsexualism,” a term Hoopes later criticized as not specific enough.

Together with psychiatrist Jon K. Meyer, Hoopes coauthored influential papers in the 1970s proposing the concept of “gender dysphoria syndromes” and developing clinical standards for the surgical management of gender-diverse patients. Their 1974 paper, The Gender Dysphoria Syndromes: A Position Statement on So-Called ‘Transsexualism’, was an early attempt to creat a taxonomy of trans patients.

References

Hoopes, June Markus; Fuller, Gerald R. (1983). The Hoopes Family Record, A Continuation of the Genealogical Record of The Hoopes-Hoops Family, Descendants of Daniel Hoopes of Westtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Volume III – Generations Nine – Present (Where Known), Addenda/Errata and Index.” https://archive.org/stream/hoopes-family-record-volume-3/Hoopes%20Family%20Record%20Volume%203_djvu.txt

Herndon, G. O. (Nov. 23, 1966). Sex-Change List Grows, Six Married or Engaged . Washington Evening Star https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/kk91fk66p

Herndon, G. O. (November 22, 1966). Two “New” Females are Brides-to-Be. Washington Evening Star https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/3j333237h

Golden, Arthur (November 21, 1966). Surgery at John Hopkins Changes Men Into Women. Washington Evening Star https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net/files/hd76s0171

Selected publications by Hoopes

Hoopes JE (1975). Surgical construction of the male external genitalia. Clin Plast Surg. 1975;1:325–? https://doi.org/10.1016/S0094-1298(20)32244-6

Meyer JK, Hoopes JE (1974). The gender dysphoria syndromes: A position statement on so‑called “transsexualism.” Plast Reconstr Surg. 1974;54(4):444–451. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006534‑197410000‑00009

Hoopes JE (1969). Operative treatment of the female transsexual. In: Green R, Money J, eds. Transsexualism and Sex Reassignment. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press; 1969:335–352. ISBN 978-0801810381

Jones HW Jr, Schirmer HKA, Hoopes JE (1968). A sex conversion operation for males with transsexualism. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1968;100(1):101–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002‑9378(15)33644‑9

Knorr NJ, Hoopes JE, Edgerton MT (1968). Psychiatric-surgical approach to adolescent disturbance in self image. Plast Reconstr Surg. 1968 Mar;41(3):248-53. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006534-196803000-00007

Knorr NJ, Edgerton MT, Hoopes JE (1967). The “insatiable” cosmetic surgery patient. Plast Reconstr Surg. 1967 Sep;40(3):285-9. PMID: 6037160

Media

American Association of Plastic Surgeons (Jan 30, 2019). The Icon Project: Dr. Jack Hoopes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ohlH5HU6No

Resources

Johns Hopkins Medical Archives (medicalarchives.jhmi.edu)

Harvard University Center for History in Medicine (https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/)

The John E. Hoopes Foundation for Plastic Surgery, Inc.

  • EIN: 52-1856283