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Sheila Kirk archive

Sheila C. Kirk (born April 5, 1930) is an American gynecologist and an important figure in the history of trans health services. She authored several books on medical transition and served on many nonprofit boards.

Her innovative Transgender Surgical and Medical Center (TSMC) was in operation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania beginning in 1998 through 1999.

Background

Kirk was board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and was a member of the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (now WPATH). She received her degree from the Boston University School of Medicine in 1957 and was licensed in Pennsylvania in 1963. Her internship and the greater part of her residency were at the University Hospitals in Buffalo NY.  She completed her training in Pittsburgh PA where she remained in private practice.

In 1992 Dr Kirk retired from active practice and from her position as an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Pittsburgh to work with the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) as a medical consultant to the T* community. She was the first trans surgeon elected to the board of HBIGDA. She also served on the editorial board of the International Journal of Transgenderism and was a member of TransPitt and the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA).

Her medical information books were important pre-internet resources. Following her decades of service to the community, Dr. Kirk retired from activism and moved to South Carolina.

Books and articles

  • Hormonal Therapy for the Male-to-Female Transgendered Individual (1994)
  • Medical, Legal, and Workplace Issues for the Transsexual (1995)
  • Feminizing Hormonal Therapy for the Transgendered (1996)
  • Transgender and HIV: Risks, Prevention, and Care, with Walter O. Bockting (2001)
  • “The Whole Person: A Paradigm for Integrating the Mental and Physical Health of Trans Clients,” with Claudette Kulkarni, in The Handbook of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Public Health: A Practitioner’s Guide to Service Michael Shankle (2013)