11 Incredible Images From The World's Largest Trans Archives
“If you’re going to write history, you need to hear from the people who were there.”
The University of Victoria houses the Transgender Archives, a massive collection of books, art, photos, posters, newsletters, memorabilia, and more documenting transgender and gender nonconforming communities. If you were to the entire collection into boxes, they could sit on a shelf the length of a football field.
"It's just a whole range of interests and topics that are of interest to transgender people and their lives," said Aaron H. Devor, UVic's Chair in Transgender Studies and the archive's founder.
"If you're going to write history, you need to hear from the people who were there."
UVic also just hosted Moving Trans History Forward, the largest trans conference ever hosted in Canada.
Here's a peek inside the impressive and fascinating collection.
Teacher and activist Ariadne "Ari" Kane, 1978.
The Transgender Archives
Model Caroline "Tula" Cossey.
The Transgender Archives
Racing driver and World War II fighter pilot Roberta Cowell, 1954. She's know as the first British trans woman to undergo sex-reassignment surgery.
The Transgender Archives