An Introduction to Gender Review and FACT
Gender Review was the newsletter of FACT (originally the Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Transsexuals, later the Federation of American and Canadian Transsexuals). It was published from 1978-1985, making it the first national trans newsletter in Canada. The issues were letter size (8.5 x 11 inches) and usually 12 pages long. Early issues were typed on an electric typewriter with Letraset transfers used for titles and other design elements. Issues were illustrated with photos (usually of members of FACT or experts from the Board of Advisors) and occasionally drawings. Gender Review was mailed to subscribers, members of FACT, and clinicians providing trans-related health care. FACT sent copies to other trans organizations as well as to some gay organizations. Most organizations receiving Gender Review reciprocated by sending their newsletter to FACT. Gender Review was also distributed to a few bookstores including Glad Day in Toronto and Androgyné in Montréal. 200 copies of the first issue were printed and 3 months later 135 copies had been distributed.
Gender Review regularly featured news (summaries of trans issues featured in mainstream media), resources (books, magazines, services, support and social groups), letters, FACT business, profiles of trans people and professional allies, poetry, and editorials. Some issues included an advice column, personals, a Bible column, events listings, and book reviews. The newsletter provided practical advice about transitioning and having one's gender read correctly ("passing") including information about and advertisements for products such as breast forms and STP (stand-to-pee) devices. The most frequently covered topics were gender affirming surgeries, medical care, health insurance, and legal issues. Other concerns included coming out, transpeople in prison, employment, and discrimination.
In addition to being a newsletter for transpeople and their allies, Gender Review was a way for members of FACT to communicate with each other about the business of their organization. This was especially true beginning in 1981 when Gender Review included annual reports and financial statements, a mail-in constitutional referendum, and reports on the activities of local chapters.
History of FACT
FACT was founded in 1978 in Calgary by Rupert Raj (then known as Nicholas Ghosh) and two other transmen. Raj grew up in Ottawa, son of a Polish mother and Indian father. He identifies as Eurasian and writes in his 2017 memoir that "I virtually always pass for White."* After earning a BA in psychology from Carleton University, he moved to Vancouver. Through his 20s, his transition and trans activism were his focus, leading him from Vancouver to Calgary and then Toronto. He took a number of jobs during this period - some to follow a vocation in psychology and social work, others to support himself financially.
Raj was the driving force behind FACT and he continued to direct the organization after moving to Toronto in July 1979. Even at this early stage, FACT had an almost national reach with board members in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. In Toronto, the group began holding biweekly meetings in members' homes and starting in 1981 met at The 519 Church Street Community Centre.
Raj resigned from the board of FACT in 1980. In the February 1981 issue, Raj announced his resignation as editor but continued in that role until June of that year. He would shortly redirect his energies towards Metamorphosis Medical Research Foundation (MMRF), an organization he founded to gather and disseminate information about phalloplasty and to support trans men and their partners. MMRF published Metamorphosis: the Newsletter Exclusively for F-M Men.
After Raj's departure, Susan Huxford took a leadership role in FACT and Gender Review. Huxford was a white woman who had immigrated to Canada from the UK after serving in the Second World War and transitioned after retiring from teaching in the mid 1970s. She was active in the Anglican church and wrote articles about Christianity and the Bible for Gender Review. Huxford's privilege is evident her sometimes unrealistic expectations of other transpeople, desire for respectability, and support of the gender identity clinics. She first contributed to Gender Review in late 1979 with an article called "Do You Pass?" and would go on to write many articles and serve as the newsletter's editor. Huxford became executive secretary of FACT in early 1980.
By 1982, FACT had over 100 members, over half of whom were in Toronto. Chapters elsewhere in Canada were inactive largely because very few people were able to take on a leadership role. A similar problem was occuring at the national level, with FACT having trouble filling positions on the Board of Directors and operating on a deficit. In light of this, the Board proposed a change in the governance structure - FACT would cease to be an independent organization and instead be administered by GenderServe, Huxford's non-profit counselling, education and research service. A mail-in referendum on this proposal was presented in November 1982 and was approved by the membership. Under the new governance structure Huxford served as Executive Director of FACT and essentially ran the organization herself, sometimes with the help of an assistant.
In 1984, Huxford changed the name of FACT to Federation of American and Canadian Transsexuals. The name change reflected the organization's reach outside of Canada with chapters in San Francisco, Buffalo, and other American cities. The final issue of Gender Review was published in the summer of 1985. Huxford resigned from FACT in February 1986 and the organization folded later that year.
Activities
The primary purpose of FACT was to provide support for transpeople. Local chapters existed at various times in Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Montréal, Gatineau, Hamilton, Kitchener, and Toronto. Chapters held regular meetings that provided mutual support and social activities such as movie nights, parties, and fashion shows. FACT also had local representatives, often in smaller cities and towns, who could provide information and support on a more individual basis. FACT referred transpeople and their families to knowledgeable and supportive medical professionals and counsellors.
FACT also sought to educate both the general public and professionals about trans issues. Raj, Huxford, and other members of the board of directors conducted workshops for medical professionals, social workers, students, and others. Both Raj and Huxford wrote letters to politicians and government agencies asking for information about name and gender marker changes, health insurance coverage, human rights protections, and services for transpeople in prison. FACT members also shared their stories in newspapers and appeared on radio and TV shows.
Raj communicated extensively with leading experts in medical transition and transgender psychology, persuading many of them to serve on the Board of Advisors of FACT. Many of these experts were also profiled in Gender Review. Huxford discontinued the Board of Advisors and primarily limited her contact with specialists to those at the Clarke's Gender Identity Clinic, especially Dr. Betty Steiner. Both Huxford and Raj networked with trans and gay organizations, across Canada and in the US. A major feature of this networking was the exchange of newsletters and other publications as well as mutual promotion. Most issues of Gender Review have ads or event listings for other North American trans groups.
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*Rupert Raj, Dancing the Dialectic: True Tales of a Transgender Trailblazer (self-pub., CreateSpace, 2017), 19.
**The 519 is an LGBTQ2S community centre and service agency in Toronto.