University of Victoria Special Collections & University Archives AR421 Rikki Swin Institute transgender collection Acc. No.: 2008-006 24 boxes, oversize objects and documents Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the collection Dates of creation: 1943-2003 Physical description area: 7.3m of textual records, graphic material and objects Archival description / Administrative History The Rikki Swin Institute: Gender Education, Research, Library and Archives (RSI) opened in Chicago and was the world’s first institute dedicated to transgender research and education. It opened to the public on March 22, 2001, to coincide with the 15th Annual Conference of the International Foundation for Gender Education. The Institute closed in December 2004. The Institute had four objectives: the housing of a library and archives; conference co-sponsorship; digital video education; and research. Archival collections were purchased from Ari Kane, Betty Ann Lind, the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE), and Virginia Prince. Archival description / Scope and Contents The Rikki Swin Institute Collection consists of the following fonds: Rikki Swin Institute fonds, Ari Kane fonds, International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) fonds, and the Virginia Prince fonds. The IFGE fonds include material from Betty Ann Lind and Merissa Sherrill Lynn. Notes/Restrictions Access to confidential and personal information of identifiable individuals, other than above named creators and public figures, is subject to a research agreement to protect personal privacy. Confidential files include counselling case files, Fantasia Fair registration information, and RSI Transperson Surveys. Notes/Associated or Related Materials In addition to published materials included in this archival collection, UVic Libraries holds over 1000 monographs and periodicals related to transgenderism, transsexualism, cross dressing, transvestism, gender identity and related subjects. These are available from Special Collections (non-circulating) and the Main Library, and include the major gift of published materials from Rikki Swin: search via UVic Libraries Catalogue at http://library.uvic.ca/ 1 Notes/Arrangement Beyond the file order in the shipping boxes, the collection was received without a distinct order from RSI. The various creators’ original order is not clear. Selection within the fonds based on relevance to transgender issues, duplicates and non-record material were also removed. Selections were made from the RSI Library’s monographs and periodicals for inclusion in the UVic Library Main and Special Collections, these included books from Virginia Prince and the IFGE newsletter collection. Some publications remain filed with the archival materials. There is overlap amongst IFGE, Betty Ann Lind and Merissa Sherrill Lynn material; as Lind and Lynn were key figures in the Foundation, these materials are described collectively as the IFGE fonds. Notes / Finding Aids Complete file list available with folder-level description, and some item-level description. Notes / Immediate source of acquisition Donated by the Rikki Swin Institute in 2007. Precise dates of Kane, IFGE, Lind and Prince acquisitions by RSI unknown. Control area / Dates of Creation Finding aid prepared by Cameron Duder, Nada Lora and Lara Wilson, 2009-2012. 2 Rikki Swin Institute fonds Archival description / Biographical Sketch Rikki Swin was born in Chicago in 1947. An expert in polymer construction and design, she started Tec Air, Inc. in 1970, an American manufacturing business specializing in plastic injection moulding. This business grew to annual revenues of US$20,000,000 and, in 1999, she sold the business. Using the resources available to her, she founded the Rikki Swin Institute (RSI) in 2001. Rikki Swin has lived in Victoria, BC, Canada, and currently resides on San Juan Island, Washington, USA. Her volunteerism has included work with the Land Conservancy of BC, Coats for Kids, PEERS [Prostitutes Empowerment Education and Resources Society], the Victoria Conservatory of Music, and the Art in Bloom Committee of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Archival description / Scope and Contents The fonds is comprised of the following series: administrative records, conference and convention materials, correspondence, newspaper clippings, reports and research materials. Research material includes approximately 300 completed RSI Transperson Surveys. *** Ari Kane fonds Archival description / Biographical Sketch Ari Kane, also known as Ariadne Kane, was born Joseph DeMaios in New York on 12 January 1936. He was educated at Public School No. 75, Prospect Junior High, and Stuyvesant High School. In 1958 he received a Bachelor of Science in Biophysics, Mathematics and Chemistry at City College, New York., and undertook graduate work in biophysics at New York University and University of Buffalo. Ari Kane holds a doctorate of Education from Institute for Advanced Study of Sexuality and is an assistant professor of sexology at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco. He also runs Theseus Counseling Services which specializes in gender issues. Joseph DeMaios worked for many years as a Math and Physics teacher. In 1966 he moved to Europe, where he taught at St. Stephen’s School in Rome, from 1966-67, and at the American College of Switzerland in Leysin, from 1967-68. He moved from teaching to curriculum design and implementation, working in 1968 and 1969 for Educational Technical Services in Rome, developing curriculum for teaching conversation and translation of English. After his return to the United States, he started his own educational consulting business, Educational Dynamics in 1970. Educational Dynamics offered services in the areas of facilities, planning, curriculum development, educational media and international education. From 1971 to 1975 he held a variety of teaching positions, and developed curriculum for technical courses including “How to prepare cosmetics in the Home” for cosmetology students. He also worked for Aquarius Travel, on design and 3 implementation of a travel education program. He then created his own travel and adventure business, Explorers “A” Travel, specializing in guided historical and cultural tours in a number of countries. After his return to the United States that Joseph DeMaios began to look for others who were interested in crossdressing. He found a support group for crossdressers in the Greater Boston area and began to feel more confident about his cross-dressing; “Ariadne Kane” was born. Kane’s “emergence from the closet” occurred in 1971. Eventually DeMaios was able to tell his fiancée about his crossdressing, and married Norma Baldani in June 1973. Ariadne Kane oversaw the restructuring and relocation of the support group, which was renamed the Tiffany Club (later the Cherrystone Club, then the Mayflower Club). In 1975 she founded the Human Outreach and Achievement Institute, an organization dedicated to public education and to working with the health professionals who serve the community. In the early 1980s it was renamed the Outreach Institute for Gender Studies (OIGS) and its Board of Directors was established. The purpose of OIGS is “to advance the understanding of gender identity and role development with a special focus on alternative gender lifestyles.” OIGS published the Outreach Newsletter and the Journal of Gender Studies (1991-1995), and provides educational materials to the public, to TV/TS individuals and groups, and to medical professionals. Kane also founded Fantasia Fair, an annual gathering of cross-dressing men, their partners, and medical and other professionals working with the transgender and transsexual community. Still an annual event, the first Fantasia Fair was held in 1975 . It was organized by OIGS until 2002. Kane also founded the Outreach Professional Evaluation and Referral Network (OPERN), an intake, evaluation, referral and counseling service for people with gender issues. She appeared on The Phil Donohue Show in January 1980. In 1989, Kane became the third recipient of the International Foundation for Gender Education’s Dr. Virginia Prince Award. Since the late 1970s, Ari Kane has used a number of different names and both male and female gender pronouns in his personal life, activist work, publishing and employment. As well as his birth name, Joseph DeMaios, he has been known variously as J. Ari Kane-Demaios, Ariadne Kane, Ariadne Maria Kane and Dr Ari Kane. Archival description / Scope and Contents The fonds is comprised of following series: Ari Kane/Joseph DeMaios records consisting of business records, correspondence, identity and travel documents, and teaching records; Outreach Institute Records consisting of administrative records, correspondence, published resources, and workshop information; Fantasia Fair records consisting of advertising information, correspondence, event materials, planning and registration records; and Theseus Counselling Services records consisting of administrative records, correspondence, counselling resources and case files. *** 4 International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) fonds Archival description / Administrative History The International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) is a non-profit advocacy organization founded in November 1986 by Merissa Sherill Lynn. It was established to promote understanding of transvestitism and transsexualism. The IFGE developed out of an earlier organization, the Tiffany Club, which was officially