Digital Transgender Archive

Open Letter from Rupert Raj

According to Rupert Raj (personal communication, Jan. 31, 2024), those were his sentiments at that time—-as a result of internalized transphobia and homophobia, as well as acute massive burnout. However, over the decades he has evolved to move his sexual-orientation location to pansexual, and at times he identifies as a trans man, and at other times he is stealth---depending on the particular group of people or community he is engaged with. And even though he still finds some trans people to be unappreciative of trans professionals and lay resource workers, he now sees trans people as a still somewhat erased, often traumatized and partly underserved population---rightfully demanding to be seen, heard and served in a safe and equitable way. Additionally, he counseled trans, non-binary, intersex and two-spirit people and their loved ones, first as a lay “gender worker” (1971-2001) and then as a registered psychotherapist and gender consultant (2001-2015, and advocated for better healthcare (including transpositive therapy and gender-confirming hormone and surgical therapies) for all gender-diverse individuals.