Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive
Jul 30, 2026 · 42 min · 5 segments
When Lou Sullivan sought gender-affirming care in the 1970s, he was turned down. The reason? Lou identified as a gay man at a time when all trans people were assumed to be straight—a conflation of…
Eric MarcusHost
When his interview with Dr. Pauly was screened at the National Conference of the influential Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, its members acknowledged that access to gender-affirming care should not be denied based on a person's sexual orientation.
Under the name FTM International, it became the longest-running and largest organization to offer education and community resources for trans-masculine people.
Lou is also a self-taught scholar of trans history, and in 1990, he published a biography of Jack B. Garland, a gay trans man born in San Francisco in the 1800s.
Lou's selected diaries, which spanned 30 years of his life, were published posthumously.
After their first recorded interview, Lou and Dr. Pauly established something of an annual tradition, meeting every January for a follow-up conversation.
In early 1991, Lou's deteriorating health forced him to cancel their next session.
When his interview with Dr. Pauly was screened at the National Conference of the influential Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, its members acknowledged that access to gender-affirming care should not be denied based on a person's sexual orientation.
Under the name FTM International, it became the longest-running and largest organization to offer education and community resources for trans-masculine people.
Lou is also a self-taught scholar of trans history, and in 1990, he published a biography of Jack B. Garland, a gay trans man born in San Francisco in the 1800s.
Lou's selected diaries, which spanned 30 years of his life, were published posthumously.
After their first recorded interview, Lou and Dr. Pauly established something of an annual tradition, meeting every January for a follow-up conversation.
In early 1991, Lou's deteriorating health forced him to cancel their next session.
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