“In 1986, while [Lou] Sullivan was working to establish the GLBT archives in San Francisco, he also organized the first FTM-only support and education organization in the United States. Called simply ‘FTM,’ the organization held monthly ‘FTM Gatherings,’ featuring educational programs and opportunities to socialize and also published the FTM Newsletter, which quickly became the leading source of information in the nation for female-to-male issues. Because of Sullivan’s leadership role and his own gay identity, the San Francisco FTM group has always attracted a sexually diverse core membership and has avoided many of the divisions that had plagued similar MTF organizations since the 1960s. The openness was reflected in the newsletter’s editorial slant and helped shape group sensibilities in the community of transmen that started blossoming in the 1980s under Sullivan’s guidance. That organization became FTM International, the largest FTM group in the world; its San Francisco chapter is now called the Lou Sullivan Society.”
From Transgender History by Susan Stryker, page 119.
TRANS RESEARCH 