AARON
Devor was 50 when he abandoned his life as a
masculine lesbian and assumed his new identity
as a man. 'You reach a point in mid-life where
you realize that you don't have forever,' the
leading academic tells VIVIAN SMITH
Holly Devor was, by Aaron Devor's account, a
strange, conspicuous woman. Even though she did
a pretty good "woman" act, it became
increasingly like contortionist's work and,
ultimately, not very persuasive to others. "I
never fit well as a girl or woman," said Mr.
Devor, whose announcement that he is going to
live as a man recently swept the University of
Victoria campus.
Today, 
the
university's Dean of Graduate Studies
appears happy to conform to a conservative image
more typical of men who run $3-million
enterprises: striding into his spare, elegant
office, Mr. Devor projects confidence and
control. He wears a dark grey suit and black tie
with a blue shirt just over-large enough to hide
any shape that might suggest he was once a
woman.
He looks much younger than 51, with smooth
skin, thick hair and light blue eyes that
appraise from behind large-lensed glasses. In
the manner of men used to commanding space, even
at 5-feet-6, his hand gestures are expansive,
the right leg crosses the left widely when he
sits, he shrugs his shoulders loosely.
Aaron Devor is a man in full, if not in
anatomy.
A former portrait photographer himself, he
peppers a photographer with questions about the
best way to pose: It is suggested he might stand
beside a stunning portrait of Katharine Hepburn
by Canadian artist Myfanwy Pavelic that hangs in
his office. Mr. Devor says no, the juxtaposition
might reflect his feminine side too much. That
would be inappropriate.
Like many hitting 50, Holly Devor wanted
sweeping changes in her life. So the sociologist
was thrilled last spring to win her big, new job
as graduate studies dean at UVic. Recently, she
announced her name would be Aaron H. Devor and
she would be living as a man.
"You reach a point in mid-life where you
realize that you don't have forever," Mr. Devor
said. The time had come to move closer to "a
better representation" of who he is, and that
feels good. He is keeping H as his middle
initial as a reminder of his former life.
Although Mr. Devor knew when he applied for
the $102,000-a-year job that living as a man
might be in the cards, he didn't talk to
university officials about it. "It was a private
matter," he said, "and not relevant to my
qualifications. I wanted to get the job based on
my record."
As dean, Mr. Devor orchestrates more than 100
graduate programs that involve 2,400 students
and scores of faculty and staff. In such a
position, he is well-placed to bring to the
mainstream all kinds of debate to challenge the
status quo, and he is an internationally
recognized expert in one area that has been
brewing in university lecture rooms for more
than a decade: gender, sex and sexuality. Once a
marginal area, gender studies are gaining ground
as formerly hidden and isolated members of the
"transgendered" community discover each other
via the Internet and research opportunities
grow.
Mr. Devor says his work indicates that two
genders aren't enough -- that people can define
their own place on a sexuality continuum. And
while gender researchers say the genitalia
usually associated with being a man or woman
does not determine gender identity, many people
are working hard to get the sexual hardware they
want.
When and how young Holly started to feel ill
at ease as a female is not open for discussion.
Mr. Devor would speak about personal struggle
only in the vaguest terms.
"I don't want to spend a lot of time talking
about the dim, distant past. My ability to
conform [as a female] has been
challenging from the beginning."
Holly Devor studied psychology at York
University, and after moving to Vancouver in
1975, she held a variety of jobs including
portrait photographer and printer, as well as
being involved in feminist, gay and lesbian
politics. Then she zigzagged through studies in
physics at Simon Fraser University, a master's
degree in communications at SFU, then a PhD in
sociology at the University of Washington. After
arriving at UVic in 1989, her academic ambition
became clear: Holly Devor moved from visiting
lecturer in sociology through various levels of
professorship and gained tenure, which ensures
job security, eventually becoming associate dean
of social sciences and finally dean of graduate
studies.
She has a reputation as a superb instructor,
one of only 10 recipients in Canada of a 3M
fellowship in 2000 that recognizes excellence in
teaching as well as leadership and commitment to
the improvement of university teaching. She
received the 1995 University of Victoria Alumni
Teaching Award, which cites the professor's
fairness, scrupulousness and innovative
techniques. She has written two books. One is
called Gender Blending, in which she
examines the social construction of gender.
Another, called FTM: Female-to-Male
Transsexuals in Society, tracks individuals
who make the same kind of change Mr. Devor is
making
[Read
the first chapter of this publication
here].
While "transsexual" typically describes
people who have had at least some sex-change
surgery and who take hormones to further the
change, "transgendered" is a broader term
referring to people who live as the other sex,
whether or not they have had sex-change surgery.
Transgendered people may feel they are neither
gender, or both, or they may feel they belong to
a gender other than what their sexual organs
would dictate. According to Mr. Devor, people
can be transgendered on the basis of their
feelings about themselves and may appear
"ambiguously gendered" to others.
Holly Devor always dressed in pants and
presented herself as a masculine woman: The only
change people on campus say they have seen in
the dean lately is a shorter haircut. His voice
is clearly male.
Mr. Devor wouldn't reveal whether he is
undergoing surgery for his transition, which can
include anything from removal of breast tissue
to construction of a penis. He would say only
that he is transgendered and making physical
changes. "Those are intimate details," he
said.
His partner of 13 years, he said, is having a
tougher time losing that identity. Rather than
being Holly's lesbian partner, Lynn Greenhough
is now the wife of Aaron. He expects she will
rise to the challenge: As well as having the
support of family and friends, the two are
involved with Victoria's tightly knit Jewish
community. Ten years ago, they were united in a
Jewish commitment ceremony.
Life is less angst-ridden now that he has
made his choice, Mr. Devor said. He had worried
before applying for the dean's job that a
possible gender change might be career-ending.
Or it might force search committee members into
choosing Holly Devor even if they had valid
reasons not to, simply to avoid appearing
biased. "I felt I was protecting all of us" by
not discussing the issue, he said.
By the time he actually took over the dean's
office in July, Mr. Devor said, he knew he would
be going ahead with his decision to live as a
man. He discussed it with UVic president David
Turpin, who called the dean's move courageous.
"Aaron is an incredible scholar and teacher and
is doing an amazing job," Mr. Turpin said.
Because they must abide by federal contract
rules, universities hire and promote with equity
in mind. So is the search committee dismayed
that they have ended up with a straight white
guy in a suit rather than the woman -- and a
lesbian at that -- that they believed they were
promoting? "No, I didn't lose that check mark in
my equity box," said search committee chair
Jamie Cassels, who says this particular position
was not officially "preferential," a situation
that does require a certain profile of
candidate. "Yes, we have one less woman around
the deans' table, but we have a transgendered
dean. It is an educational moment for us."
Mr. Turpin's letter to the advisory council
and senior faculty urges the university
community to co-operate with Mr. Devor and to be
supportive. "We understand fully that it may
take some time to adjust to this," says the
letter, also signed by Mr. Cassels and Mr.
Devor. "Dr. Devor would, for example, prefer
from now on to be addressed using masculine
pronouns."
While Mr. Devor reports nothing but total
support, off-the-record reactions are across
campus. Comments vary from shock to yawns to
worries about one-on-one meetings. There are
bawdy jokes as well as bravos.
Only one thing sems to prevent life as a man
from being a totally happy thing for Mr. Devor:
He will miss the intimate friendships women have
in which they talk about their feelings openly.
"Men are simply not accustomed to
[doing] that," he says. "That's a big
price to pay."
Photo Credit - Rob Kruyt
