Aaron Devor


Aaron H. Devor, is a Canadian sociologist and sexologist known for researching transsexuality and transgender communities. Devor has taught at the University of Victoria since 1989 and is the former dean of graduate studies. Devor is the current Research Chair in Transgender Studies at the University of Victoria, and the Founder & Academic Director of The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria Libraries. Maclean's, a Canadian weekly news magazine, described Devor as "an internationally respected expert on gender, sex and sexuality."

Early life and education

Devor earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from York University in 1971, a master's degree in communications from Simon Fraser University in 1985, and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Washington in 1990. A trans man, Devor transitioned in 2002 at age 51.

Career

Devor was a member of the HBIGDA task force which created the sixth and seventh edition of The Standards of Care. Currently he sits as a committee member for the eighth edition and is the Chairperson of the Archives Committee. He has collected first-person narratives of transsexual experiences and has done extensive biographical research on trans man Reed Erickson.
Devor's book The Transgender Archives was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in the non-fiction category in 2015.
In 2016, through her Foundation, Jennifer Pritzker gave a $2 million donation to create the world's first endowed academic chair of transgender studies, at the University of Victoria in British Columbia; Devor was chosen as the inaugural chair.

Selected publications