- Along with their radio program,
Gay People's Union established GPU News ,
A newspaper written by and for LGBTQ+ people.
The publication found a national audience
and introduced readers to singular voices,
like columnist and trans pioneer Lou Sullivan.
- Brice Smith: Lou Sullivan wrote articles on historical figures.
People with whom he identified.
People who are assigned female at birth
but had lived as men.
He very much recognized and appreciated
how important history is
to an individual's identity.
- Lou Sullivan grew up in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
His fourth birthday party was a memorable day.
- Brice Smith: It was a Davy Crockett-themed birthday party.
Lou always remembered
that when he put on that Davy Crockett costume,
he really felt like he was Davy Crockett.
His life intersected with so many of the key moments
in the Baby Boomer generation.
He liked to brag that
he was the most "Beatled" kid at his school
'cause he knew more about The Beatles than anyone.
His idol became Bob Dylan.
And he would wear these cowboy boots, bell-bottom jeans.
As he moved into his early twenties then, his idol became,
incidentally, his namesake.
[laughs] The rock star Lou Reed.
- Lou Sullivan donned a leather jacket,
embraced a new identity,
and began to live life as a gay trans man.
- Brice Smith: A lot of people assigned female at birth
were really into these pop culture icons:
the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed.
But what was different with Lou
is that he both wanted these men,
and also wanted to be them simultaneously.
So, the lines between desire and identification
were very blurred for him.
- Sullivan underwent a mastectomy
and received hormone therapy while considering
a gender-affirming surgery for years.
And although the surgery
was an established medical practice by the 1970s,
Lou Sullivan's unique request was denied.
- Lou Sullivan: I was told that my case was too unusual,
that they had never heard of a female-to-male
who wanted to be a gay man,
that they did not want to be the first to operate
and deal with such a person.
- Brice Smith: His youngest brother, Patrick,
died in a motorcycle accident.
This is when he realized, "You know what?
"We don't have that long.
"If I were lying on my deathbed,
"I would regret not transitioning.
This is something I've got to do."
- For nearly a decade,
Sullivan pleaded the case to medical professionals
that someone could be a trans man and also a homosexual.
And in 1986, he finally prevailed.
A doctor in San Francisco
agreed to perform the gender-affirming surgery,
charting new territory in the medical field.
- Brice Smith: As soon as he found someone willing to help him,
then he just shouted from the rooftops
and spread the word.
It spread like wildfire through the trans community.
- Lou Sullivan published a groundbreaking guidebook
to help both doctors and trans people
bridge the gap between sexual orientation and gender identity.
Sullivan also shared first-hand experiences
with the trans community through his female-to-male newsletter.
- Lou Sullivan: As long as no one else is talking about it,
it's going to be forever silent,
and no one is going to hear about it.
I wanted to connect with people
in feeling like an honest person with people.
I just don't see any reason to hide it.
- Brice Smith: Lou was able to be there for countless trans men.
There's just nothing like moving in the world
and having everyone see you as you know you should be seen,
as you have known yourself to be for so long.
- Lou Sullivan: I spent so many years
trying to figure out a place in society.
Finally, I could breathe.
It felt so good.