Digital Transgender Archive

Lou Sullivan diary, 1983-1984

Lou Sullivan's diary for mid-1983 through mid-1984, following him from the ages of 32-34. These years saw Sullivan caring for his father during his final illness, in the process reconnecting with people who had known him in his previous life in Milwaukee. He wrote extensively of his grief and his developing spiritual beliefs around life after death. Sullivan continued to negotiate various emotional and sexual conflicts in his second long-term relationship, as well as his own dysphoria and relationship with his body, contemplating bottom surgery for the first time. He was stealth at work, but didn't lose touch with other trans men or consider leaving the community; in particular, he maintained relationships with two gay and trans mentees. Sullivan was also rediscovering his identity as a writer, revising his pamphlet Information for the Female-to-Male Crossdresser and Transsexual and beginning an autobiographical essay (apparently "Sullivan's Travels," which would eventually be published in The Advocate). Finally, he was preparing to leave his job at ARCO and going into business with his partner as a freelance printer. Louis Graydon Sullivan (1951-1991) was a gay trans man from Milwaukee, WI who lived much of his adult life in San Francisco. A diarist, amateur historian, and administrative assistant, Sullivan is best known for the detailed and thoughtful diary he kept from childhood until his death from AIDS at age 39.