Erickson, Reed (1917-1992)

Reed Erickson was an influential wealthy transsexual man who contributed to funding early research on transsexual issues and increasing the visibility of transsexuality in the United States. Erickson was born October 13, 1917, as Rita Erickson in El Paso, Texas. Shortly after taking over his father's prosperous lead smelting business after his father's death in 1962, Erickson began the process of masculinization under the supervision of Dr. Harry Benjamin. Erickson was crucial for the growth of transsexual medical services and education because of his extensive philanthropic endeavors.

In 1964, Erickson founded the Erickson Educational Foundation (EEF), an organization through which he funneled philanthropic personal donations. The EEF donations proclaimed that goals included support for controversial and cutting-edge research that was currently unfunded. Through EEF, Erickson supported significant early research on transsexualism by scholars and doctors such as Dr. Harry Benjamin, an endocrinologist who created the first medical standard of care for transsexuals, and many researchers at the Johns Hopkins and Stanford University Gender Clinics. In the 1960s and early 1970s, the EEF donated more than $250,000 to the study of and improvement of medical services for transsexuals. The EEF also promoted education on transsexuality through coordinating medical referrals among transsexuals, sponsoring public educational opportunities, and financially supporting early books about transsexuality. The most significant contribution of the EEF was supporting the growth and development of the Harry Benjamin International Dysphoria Association through both [Page 256]general financial support and sponsorship of the first three international symposia on gender identity in 1969, 1971, and 1973.

Other activities funded by Erickson included the financial support of the Los Angeles homophile organization ONE Inc., which is one of the oldest gay organizations in the United States. ONE Inc. has operated as a central historical archive and educational facility since 1952 and has received more than $2 million dollars worth of support from EEF. This funding was used to purchase a community center, which was critical for gay activist organizing during this period before the gay and lesbian rights movement (sometimes referred to as the “pre-Stonewall period”). Erickson's substantial funding for ONE Inc. gave him significant influence over ONE Inc. educational and business endeavors. Erickson also funded New Age exploratory research on dolphin communications, acupuncture, and dream research. After tran-sitioning, Erickson married three different women and fathered two children. Erickson died in 1992 in Mexico, a fugitive from United States drug indictments because of his addiction to illegal drugs.