William Orobko was a lawyer, an entrepreneur and a television host. He was married to a woman and they had three children and a large house in West Vancouver. He had been an active nudist in the 1960s. He was also a bibliographer (he wrote a bibliography of the novels of C.S. Foster).
He gave up the law after a heart attack at age 32, and wrote a book on commuter cycling in Calgary. He also wrote a book on the law for musicians.
In 1995 he went to Thailand and became involved in a dubious $1million financial transaction with two Americans who turned out to have forged documents. All three were arrested. William was repeatedly raped by the guards in a Bangkok prison. Even after release on bail, the Thai authorities held on to his passport, and he could not return to Canada until Preston Manning, the leader of the Canadian Reform Party, went to Thailand and took up his case. He was for a while a fugitive from Thailand.
On return to Canada, he sought psychological counselling, and decided to become a woman. He says that he was not a crossdresser before this point.
He temporarily lived in Kelowna, and became a patient at the Vancouver Clinic. William transitioned to Willow. She was able to get permanent disability welfare for post-traumatic stress resulting from the incarceration on top of her earlier health problems. She has become a major apologist for Michael Bailey, and is antagonistic to Andrea James, Lynn Conway, and Deirdre McCloskey. She and her new female partner now live in Prince George in northern British Columbia.- John Gradon. “Free at Last”. Calgary Herald Nov 24, 1996. Online at http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support.srs/browse_frm/thread/a98cafa0a9ab92b1/2cea0815a3897799?.
- Don Plant. “Willow sculpts a life”. The Kelowna Daily Courier. Jan 27, 1999. Online at: http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Bailey/Reader/Chicago%20Reader.12-12-03.html#anchor256362.
- Lynn Conway. “Who is Arune?”. http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Bailey/Reader/Chicago%20Reader.12-12-03.html#anchor29531.
- Willow Arune. “I am Arune”. The Autogynephilia Resource. 6/6/04. www.autogynephilia.org/I%20AM%20ARUNE.htm
Books:
- William Orobko. The Musician's Handbook: A Practical Guide to the Law and Business of Music. International Self-Counsel Press, 1985.
- William Orobko. Commuting by Bike. Rocky Mountain Books, 1995.
Now, just a few comments...
ReplyDeleteBorn in 1046 - December 20.
"Nudist". Well, yes. In tghe 1960s and 1970s I was indeed a member and member of the Executive of Van Tans Club of North Vancouver. We also went to Wreck Beach in Vancouver, as did many of the younger movers and shakers. But all that was well over 30 years ago and writing of it as a current invovlement is very misleading. In the 60s, a lot of strange things happened, as some of you might recall...
"Disablity". My first heart attack arrived with I was practising law and was 32 years old. The second followed. Along with other medical issues, I determined not to continue with legal practise. My disability is more related to those medical conditions than PTSD, although thanks to Thailand I do have PTSD.
As with most countries, Thailand has a Statute of Limitations which, in my case, expired long ago. I might add that the two Americans were arrested again in Thailand and got into much more trouble. I am not a fugitive and indeed write to the Thai government to return to Thailand for the remainder of the trial; they would not issue the correct visa.
"and the therapist suggested becoming a woman". Never happened. A mistake by one reporter which some have used - and abused - for years. As with all TS, self-diagnosis was the key.
"he was diagnosed as autogynephilic". Sorry, no. As TS, yes. AG was not a recognized diagnisis at the time of my transition.
When Conway issued her denouciation of Bailey's book, I worte to suggest that the "over-the-top" statements were not going to gain us any friends.That first post suggested calm and dealing with the concept on its merits, rather than personal attacks. I also wrote to Bailey,Blanchard and Lawrence to gather their views, and they all wrote back (Conway and James simply attacked) and we became friends. I firmly believe the excesses of Conway, James and McCloskey made TS a laughing stock, their staged complaints to NWU were farcical, and their websites both slanderous and juvenille. I beleive it necessary to look at all possible answers for our "condition", and correspond with Collette Chiland,Bernice Hausmann, and Janice Raymond to learn their views without filters of bias.
It is my belief that we simply do not have all the answers yet and that there may be many answers, not just one. Even DES proponents have some validity. To attack those who differ is simply wrong, and to attack any other TS person as they have a different view is very wrong. That is the course that James and Conway took - attacking anyone who did not agree with their views. As with religion or politics, you do not learn by attacking; you simply reinforce your own
viewpoint.
I enjoy my life as a woman in a small town in Canada's north. The nonsense of the Great Trannie Wars is well left behind. I still admire those professionals such as Bailey, Lawrence, Petersen, Blanchard and many others around the world who continue to look for answers even if the answers they find may not be "politically correct" according to some. And I still loath actions of the "professional transsexuals" who destroyed what community we had in their push to make money by being transsexuals, such as James and her cohorts.
This is certainly a complex conundrum for us transsexuals, unfortunately I do not believe the likes of Hausman and Raymond will ever hear a single bit of what we have to say. "Radical feminism" is as steeped in "political correctness" as modern trans activism, but centered around females rather than around the transgendered. Anyone who disagrees is a "misogynist", very unscientific and unprofessional people, they are.
DeleteI assume that you mean 1946. I too have tricky fingers and often hit a wrong key.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the clarification.
I don't know about the Vancouver Clinic, but CAMH, the Clarke as it was, has been diagnosing HSTS and autogynephilia at least since the mid 1980s (although using different terms initially). As far as I can tell, I was rejected by the Clarke in the mid 1980s because I did not fit into either of their stereotyped boxes.
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOD....I knew Willow from Kelowna...it is so nice to see is story on here....I miss you Willow Arune...
ReplyDeleteLove Giovanna
Nice
ReplyDelete