Lou Sullivan diaries
1974–1975
pp. 79-115
in: , Lou Sullivan diaries (1970-1980) and theories of sexual embodiment, Berlin, Springer, 2018Abstract
Sullivan and Tom continue their long-distance relationship, with Sullivan in Milwaukee and Tom in San Francisco. Sullivan still experiments with his male identity as Lou, while informally advising others who identify in some way as trans. Eventually Tom moves back to Milwaukee, where he is depressed, unemployed, and drinking heavily. Sullivan and Tom struggle with Tom's depression, Sullivan's identity as Lou, and Sullivan's close relationship with Lawrence. Later, Sullivan and Tom develop a friendship with Mitchel, with whom Sullivan also has intimate relations. Finally, Sullivan and Tom decide to move to San Francisco together. There, Sullivan tries to find a job while dressing in men's clothes, which are now his normal couture. The chapter concludes as he secures employment, an event that he communicates in diary-letters to friends and family in Milwaukee.