Ari Kane

Ari Kane, also known as Ariadne Kane, was born in 1936. Kane holds a Bachelor of Science in Biophysics, Mathematics and Chemistry, and undertook graduate work in biophysics. Kane also holds a doctorate of Education from Institute for Advanced Study of Sexuality and is an assistant professor of sexology at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco. Kane also runs Theseus Counseling Services which specializes in gender issues.

Kane's "emergence from the closet" occurred in 1971. Ariadne Kane oversaw the restructuring and relocation of the cross dressing support group, the Tiffany Club (later the Cherrystone Club, then the Mayflower Club). In 1975 Kane founded the Human Outreach and Achievement Institute (later named the Outreach Institute for Gender Studies), an organization dedicated to public education and to working with the health professionals who serve the community.

The same year Kane also founded Fantasia Fair (which is still being held), which was originally an annual gathering for cross dressing men, their partners, and medical and other professionals working with the transgender and transsexual community. Fantasia Fair now welcomes trans men.

UVic Transgender Archives holds the Kane papers (part of the RSI collection) including Kane's business records, and correspondence; Outreach Institute records including workshop information; Ari Kane's Fantasia Fair records including correspondence, event and planning records; and Theseus Counseling Services records (access to confidential and personal information of identifiable individuals, is subject to a research agreement to protect personal privacy).

Ari Kane, also known as Ariadne Kane, was born Joseph DeMaios in New York on 12 January 1936. In 1958 he received a Bachelor of Science in Biophysics, Mathematics and Chemistry at City College, New York., and undertook graduate work in biophysics at New York University and University of Buffalo. Ari Kane holds a doctorate of Education from Institute for Advanced Study of Sexuality and is an assistant professor of sexology at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco. He also runs Theseus Counseling Services which specializes in gender issues.

Joseph DeMaios worked for many years as a Math and Physics teacher. In 1966 he moved to Europe, where he taught at St. Stephen’s School in Rome, from 1966-67, and at the American College of Switzerland in Leysin, from 1967-68. He moved from teaching to curriculum design and implementation, working in 1968 and 1969 for Educational Technical Services in Rome, developing curriculum for teaching conversation and translation of English.

After his return to the United States, he started his own educational consulting business, Educational Dynamics in 1970. Educational Dynamics offered services in the areas of facilities, planning, curriculum development, educational media and international education. From 1971 to 1975 he held a variety of teaching positions, and developed curriculum for technical courses including “How to prepare cosmetics in the Home” for cosmetology students. He also worked for Aquarius Travel, on design and implementation of a travel education program. He then created his own travel and adventure business, Explorers “A” Travel, specializing in guided historical and cultural tours in a number of countries.

After his return to the United States Joseph DeMaios began to look for others who were interested in crossdressing. He found a support group for crossdressers in the Greater Boston area and began to feel more confident about his crossdressing; “Ariadne Kane” was born. Kane’s “emergence from the closet” occurred in 1971. Eventually DeMaios was able to tell his fiancée about his crossdressing, and married Norma Baldani in June 1973.

Ariadne Kane oversaw the restructuring and relocation of the support group, which was renamed the Tiffany Club (later the Cherrystone Club, then the Mayflower Club). In 1975 she founded the Human Outreach and Achievement Institute, an organization dedicated to public education and to working with the health professionals who serve the community. In the early 1980s it was renamed the Outreach Institute for Gender Studies (OIGS) and its Board of Directors was established. The purpose of OIGS is “to advance the understanding of gender identity and role development with a special focus on alternative gender lifestyles.” OIGS published the Outreach Newsletter and the Journal of Gender Studies (1991-1995), and provides educational materials to the public, to TV/TS individuals and groups, and to medical professionals.

Kane also founded Fantasia Fair, an annual gathering of crossdressing men, their partners, and medical and other professionals working with the transgender and transsexual community, held in Provincetown Massachusetts. Still an annual event, the first Fantasia Fair was held in 1975. It was organized by OIGS until 2002. Kane also founded the Outreach Professional Evaluation and Referral Network (OPERN), an intake, evaluation, referral and counselling service for people with gender issues. She appeared on The Phil Donohue Show in January 1980. In 1989, Kane became the third recipient of the International Foundation for Gender Education’s Dr. Virginia Prince Award.

Since the late 1970s, Ari Kane has used a number of different names and both male and female gender pronouns in his personal life, activist work, publishing and employment