Happy International Transgender Day Of Visibility!
Learning to be an ally to the transgender people in your life, or to transgender people overall, is an ongoing process. Hopefully this article can help!
March 31st marks a special day for many folks of the LGBTQIA+ community, specifically transgender and non-gender conforming people!
Today is the Transgender Day of Visibility (or TDOV). It was founded in 2009 by U.S transgender activist Rachel Crandell!
The day was created to celebrate the successes of transgender and gender-nonconforming people!
TDOV serves as a direct parallel to the Transgender Day of Remembrance which is November 20th, typically used to memorialize those who have lost their lives as a result of violence towards trans people.
There are many trans and non-binary people in our world and today is a great way to not only educate yourself, but to become a better ally!
The best way to be an ally is to listen with an open mind to transgender folks.
It’s important to respect people’s pronouns and to not ask intrusive or inappropriate questions!
The goal of being an ally is to reinforce that any form of discrimination is NOT accepted and to call it out.
Pronouns can be confusing, thankfully the Trans Student Educational Resources (TSER) have made it simple:
All pronouns can be used for any gender and are gender neutral.
It’s also important to understand when and how to be an ally, and again, TSER has made it easier to understand:
Other than these simple graphics, it’s always encouraged to check out “Disclosure” on Netflix! It explains the history of trans representation in TV and Film and has interviews with 30 different trans artists and advocates.
Ultimately today is to understand that transgender and gender non-conforming people are not new, they’ve existed across cultures throughout history!
If you’re interested in learning more about transgender and gender non-conforming people, here are few examples of great resources:
Supporting Transgender people in your life
