Honoring International Transgender Day of Visibility

The first International Transgender Day of Visibility was recognized in 2009 as a way to raise awareness about discrimination that trans/gender diverse people experience and to showcase the accomplishments and beauty of trans/gender diverse folks.

Recent news highlights the difficulties and discrimination trans and gender diverse humans experience every day:

• Texas declaring parents who provide gender-affirming care to their children are committing child abuse.
• A slate of proposed bills that prohibits schools from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Attempts to prevent trans youth from participating in sports or even safely using a bathroom.
• Regular reports of the murder of transgender women (especially trans women of color), and much more.

All of this makes honoring Transgender Day of Visibility incredibly important. It is an opportunity to reflect on the joy and beauty of being transgender/gender-diverse, to celebrate and uphold notable transgender/gender-diverse humans in our culture, and to reflect on the richness that transgender/gender diverse people bring to our world simply by living authentically as themselves.

Ways you can honor TDOV:

• Learn more about the OHSU Transgender Health Program and its Doernbecher Gender Clinic.
• Read a book written by a trans/gender-diverse author. Here’s a list of youth and young adult books with trans characters curated by the Multnomah County Library Online Teen Council.
• Follow trans/gender diverse celebrities/influencers on social media.
• Attend a youth trans/gender-nonconforming/two spirit art reception at the Q Center on March 31, 2022.
• Donate to an organization supporting the trans/gender-diverse community; some ideas include:
  • Black & Beyond the Binary Collective - local organization
  • Basic Rights Oregon Catalyst Leadership Program – local organization
  • Transgender Law Center 
  • The Trevor Project
  • Trans LifeLine
• Listen to a playlist of trans/gender-diverse musicians such as this one on Spotify.
• Watch a movie or show with trans/gender-diverse actors and/or themes. Here’s a list to get you started, but there are lots of lists out there if you Google it.
• Attend the next THP Grand Rounds on April 27, 2022, noon to 1 p.m.: Celebrating Intersectional Identities: Community Perspectives on Race, Gender and Ability.

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