title: "Trans Day of Visibility" summary: "A short piece written to share a bit about Trans Day of Visibility and what it means." date: "2023-03-31" description: "A short piece about Transgender Day of Visibility with some educational resources. Covers the history of the day and some more recent perspective." tags: ["queer","pride","june-thoughts","transgender","fb-rants","extra-long","compilation","visibility"] words: 408 img: "/images/PrideLogo.png"

Trans Day of Visibility (2023)

This piece was originally written for an employee group at work. I shared it basically verbatim because it's always topical.

I wrote this for an employee group at work. Sharing it here because I can.

TL;DR: it's Trans Day of Visibility.

-----

International Transgender Day of Visibility, or TDoV for short, is a day when we show the world and our communities we are here. It’s a special celebration that was started in 2009 to shed light on the fact that no matter where you are in the world or your walk of life, you’re not alone. We are here, and we always have been.

But it’s a lot more than that. One of the best ways to combat prejudice is through familiarity, and TDoV serves as a time to build familiarity with the trans community in hopes that we can work toward a brighter future where everyone stands on even footing, regardless of the life they lead, the hand they were dealt, or any other things that may make life a bit harder.

In light of that, I’d like to share a bit of information about the trans community. What you’ll find attached is a glossary of terms relating to the LGBTQIA+ experience, including some about gender identity as well as sexuality. It’s a bit information dense, but sometimes that’s how we have to share what we know!

In addition to the importance it serves within the trans community (and the wider LGBTQIA+ community) Trans Day of Visibility is an important time for me in particular because I remember being a young trans person in Tatum, TX, not so much wondering if I was alone, but wondering whether I would survive long enough to “live my truth” as a lot of people put it these days. Seeing examples of successful trans people living life to the fullest makes me happier than almost anything. So I make it a point to be visible all the time in case there’s a little kid like me who wishes they weren’t alone. They can see me, and they know, even if it’s far off, that it’s going to be okay.

I encourage you to go out and get to know the trans folks in your life (and I know that you know at least one, cause you know me!) and let’s all help to make the world a bit better.

The attachment mentioned: A Glossary of LGBTQ Vocabulary