Trans Day of Visibility

LGBTQ community members and organizers spoke to The Star about what visibility means to them in light of increasing anti-trans legislation.

[LGBTQ-friendly houses of worship here](https://www.kansascity.com/news/your-kcq/article262694412.html) and our guide to [local resources for LGBTQ+ youth here](https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article255451171.html). [Kansas City Trans Coalition](https://linktr.ee/kctranscoalition) is a newly formed community advocacy group. You can reach out through [the form at the bottom of this page](https://transformationskc.org/). Learn about its upcoming programming through [its Instagram page](https://www.instagram.com/kctranscoalition/). Trans visibility, to me, is a day that represents the breaking of chains.” “For those people who can’t be out, Trans Day of Visibility is showing them that there is hope.” I never could have found the path to being my best self if I hadn’t witnessed all the brave trans people who came before me.” In the face of terror and fear, it is joy.” “I am intersex and have always struggled with my gender identity,” they told The Star. “Trans Day of Visibility started political, (and) it will continue to be political,” Kellogg said. “At 17, I couldn’t picture a place for myself in this world,” she told The Star. “I choose visibility because the community means everything to me.

Trans Day of Visibility was originally established in 2009 by trans activist Rachel Crandall-Crocker, who is the current head of advocacy group Transgender ...

[ “Stand in Your Truth,”](https://www.instagram.com/p/CqLllHIO7UO/) at the Center on 4th, 305 E. “It’s (a) way of expressing anger and frustration about oppression and violence the trans community faces daily. “We refuse to live in fear, we refuse to be eradicated — come celebrate Trans Day of Visibility with us … Twitter has even removed thousands of tweets and retweets referring to “Trans Day of Vengeance.” “We are excited to provide wellness and educational resources, along with an open mic where community members can sign up and share their poetry, writing, speeches, or experiences.” The event — which kicks off at 6 p.m. [March for Queer & Trans Youth Autonomy](https://www.instagram.com/p/CqLsmWcvx2R/?img_index=1) at 4 p.m. Trans Day of Visibility, since its creation more than a decade ago, has grown in popularity — with events to both honor and celebrate the lives of trans folks, while also acknowledging that discrimination still prevents many people from coming out and living authentically. The demonstrators will assemble in downtown Riverside, outside of Back to the Grind at 3575 University Ave., and march toward City Hall. California lawmakers [also recognized ](https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2023/03/hate-crimes-diversity-california/)as Trans Visibility Week with several events at the Capitol. “75% of all LGBTQ+ youth say that hate crimes and threats of violence cause stress and anxiety — and that’s not surprising because they’re trying to live their lives.” And I really do think that will happen.”

Four people smile for the camera, posing outside and waving rainbow trans pride flags. Transcend Charlotte will hold a mini market in the Belmont neighborhood ...

“Because at the end of the day, trans kids deserve to be trans adults.” “And we’re always doing the work.” Some organizations, however, are all talk. He believes having an open discussion about trans issues can cure some of the rampant hatred aimed at the community. [Time Out Youth Center](https://www.timeoutyouth.org/), located at 3800 Monroe Road, provides resources to trans and gender-diverse individuals ages 13-24. [Charlotte Black Pride](https://charlotteblackpride.org/), which [formed in 2005](https://qcnerve.com/charlotte-black-pride-week-2022/), offers inclusive events and resources for people of all LGBTQIA+ identities. Educating people on trans issues like the statewide and national anti-trans bills is paramount, Fulton said. The event was organized in direct response to the distress the anti-trans bills have caused the community and will offer folks aged 13-24 a free night of binding and tucking tips, hormone information, haircuts, makeup tutorials and more from 5-7:30 p.m. “These bills are clearly a targeted attack on transgender and gender-diverse individuals and an attempt to disempower and punish health-care professionals and teachers for following the ethical duties of our governing boards and act in opposition to the research,” the statement continued. “People will leave with their hands and their hearts full,” Corrigan said. [Transcend Charlotte](https://www.transcendcharlotte.org/) offers comprehensive social and educational services, mental health and social support programming, in-house HIV testing, substance use support and some housing services for trans folks 18+. For Corrigan, TDOV exists to highlight trans excellence. Anti-trans legislative attacks aren’t isolated events, pointed out Danielle Willis (she/her), director of clinical services with Time Out Youth.

From pioneering lawmakers to history-making entertainers, here are just some of the many transgender people who have blazed trails for the community.

[Gender Queer,](https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-life-and-style/author-gender-queer-one-banned-books-us-addresses-controversy-rcna8991)" is one of the most banned books in the U.S. [Elliot Page](https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/elliot-page-putting-joy-love-action-trans-people-n1269123), the star of “Juno” and the Netflix series “The Umbrella Academy,” came out as transgender in December 2021. to lead a city council](https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/andrea-jenkins-makes-history-1st-openly-transgender-city-council-presi-rcna11829). [ Stephanie Byers](https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/america-s-1st-indigenous-transgender-lawmaker-pride-statement-survival-n1269032), a Democrat, won a seat in the Republican-majority state House in November 2020, she became both the first transgender person elected to office in Kansas and the first trans Native American elected in the United States (Byers is a descendant of the Chickasaw Nation). [Sylvia Ray Rivera](https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/pride50-sylvia-rivera-transgender-rights-trailblazer-n1006891), who [earned the title](http://srlp.org/about/who-was-sylvia-rivera/) “The Rosa Parks of the Modern Transgender Movement,” had a tumultuous early life, which contributed to her adult life as an activist. She also performed with the [drag performance troupe Hot Peaches](https://www.essence.com/entertainment/5-things-know-activist-marsha-p-johnson/) from 1972 through the ‘90s and was an [AIDS activist](https://makinggayhistory.com/podcast/episode-11-johnson-wicker/) with AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). Johnson](https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/marsha-p-johnson-transgender-rights-trailblazer-n1006886) — who would cheekily tell people the “P” stood for “pay it no mind” — was an outspoken transgender rights activist and is reported to be one of the participants in the historic Stonewall uprising of 1969. [Miss Major Griffin-Gracy](https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lgbtq-history-month-transgender-gender-nonconforming-pioneers-n925031%20//%20https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/31days-feminism-miss-major-griffin-gracy-n528251), 82, is Black transgender woman and longtime activist. [Miss Major](https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/pride-50-miss-major-griffin-gracy-trans-community-leader-n1006926) now resides in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she continues to be a [vocal activist](https://twitter.com/immissmajor/status/1111065497817104384). [Christine Jorgensen](https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/pride50-christine-jorgensen-world-s-first-trans-celebrity-n1006131), a U.S. [Renée Richards](https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/100-years-lgbtq-firsts-breakthroughs-tennis-court-supreme-court-rcna1247) was set to compete in the 1976 U.S. Throughout his life, Erickson, who founded the nonprofit [Erickson Educational Foundation in 1964](https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/erickson-educational-foundation-new-york-office/), provided [financial support](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Reed-Erickson) to advocacy organizations and researchers who worked with the transgender community.

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today proclaimed March 31, 2023 as International Transgender Day of Visibility in Maryland. Governor Moore is the first ...

“Visibility and awareness are foundational for expanding dignity for all Marylanders,” said Secretary of State Lee. Lee, members of the Maryland Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, members of the newly-formed LGBTQ+ Legislative Caucus, and transgender community members and advocates from across the state joined Governor Moore for the signing ceremony at the State House. And I look forward to working with all of you to continue that march in the years to come.”

President Biden in a presidential proclamation and statement commemorating Transgender Day of Visibility on Friday condemned “MAGA extremists” for advancing ...

“On this Trans Day of Visibility, I want to affirm all trans people with these simple truths,” Rep. “My siblings have made such a big positive difference in my life,” Jacobs, who co-chairs the Transgender Equality Task Force with Jayapal, said Friday. “It has to be every single one of us fighting.” “On #TransDayOfVisibility, and on every other day, I am in this fight with all of you – I’ll always defend trans kids.” You deserve to make your own choices about your bodies, your lives, and your futures.” [Biden](https://thehill.com/people/biden/) [Pramila Jayapal](https://thehill.com/people/pramila-jayapal/) [Rachel Levine](https://thehill.com/people/rachel-levine/) [Sara Jacobs](https://thehill.com/people/sara-jacobs/) “You deserve respect. You deserve visibility. “I want every member of the trans community to know that we see you. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). The landmark resolution would guarantee, among other things, civil rights protections for transgender and nonbinary people nationwide. from discrimination and violence.

Officials used the day to remind residents that Minneapolis was the first American city to bar gender identity-based discrimination vis-à-vis amendments ...

"It's about knowing that we're people, who have different joys, loves and relationships outside of just the fact that we're trans." "As the only Black Trans woman elected to public office in the United States, I want to say Happy Transgender Day of Visibility," said Minneapolis Council President Andrea Jenkins. "In our country right now, anti-trans legislation is sweeping most of our states," said Maia Pruim, a trans woman and LGBTQ+ case manager at Avenues for Youth, a Minneapolis-based program helping homeless people ages 16-24. They're coming here to have healthcare in general." It was also the first city to have two Black transgender members of its city council. It's the international Transgender Day of Visibility, which was founded in 2009.

Latimer was joined at the Executive Order signing by members of the County' LGBTQ Advisory Board, The LOFT Community Center Executive Director Judy Troilo and ...

The LOFT Center Executive Director Judy Troilo said: "The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center fully supports County Executive Latimer's executive order to protect, support and empower our community. This executive order reflects a crucial step forward in our collective efforts to ensure that all members of the LGBTQ+ community have access to the resources and protections they need to thrive. Our county’s commitment to diversity means that businesses located here are assured of access to the best, the brightest, the most creative, and the most talented work force in the nation." This Executive Order makes clear that Westchester County is a welcoming place to live, work, and be yourself and that your right to be who you truly are will be protected.” Westchester County Legislator & BOL Liaison to LGBTQ Advisory Board Erika Pierce said: “Westchester County is a welcoming county that aims to support all of its residents, especially those most at risk for experiencing hatred. NYS Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said: “It is so important to reaffirm that Westchester County, as well as New York State, will always safeguard the rights of transgender and gender non-binary people.

Ruby Guest, 27, came out as transgender in 2020. Curtis shares her with her husband, Christopher Guest. "Love is love. A mother's love knows no judgment ...

We’re human," she said. "It’s speaking a new language," she told People at the time. "You still mess up, I’ve messed up today twice. "It’s learning new terminology and words. "Love is love. They had been so accepting of me my entire life."

Advocates say it's more important than ever to highlight members of the trans community, and promote visibility and acceptance through positivity and ...

Jamie Lee Curtis celebrated her younger daughter, Ruby, on Trans Day of Visibility Friday, writing on Instagram, "A mother's love knows no judgment."

[won her first Academy Award](https://pagesix.com/2023/03/13/fans-defend-angela-bassetts-reaction-to-jamie-lee-curtis-oscars-win/) in the category of Best Supporting Actress. “Then, seven years later, still being Tom at the time, I told the person who is now my fiancé that I am probably trans,” she recalled. “I am here to support Ruby. “I’m a grateful student. I’m learning so much from Ruby. “On this trans visibility day my daughter and I are visible #transvisibilityday.”

Thousands of people are rallying across the country as part of a Transgender Day of Visibility in support of the rights of transgender people and their ...

”I am happy how I am and I want people to understand that. “I think there’s this myth of Vermont as like this lovely, perfect little state,” Overy said. “I might be the first legislator to use singular they pronouns in this dome, but I will not be the last.” International Transgender Day of Visibility was created in 2010 by an advocate who decried that most media coverage focused on anti-transgender violence rather than the positive contributions to society made by transgender people, according to advocacy group GLAAD. “But as many of the trans kids said today… “I don’t want to go back to the closet,” Still Smoking said. Susan Bysiewicz, state lawmakers, transgender advocates and others clapped and cheered as the Transgender Pride flag was raised over the state Capitol in Hartford for the first time. On Friday, President Joe Biden issued a statement supporting Transgender Day of Visibility and reaffirming that transgender Americans deserve to be safe and supported in every community. “The bullying, discrimination, and political attacks that trans kids face have exacerbated our national mental health crisis.” The governor has not said if he will sign the bill. [READ MORE: Transgender athletes banned from track and field competitions, rules tightened for Semenya](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/transgender-athletes-banned-from-track-and-field-competitions-rules-tightened-for-semenya) “We’re not a new idea.

For one mother, the rally presented a chance to show her trans daughter that people are fighting for her.

“To think in other states people are in fear for their kids’ lives, education and freedom,” Weller said. “But if we zoom out only a small amount the image of our success changes,” Finke said. Gender-affirming care includes a wide range of social and medical interventions that can include hormone treatments, puberty blockers and gender-reassignment surgery. “We brought her today to show her there are people fighting for her,” Weller said. Tim Walz signed an executive order to protect the rights of people from Minnesota and other states to receive gender-affirming health care in the state. Twin Cities mother Cat Weller and her 7-year-old daughter Charlie watched a group march around the Capitol grounds celebrating Transgender Day of Visibility.

March 31 is “International Transgender Day of Visibility,” and advocates held a rally in Helena to mark the day.

Speakers at the rally protested a series of bills advancing in the Legislature that they called “attacks” against those Montanans. Afterwards, those in attendance spent several minutes in a “lie-in.” They lay on the floor, while singing, “My body is my own; I am in control.” “We deserve freedom, rights and protections, not because we are some mystical and magical beings, but because we are human beings,” said Keegan Medrano, policy director for the ACLU of Montana.

Members of Howard Brown Health Workers United, workers from Berlin Nightclub, and their supporters celebrate TDOV. by Debbie-Marie Brown March 31, ...

The goal of the event is to build that, and to highlight the intersection between labor rights, trans rights, and queer rights.” “Everyone should be in a union, especially trans people.” If you’re queer, trans, and in a union—or queer and trans and not sure if you can unionize, head to the party and talk to some of the organizers. The national chain is a popular employer for trans people, some of whom seek work there because it is one of the few corporate workplaces where trans folks can get most of the aspects of their health care covered.Workers at six Starbucks locations in the city recently joined a three-day nationwide strike for unfair labor practices. Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) is an annual celebration of the lives and contributions of trans people, created in 2010 to draw attention to the community’s successes and also draw attention to the discrimination, violence, and other systemic challenges that trans communities face. “We want to build solidarity and we want to encourage other queer and trans people to do what we’ve done,” Villanueva said. The groups scheduled the event on TDOV to highlight the fact that both are led primarily by trans and queer people trying to improve working conditions at their jobs. As a bargaining unit of almost 450 people, HBHWU is one of the largest newly-organized bargaining units to be recently created . . . In her role, she and another worker monitor whether patients are coming in on a regular basis for their HIV care and appointments. “We feel that it’s important to build solidarity with other unions, especially ones that are led by queer and trans people. Workers from Howard Brown told the Reader that they were excited about Berlin’s unionization effort and interested in supporting them, especially since many of them attend the club themselves and consider it an important venue in Chicago’s queer community.

Hundreds journeyed to the Nebraska State Capitol on Friday for “Trans Day of Visibility,” descrying key legislation in the 2023 session.

Vic Klafter said the survival of trans people is the work of generations. “My wish for all of us … [LB 371](https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=49961)would prohibit minors from attending [drag shows](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/03/24/nebraska-drag-queens-advocates-fight-proposal-to-prohibit-children-from-attending-drag-shows/)in the state. [LB 575](https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=49722)would define [K-12 school bathrooms](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/13/proposed-restrictions-on-nebraska-school-bathrooms-sports-teams-trigger-tense-hearing/), locker rooms and sporting teams as either male or female. [LB 574](https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=50285)would restrict access for minors to specific [gender-affirming care](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/08/proposed-gender-alteration-ban-for-minors-draws-hundreds-to-nebraska-capitol/). Abbi Swatsworth, executive director of OutNebraska, said Friday’s observance was about drawing attention to the discrimination that transgender people face every day.

As anti-trans bills became law in Kentucky and West Virginia, Philly activists gathered to declare their support for trans people here.

But the demonstration in Philly was also a celebration. [Kendall Stephens](https://www.instagram.com/philly_kendall/?hl=en), 37, in an interview before the demonstration. (The Philly Trans March’s annual event is held in October). Stephens said when she was growing up, she felt “trans people weren’t seen at all,” to the extent that lawmakers were not specifically targeting them. The president of the American Principles Project, one of the conservative groups lobbying hardest for anti-trans bills, described such legislation as “a political winner” to [the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/us/politics/transgender-laws-republicans.html). One of the attackers [pleaded guilty in February](https://phillyda.org/news/dao-secures-conviction-for-2020-assault-of-black-trans-activist/). Golphin said the Philly Trans March decided just two weeks ago to organize a Trans Day of Visibility rally, partly because Philly is in the midst of a heated election season. The law bans gender-affirming surgery, puberty blockers, and hormone therapy for children under the age of 18, prohibits lessons about gender identity and sexual orientation in schools, and prevents school districts from requiring or recommending that teachers use children’s desired pronouns. Currently, the city offers some protections to trans and nonbinary students. Hundreds of demonstrators rallied outside of City Hall on Friday evening to call for increased protection of trans rights in the wake of two major anti-trans bills that became law this week. “But the question is, what are we going to do here?” She was proud of their activism and wouldn’t have missed the rally.