This Friday, take some time to recognize the International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV). It's a day of the year designated to uplift our transgender loved ones and reflect on their place in our shifting society.
Transgender activist Rachel Crandall founded the holiday in 2009 in response to the lack of LGBTQ holidays celebrating the transgender community — the only well-known holiday of that nature up until then was the Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day for mourning murdered transgender sisters, brothers and siblings.
The visibility of transgender issues has grown steadily since 2009 — even the prevalence of the word "transgender" in everyday conversation has jumped markedly in the past eight years. In North Carolina, the passage and subsequent controversy of House Bill 2 cost Pat McCrory his governorship and will deprive the state of over $3 billion dollars in business in the next 12 years. Transphobic policy and rhetoric rose to the forefront of N.C.'s reputation, but it was encouraging to see communities (religious, economic and educational to name a few) rally to protect the rights of trans people.
While the nation has come a long way in recognizing those rights, we cannot ignore that eight transgender people have already been murdered in 2017. All of them were transgender women of color: Alphonza Watson, Jaquarrius Holland, Ciara McElveen, Chyna Gibson, Keke Collier, JoJo Striker, Mesha Caldwell and Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow. Last year overtook 2015 as the deadliest year on record for transgender people — and we can only hope for an end to hate crimes before the next Transgender Day of Remembrance. In the meantime, we can celebrate, appreciate and educate, educate, educate.
The UNC LGBTQ Center will host a celebratory TDOV event in The Pit on Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
From 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. in the Student Union, the Center will also host the "Trans Day of Visibility Panel: Stories of Transition," a diverse, multi-generational panel of transgender individuals who will discuss their experiences of medical, legal and social transition. While the panel will present opportunities for asking questions, you can also submit questions online at goo.gl/forms/mKlngg6gvimoCWzt2.
TDOV centers on the narratives of transgender people to celebrate their lives. No matter how you identify, it's worth acknowledging.
