By Lori Perkins
Today marks the 12th time Trans Visibility Day has been celebrated, and, I think it is more important than ever with all the controversy surrounding the British TERF wars and questioning of trans rights. Trans rights ARE human rights.
The day was started in 2009 by Rachel Crandall, a Michigan-based transgender activist and the Executive Director of Transgender Michigan, as a day of awareness to celebrate the successes of transgender and gender-nonconforming people. Crandall wanted a celebration of Trans life in addition to the already existing Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) held every year on November 20 to memorialize the transgender people who have lost their lives as a result of anti-transgender violence.
According to a recent Gallup poll, 11.3 % of LGBT adults identify as transgender. However, GLADD’s latest statistics show when it comes to representation in the media, there are only 29 transgender characters across prime-time broadcast, cable and streaming originals. GLAAD's Studio Responsibility Index reported no transgender characters in a major movie for the third year in a row.
Last week, Elliot Page became the first trans man to appear on a Time magazine cover. According to an article in CNN, recent polls show that one-quarter of people in the US say they personally know someone who is transgender, but most people still get the majority of their information about transgender people from the media, so it is extremely important that the media show trans and nonbinary people on a consistent basis in all walks of life.
There is a free event this evening online sponsored by the San Francisco Exploratorium for After Dark: a Night of Transgender Visibility. You can join here, https://www.exploratorium.edu/visit/calendar/after-dark-online-transgender-day-of-visibility, or via YouTube or Facebook.