Thanks to the initiative of activist Rachel Crandall and the subsequent sustaining efforts of TRES (Trans Student Educational Resources), International Transgender Day of Visibility has been celebrated every March 31st since 2009. In contrast with International Transgender Day of Remembrance (which acknowledges those whose lives have been lost to transphobic violence), Trans Day of Visibility has historically been an occasion for anyone under the broad transgender umbrella to be not just visible, but loud, proud, and determined to push our way from margins to center.
I do not speak for all trans persons, but I do believe that I echo the sentiment of many in my community when I say: Trans Day of Visibility feels different this year.
As trans persons, we do not yet have proportional representation in nearly any aspect of public life or culture. In the United States, whether we are legally protected from being fired, losing our homes, or experiencing other forms of social and structural injustice varies depending on what state we live in. In some other places in the world, we can be imprisoned or killed, solely for being transgender. As it stands, the only place where we have consistent representation is in the minds of conservative lawmakers who actively vilify and scapegoat transgender persons (especially transgender women) as part of their ongoing effort to further erode bodily autonomy, legislate self-determination, and legally enshrine cishetero-patriarchal domination.
The Trevor Project has already demonstrated the measurably negative effects this sort of public discourse has on the mental health outcomes for LGBTQIA+ youth. The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention (named in honor of Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term genocide) has already issued a warning of the genocidal trappings of so-called “gender critical” ideology. Yet, the onslaught of anti-trans legislation (and anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation, more generally) continues. As of the time of this writing, over 400 such bills have been introduced just this legislative season—a number approaching that of the total number of such bills introduced during the entirety of 2021 and 2022 combined. This onslaught continues despite the fact that the majority of US Americans oppose such legislation.
Legislation attempting to block gender-affirming medical care continues despite recent research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association founding that in youth ages 13-20 who struggle with gender dysphoria, such care correlated with 60% lower odds of moderate or severe depression and 73% lower odds of suicidality. This study is not an anomaly: a 2022 literature review of 91 empirical studies found that “even though mental health problems are more prevalent in trans people compared to cisgender people, less psychological difficulties occur, and life satisfaction increases with gender-affirming hormone treatment (GAHT) for those who feel this is a necessity.”
The attacks on affirming care—willfully and disingenuously mischaracterized by propagandists as “mutilation” or “abuse”—continue despite puberty blockers being approved by the FDA for the treatment of precocious puberty in 1993, and despite the fact that affirming care is recommended by organizations including (but not limited to) the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, American Osteopathic Association, American Psychiatric Association. American Psychological Association, Endocrine Society, Pediatric Endocrine Society, US Professional Association for Transgender Health, and World Professional Association of Transgender Health.
Myths such as the social contagion conjecture (which insists that transgender identity is a delusional phase spread through throughout peer groups as a sort of “social contagion”) have been repeatedly and demonstrably debunked. Fear-mongering over regret and detransition persists despite the fact that among the 8% of United States citizens who transition, 63% do not do so permanently and only 5% (of that original 8%) report detransitioning because they realized that they are not transgender. Instead, a full 33% of detransitioners cite pressure from parents as their primary reason for pursuing detransition. In terms of regret, a study of UK citizens found that only 0.47% of those who transition experience transition-related regret—significantly less than rates of regret for the vast majority of other medical interventions, as well as for marriage or having children. Despite this, the war on transgender people continues.
The Trevor Project reports that LGBTQIA+ persons are four times more likely to attempt suicide than cisgender, heterosexual persons, and that one LGBTQIA+ person between the ages of 13-24 attempts suicide in the United States every 45 seconds. A study published in 2022 found that 80% of transgender persons have considered suicide, and 40% have attempted. With the current wave of transphobic, queerphobic, and misogynistic legislation and the stochastic terrorism that it embodies, the moral of the current story is clear: transgender people need your help.
Visibility can be empowering for a community. As we continue to clearly see, it can also lead to that community becoming a target for physical, psychological, and spiritual abuse. This Trans Day of Visibility, we need a whole lot more than visibility. We need you to not just see transgender people: we need you to listen to us. We need you to believe us. We need you to support us, to uplift us, and to help us. We need you to protect us and we need you to love us.
We need you to do more than vote. We need you to get out in your community, support your trans neighbors, and get involved in local mutual aid and advocacy groups. We need you to name and denounce transphobia when you see it, even when—especially when—it comes from within your family, workplace, or peer group. We need you to actively seek accurate education, vet information before you share it, and prioritize testimony rooted in the lived experience of transgender persons.
As transgender persons, we have effectively no political power. All we have is our limited volume—but in a political system such as ours, volume is not the same as influence. We need those of you who do have the privilege of influence to stand up, step in, and not back down.
Put simply, allies: we need you.
In a post-Roe America and especially with the recent despicable actions of Aiden Hale, transgender people are the new and convenient target for opportunistic politicians and propagandists pushing a far-right agenda. On Saturday, March 4th, 2023, far-right propagandist Michael Knowles stood on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and declared that “for the good of society, transgenderism [sic] must be eradicated from public life entirely.” This is both a threat and a mission statement. Please, take these words seriously. Take them at face-value. Trust and believe that the groups that Knowles speaks for are trying to do exactly what he says they’re trying to do.
We cannot let them succeed.
This isn’t the Trans Day of Visibility post that I had hoped to be writing. It is, however, the post that felt most appropriate to write. Let’s all commit to pushing back on this increasingly emboldened anti-trans movement so that, next year, we can return to a triumphant, celebratory tone—and, more importantly, so that the human beings in my community can survive, thrive, and live lives as beautiful as they are.
Ley David Elliette Cray, PhD, CSC, ABS (she/they) is LGBTQIA+ Curriculum Coordinator for the Sexual Health Alliance and founder of Transentience Coaching.