International Transgender Day of Visibility

A statement from the Anti-Oppression Rainbow Gender & Sexuality Diversity Cluster:

Here at the Anti-Oppression Rainbow Gender & Sexuality Diversity Lab, we acknowledge the vital importance of Women’s History Month and International Transgender Day of Visibility, as well as how the structures of white heteropatriarchy and cisnormativity are intertwined and embedded. For too long, women have continued to experience high rates of gender-based violence, with Black trans women and Indigenous women in particular experiencing the ongoing violences of anti-Black racism, Black transmisogyny, and settler colonialism. In our social justice activism, we aim to employ intersectional analytics to start to deconstruct these systems and applaud all activism during this month – and every month – that centres experiences with gender-based violence and how it informs the logics within institutions, such as the university and the academy, as well as individual daily experiences.

Today, March 31, is International Trangender Day of Visibility. On this day, we acknowledge the contributions made by the transgender and non-bindary communities. We strive to raise awareness of the barriers transgender, non-bindary and other gender diverse folks face worldwide, such as access to health care, adequate housing, and equal rights. Trans and gender diverse folks also face many challenges surrounding personal safety, including violence, stigmatization, hate and discrimination. It is crucial to raise awareness of the discrimination and prejudices these communities experience and provide support throught allyship. Being an ally involves inclusive practice. It recognizes the diverse needs of individuals as well as creating an environment for diverse people to fully participate by removing barriers for all people.

How to be an ally:

Education is key!

  1. Listen to the lived experiences of LGBTQIS+ folks
  2. Learn about definitions and terms in the LGBTQIS+ community
  3. Expand your knowledge and understanding through media sources, attending events
  4. Read about the experiences of trans folks in Canada that were collected through the Trans Pulse Canada community-based research project 

Practice!

  1. Learn about services and supports where you can help
  2. Use inclusive language and pronouns
  3. Challenge stereotypes, policies and practices that act to disadvantage trans folks
  4. Avoid assumptions on folks identities
  5. Support trans activists, artists, and other community members and seek out diverse trans representations

Resources:

  1. Eagle Canada works to improve the lives of LGBTQI2S people in Canada and to enhance the global response to LGBTQI2S issues by  informing public policy, inspiring cultural change, and promoting human rights and inclusion through research, education, awareness and legal advocacy
  2. Visibility isn’t an option for all trans people 
  3. The Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health is an interdisciplinary professional organization which works to eliminate barriers and support the health, wellbeing, and self-actualization of trans and gender diverse people
  4. The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity promotes diversity in gender identity, gender expression, and romantic and/or sexual orientation in all its forms on a national level through services in the areas of education, health, and advocacy
  5. World Professional Association for Transgender Health engages in clinical and academic research to develop evidence-based medicine and strive to promote a high quality of care for transsexual, transgender, and gender-nonconforming individuals internationally
  6. Based in Toronto, Rainbow Health Ontario is a province-wide program designed to improve access to services and to promote the health of Ontario’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) communities by offering training to healthcare providers to feel more clinically and culturally competent in caring for their LGBT2SQ service users 
  7. 2 Spirits ffers wholistic health and wellness education and support for 2-Spirit, including First Nations, metis and Inuit people living with or at risk for HIV and related co-infections in the Greater Toronto Area
  8. The Toronto-based Adult Gender Identity Clinic at CAMH offers specialty services to both individuals and their primary care practitioners in Ontario in regard to issues related to gender identity and expression