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This is how you can celebrate, advocate during International Trans Day of Visibility

March 31, 2023

The transgender community, as well as allies, will once again gather on Friday, March 31, to celebrate — and advocate for their rights.

Dozens of events are planned throughout the Southland on Friday in honor of International Trans Day of Visibility, an annual occurrence that both celebrates trans and gender-expansive people, and raises awareness about the increasing political, social and physical violence targeted toward their communities.

President Joe Biden issued a proclamation on Thursday, March 30, recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility. California lawmakers also recognized as Trans Visibility Week with several events at the Capitol.

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

“I wanted to create a day so we didn’t have to be lonely anymore,” Crandall-Crocker wrote in a 2021 article for Them Magazine.

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 day is celebrated around the world annually on March 31.

With attacks and discriminatory legislation against the LGBTQ community — particularly transgender youth and adults — are on the rise in the United States, Trans Day of Visibility is a crucial platform for people within the community to assert their existence and demand human rights, while calling on allies to better support the trans and queer community, advocates say.

Transgender people are more than four times likelier to be the subject of violent crimes, including rape and aggravated assault, than those who are cisgender — people whose gender identity or expression matches their biological sex — according to a 2021 UCLA School of Law study.

Last year, at least 38 trans and gender nonconforming people were murdered, according to the Human Rights Campaign. The organization noted that number is likely an undercount because some victims’ deaths go unreported, while others aren’t identified as being trans or gender nonconforming.

Then there’s anti-LGBTQ legislation.

This year alone, there have already been more than 400 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures across the United States, according to the Human Rights Campaign — many of which specifically target young transgender and nonbinary communities.

Ninety of those bills, HRC said, would prevent trans youth from accessing age-appropriate, medically necessary and gender-affirming health care — two of which have already become law — alongside a slew of bathroom bans and other anti-LGBTQ bills.

This year’s proposed legislation continues a sharp upward trend in discriminatory anit-LGBTQ bills that have been introduced in state legislatures since 2021, HRC said.

“These relentless attacks on transgender people are causing real harm even in the states where legislation fails,” Olivia Hunt, policy director for the National Transgender Center for Equality, said in a February HRC press release. “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.”

Trans Day of Visibility, meanwhile, is intended to be an answer to the onslaught of hate targeted toward trans, gender expansive and nonbinary people.

“Even though there are a number of bills targeted against us right now, I still think that, since the creation of Visibility Day, things really have changed for the better for the youth,” Crandall-Crocker wrote. “I dream of a day when we can just be humans like everyone else. And I really do think that will happen.”

Here’s a look at some Trans Day of Visibility events planned throughout Southern California.

Inland Empire

Riverside LGBTQ+ Pride will host its March for Queer & Trans Youth Autonomy at 4 p.m. Friday. The demonstrators will assemble in downtown Riverside, outside of Back to the Grind at 3575 University Ave., and march toward City Hall.

Several elected officials, including Councilmember Erin Edwards, Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes and Rep. Mark Takano, will speak at the march, according to Riverside LGBTQ+ Pride’s website.

The organizers said they hope the march will inspire a larger dialogue about a series of issues facing young trans and queer people, which range from ensuring their safety in schools to developing policies that protect the right to gender-affirming health care.

“It’s time we collectively advocate for trans and queer youth as one,” the event page said. “Then, we will listen to a few different speakers on the issues facing trans and queer youth today.”

More information about that event is available on Riverside Pride’s website.

Los Angeles

QueerXcellence, an LA community organization, will host a march in Hollywood called “Trans Day of Vengeance.”

There has been a misconception around the term “vengeance,” trans advocates have said — with many outside of the LGBTQ community assuming the term implies violence. Twitter has even removed thousands of tweets and retweets referring to “Trans Day of Vengeance.”

Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of Trust and Safety, said in a tweet Wednesday, March 29, that the company automatically removed more than 5,000 tweets and retweets of a poster promoting the event.

“We do not support tweets that incite violence irrespective of who posts them,” Irwin wrote in the tweet. “‘Vengeance’ does not imply peaceful protest. Organizing or support for peaceful protests is ok.”

But trans people and activists have pointed out that the term has been around within the community for years, and isn’t a call to violence.

“‘Trans Day of Vengeance’ is not a specific day or a call for violence,” said Evan Greer, director of the nonprofit Fight for the Future. “It’s (a) way of expressing anger and frustration about oppression and violence the trans community faces daily.

“Context is everything in content moderation,” Greer added, “which is why content policies should be based in human rights and applied evenly, not changed rapidly based on public pressure or news cycles.”

The tweets that were removed largely referred to an event planned for Saturday, April 1, by the Trans Radical Activist Network in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This protest is about unity, not inciting violence. TRAN does not encourage violence and it is not welcome at this event,” the organization wrote on its website. “Our community has a stigma attached and significantly impacts marginalized communities at a higher intensity.”

The organizers of the LA protest, meanwhile, said much the same in an Instagram post.

“Trans people are getting killed at a terrifying rate. Alongside the new legislation, the turn will only get worse,” QueerXcellence wrote on its Instagram page. “We refuse to live in fear, we refuse to be eradicated — come celebrate Trans Day of Visibility with us … loudly.”

The demonstration will kick off at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue at 5 p.m.

Long Beach

For folks along the coast, the LGBTQ Center Long Beach will host a Trans Day of Visibility Resource Fair at Bixby Park, 130 Cherry Ave.

“The Resource Fair during Trans Day of Visibility will be a time to celebrate the lives and existence of the transgender and gender-expansive community in Long Beach,” according to Visit Gay Long Beach.

After the resource fair — which kicks off at 2 p.m. — the event will continue with music and live entertainment from 5 to 9 p.m.

Orange County

The LGBTQ Center Orange County will host an event dubbed “Stand in Your Truth,” at the Center on 4th, 305 E. Fourth St. in Santa Ana.

The event — which kicks off at 6 p.m. — will feature resources for trans folks, live music, an art exhibit, an open mic night and a glam closet, according to the event page.

“This event is open to everyone who wants to connect, share and celebrate the Trans community in a safe and welcoming space,” the website said. “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.”

More information is available on the LGBTQ Center OC’s website.

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Virtual events

For those who’d rather celebrate from home, there are also a few virtual events for Trans Day of Visibility planned over the weekend, beginning on Friday.

The Trans Tech Summit is a free annual event that was created with the most marginalized members of the LGBTQ community in mind. It kicks off online on Friday.

“The TransTech Summit provides attendees with tools to grow their careers,” the event website said, “interact with new media technology, network with other LGBTQIA people, learn new skills, and access additional training tools.”

The four-day event concludes on Monday, April 3. For a list of events, visit the Trans Tech Summit website.

Staff writer Georgia Valdes and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Orange County Register

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This is how you can celebrate, advocate during International Trans Day of Visibility

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