Students observe transgender day of visibility

Elise Hsu

March 31 marks Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), a day for acknowledging the transgender community’s contributions to society and helping them feel accurately represented in the world.

According to the blog TransGriot, TDOV was created in 2010 by Rachel Crandall, a trans woman who wanted a day to empower transgender people and celebrate their accomplishments. Crandall also wanted TDOV to be different from Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), which occurs on Nov. 20 and honors members of the trans community who lost their lives due to transphobically-motivated actions.

Junior Alex Johnson* identifies as agender, which means they do not strongly identify with any gender. In the context of TDOV, they defined visibility as having representation that is accepting in its depiction of different gender identities.

“Having trans representation matters because it not only gives people who have similar experiences comfort in knowing that there are others like them, but also allows people who don’t have those experiences to be more accepting,” Johnson said.

Mick*, a junior, agreed that representation helps the trans community recognize that they are not alone. He also took into account members of the trans community who conceal their gender identity.

“So many transgender people are closeted; if you live in a non-accepting area and you have to stay closeted for your safety, days like TDOV and having some sense of community are really important,” said Mick, who identifies as a nonbinary transgender male.

Both Mick and Johnson remarked that trans representation has improved in recent years. However, that does not mean there is not more work to be done. In 2016, Rick Riordan published “The Hammer of Thor,” the second book in the “Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard” series. One of the central characters in this book, Alex Fierro, is genderfluid.

Many readers applauded Riordan for being inclusive of the transgender community in this work. Mick was among them, but after some reflection, his stance on the character changed.

“While Alex Fierro was her own character, it seemed like so much of her was centered around being a genderfluid character among a bunch of cis people,” Mick said. “At the time, I was like, ‘Wow! Trans people are real; this is crazy!’ But looking back on it, I think she deserved more; she deserved to be a fully fleshed-out character and not have her tragic backstory only relating to being trans and her motivation only relating to being trans.”

Johnson noted that beyond characterization, other flaws in current transgender representation only shine the spotlight on specific areas within the community.

“Of things that are missing from representation, one example could be a focus on non-binary transgender people who don’t identify precisely as either a man or a woman. Both groups do exist, but one is currently receiving a little more focus in some ways,” Johnson said.

Mick also believes that some aspects of the trans community receive more visibility than others, asserting that most trans characters have similar storylines.

“Everybody’s experience is so different, and it’s really sad to see every example of trans people in the media following the same path, even though that’s not realistic,” Mick said.

Misconceptions about the transgender community can spread easily through flaws in representation. These inaccuracies often concern certain aspects of life as a trans person, such as transitioning.

“One misconception is that every trans person medically transitions, be it through hormone treatments or surgeries. That is not the case for everyone for a lot of reasons, including cost or other barriers in the way of transitioning, or some may just not want to transition in that way,” Johnson said.

However, if transgender representation is full of misconcep-

tions, it can lead to false generalizations about the community as a whole. Mick described his problem with the idea that self-hatred is integral to being trans, an assumption that lives both outside and inside the trans community.

“Most trans people I know don’t hate themselves in the overdramatic, gratuitous way that people seem to think we do. That really bugs me because it’s also within our own community; people say that if you don’t hate your body, you’re not trans. It’s such a huge misconception, and I think it’s really unfair to say that the trans experience has to be miserable and you have to hate yourself to be trans,” Mick said.

When asked what they would like to see in future forms of transgender representation, Johnson said that they wanted to see more trans characters defined beyond their gender identity, similar to what Mick and other readers wanted from Riordan’s depiction of Alex Fierro. They also hoped to see more people think deeply about what their gender identity truly is.

“Even for people who don’t think they are trans or non-binary, at least considering gender identity could be good because even if you don’t think you are transgender, after some deep consideration, you might change your mind or you might not; maybe you’ll just become more confident in yourself through considering that aspect of you,” Johnson said.

Mick called upon cisgender people to listen to the trans community, asserting that accurate representation will only come once cis people truly understand what it is like to be transgender.

“I wish that cis people just listened to trans people. Transgender Day of Visibility is for us to talk about our experiences and show that we’re still here and we’re still fighting.” Mick said. “All these misconceptions could be cleared up if they just listened to us without their own internalized biases and opinions. If you just listened to somebody’s story, you’d understand them better; that’s all there is to it. Don’t interject with your own opinions; just listen to people with their own experiences.”

*Some names have been changed in accordance with Carlmont Media’s Anonymous Policy.

Harry Benjamin promotes using hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery to treat transgender people Harry Benjamin promotes using hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery to treat transgender people

1969 Transgender women of color 1969 Transgender women of color including Marsha P. Johnson including Marsha P. Johnson and Stormé DeLarverie take and Stormé DeLarverie take a stand at the Stonewall Riots a stand at the Stonewall Riots

Christine Jorgensen is denied a marriage license based on her biological sex Christine Jorgensen is denied a marriage license based on her biological sex

1976 1976 The Superior Court of New The Superior Court of New Jersey rules that trans Jersey rules that trans people can marry based on people can marry based on their gender identity their gender identity

1993 Minnesota is the first state to Minnesota is the first state to protect trans people from protect trans people from discrimination with the Minnesota Human Rights Act discrimination with the Minnesota Human Rights Act 1999 1999 Gwendolyn Ann Smith Gwendolyn Ann Smith founds the first Transgender Day of Rememberance founds the first Transgender Day of Rememberance (TDOR) on Nov. 20 (TDOR) on Nov. 20

2010 Rachel Crandall founds the Rachel Crandall founds the first Transgender Day of first Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) on March 31 Visibility (TDOV) on March 31

2021 President Joe Biden repeals President Joe Biden repeals the previous administration’s ban on trans people serving the previous administration’s in the military ban on trans people serving in the military

Sources: GLAAD – Transgender Day of Rememberance; GLAAD – Timeline: A Look Back at the History of

Transgender Visibility; ThoughtCo – Transgender Rights in the United States; NPR – Biden Repeals Trump-Era

Ban on Transgender Troops Sources: GLAAD – Transgender Day of Rememberance; GLAAD – Timeline: A Look Back at the History of Transgender Visibility; ThoughtCo – Transgender Rights in the United States; NPR – Biden Repeals Trump-Era Ban on Transgender Troops MARCH 2021 HIGHLANDER 17