March 31, 2022 at 8:27 a.m.
In Honor of Transgender Day of Visibility
Dear CSSW community,
Every year on March 31st, we commemorate International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), a day to celebrate transgender and gender non-conforming people, their resilience, their successes, and their contributions to society. TDOV was created in 2009 by a social worker, Rachel Crandall Crocker, who saw a need to establish a day where transgender and gender-expansive folx could be honored and have their lives celebrated. Prior to the first TDOV, the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which honors the memory of transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence, was the only formal day that recognized transgender people.
Perhaps more than ever before, it feels more urgent to uplift and honor trans voices. As of this month, more than 150 anti-trans bills have been filed or passed in various state legislatures across the U.S., with the purpose of banning transgender youth from receiving medical care, prohibiting trans students from playing sports, and preventing educators from teaching about gender identity.
This significant increase in anti-trans legislation reminds us of the need to challenge lawmakers and policymakers in advocating for the rights of trans and gender-nonconforming people and their right to have equal access to care and opportunities. This also is a moment for cisgender folx to learn about the trans community and to seek ways to acknowledge and amplify trans voices.
Below are events and resources that can help you support the trans and gender-nonconforming community while we celebrate their presence at CSSW and around the world.
In community,
Melissa Begg
Dean & Professor
Karma Lowe
Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Community Engagement
RESOURCES (Please note this is far from an exhaustive list.)
GLSEN – Resources for educators, students and allies.
Gender Identity: 5 Questions with Walter Bockting (video) — Walter Bockting, PhD, director of the Gender Identity Program at Columbia University Irving Medical Center talks about gender identity, the Columbia Gender Identity Program, and where transgender care is going.
Columbia Gender Identity Program — The Columbia Gender Identity Program provides compassionate, personalized, and expert care to children, adolescents, adults, and families across the gender and sexuality spectrum.
GLAAD’s Transgender Resources – This webpage provides resources for transgender folx, a list of organizations serving trans communities, and tips for allies.
National Center for Transgender Equality – This webpage provides support hotlines and resources for the following areas, to name a few: legal, health care and insurance, immigration and refugee, domestic violence, employment services, nutrition and housing, and support and advocacy.
TDOV EVENTS AND CELEBRATIONS
TDOV Virtual Job Fair and Career Consortium – 2-3 p.m. today (March 31st). Join the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) LGBTQ+ ERG, NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) and Mount Sinai, NYC Department of Buildings, and Callen-Lorde Community Health Center for a Virtual Job Fair. Recruiters and Hiring Managers will highlight available career opportunities. Sponsored by the School of Professional Studies.
NYC Office of the Public Advocate Trans Day of Visibility Celebration – 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. ET today @ Church of the Covenant, 310 East 42nd Street. Join the Office of the Public Advocate in celebrating the New York City Trans community. This experience aims to showcase all the amazing work done by Trans New Yorkers and raise awareness about important issues impacting their lives. RSVP here.
The LGBT Community Center Trans day of Visibility Wig & Clothing Giveaway with the Brooklyn G.H.O.S.T. Project — 3-7 p.m. ET today @ The Center, 208 W 13 Street. The Center collaborates with the Brooklyn G.H.O.S.T. Project to host a wig and clothing giveaway geared toward providing wigs, clothing, hygiene products, makeup, personal-care items, HIV/STD testing, trans/GNC health information, and PrEP & PEP counseling/education. Register here.
Transgender Education Network of Texas TDOV Celebration — 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM CDT today. Join the Transgender Education Network of Texas in their annual celebration of community on Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) in Austin TX. They will have food for everyone, first come first serve, including options for vegetarians and sweet treats available for everyone at no cost. TENT will have hand sanitizer and masks available for community to maintain COVID safety.
Trans Vision (Bay Area) Virtual TDOV Town Hall – 11 a.m.-1 p.m. PDT (2-4 p.m. EDT) today via Zoom. Join Trans Vision today at 11 a.m. PDT via zoom for a virtual Transgender Day of Visibility community town hall. We will provide agency updates, as well as spotlight some amazing services here in the bay area. We will also host a TDOV Panel, featuring some of our local transgender leaders.
Trans Day of Visibility: Nonbinary Visibility – 7-8 p.m. EDT today. Gender Sexuality Info, LLC is proud to host this free, one-hour panel event with 3 awesome trans + nonbinary individuals across the United States. You’ll have an opportunity to hear some of their stories and ask questions. Questions that are curious + respectful can be submitted ahead of time at https://forms.gle/RRqkMpwRTgqpB7JS8. This panel will be live streamed to YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Links will be provided as soon as they’re available. Accommodations can be requested at hello@GenderSexuality.Info.
UCLA Center for the Study of Women’s Trans Day of Visibility Storytelling Workshop – 5:30-7 p.m. PDT today. 2021 was the deadliest year on record for trans communities, and simultaneously the year of biggest milestones of visibility in media, film, art, etc. What does it mean to be invisible and hypervisible at the same time, privately and publicly, and what are the limitations of visibility—is it the be all end all of trans liberation? A creative workshop for gender diverse, non-conforming, trans, and intersex people to engage in expansive and ambivalent conversations through storytelling rooted in their lived experiences. Capacity is limited. Facilitated by JENSEN REYES (Instagram: @jensen_hari). Jensen Reyes (they/them/any with respect) is a nonbinary Filipinx American multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles.
Political Healers Project TDOV Celebration – 6-8 p.m. EDT today. As the atmosphere in this country grows more violent and hostile in its attacks on the rights of trans and gender expansive people, it is our duty to fight back. The Political Healers Project is committed to gender self-determination and ending the marginalization of trans, genderqueer, nonbinary folks for good. And we invite all those who are in this commitment to join us. We will celebrate Trans Joy and Resilience with story sharing, healing, and dance! (This is an online event.)
Thinking Gender 2022: “Transgender Studies at the Intersections” — April 6 @ 8 a.m. PDT – April 8 @ 5 p.m. The UCLA Center for the Study of Women is hosting its 32nd Annual Graduate Student Research Conference, and offering free webinars that are open to the public. The “Thinking Gender 2022” webinar will feature a keynote address by Jules Gill-Peterson and a conversation with Mel Y. Chen. Webinar will be held 12-1:30 p.m. PDT Wednesday, April 6.
