International Transgender Day of Visibility happens every year on March 31st. It is a day to celebrate the transgender community, raise awareness of discrimination, and highlight the works and contributions of transgender people around the world. It has been recognized since 2009 making this the 16th year of its celebration.
This day was founded by Rachel Crandall, an American transgender activist. Before this, the only internationally recognized day for transgender people was Transgender Day of Remembrance which is a day to mourn those in the community who have lost their lives.
Crandall expressed frustration that the only recognized day for the trans community was a day of mourning and decided to start a movement of celebration.
Transgender Day of Visibility is to celebrate and uplift those in the community still living. By 2015 the day was being observed in multiple countries with awareness raised on social media platforms.
Canada was the first country to provide census data on transgender and nonbinary people. The 2021 Census of Population showed that transgender and nonbinary people make up 0.33% of the population over 15, around 1 in 300 people.
Despite being a small portion of population there has been growing awareness of the trans community, often through pop culture. Laverne Cox, a trans actress, starred in Orange is the New Black and Netflix released the documentary Disclosure in 2020, about transgender depictions in film and television.
Growing awareness has had positives as well as negatives. Transphobia has increased in far-right politics in Canada. In the United States and the United Kingdom bills and laws are being created that target transgender civil rights. Transgender Day of Visibility is a day to fight against this hate.
For information you can visit the Government of Canada page on Rights of LGBTI Persons.
The perspectives of trans creatives are important and worth exploring. From non-fiction memoirs and history to speculative fiction. Check out some books at the Alexander College Library for works to read this Transgender Day of Visibility:
Sources
“Transgender Day of Visibility.” Queer Events, http://www.queerevents.ca/tdov. Accessed March 13, 2025 “Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV).” GLAAD, https://glaad.org/tdov. Accessed March 13, 2025
“International Transgender Day of Visibility.” UFCW, https://ufcw.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33387:international-transgender-day-of-visibility. Accessed March 13, 2025
Carreras, Jessica. “Transgender Day of Visibility plans erupt locally, nationwide.” Pride Source, https://web.archive.org/web/20130327152446/http:/www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=34351. Retrieved from Internet Archive March 13, 2025
“Rights of LGBTI persons.” Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/rights-lgbti-persons.html. Accessed March 13, 2025
Alexander College acknowledges that the land on which we usually gather is the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are grateful to have the opportunity to work in this territory.
Alexander College acknowledges that the land on which we usually gather is the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are grateful to have the opportunity to work in this territory.
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