Life
Thursday, March 31, marks the International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day dedicated to highlighting and celebrating the accomplishments of transgender and gender-nonconforming people around the world. Even if you can't make it to one of its events, you can still support the holiday by sharing quotes from trans women for Trans Visibility Day on social media. On top of honoring the transgender community, an online post can serve as a reminder of all the work that's still left to be done in the fight for LGBTQ equality, especially in the United States' conservative administration.
According to its website, the TDoV was created in 2009 as a "reaction to the lack of LGBT holidays celebrating transgender people’s successes." Each November, for example, the Transgender Day of Remembrance memorializes those killed in transphobic attacks, whose deaths may otherwise go unnoticed by the public. It's an important purpose, but certainly a somber one. However, that's where Trans Visibility Day comes in. March 31 is a day to get excited about all that the transgender and nonconforming community has achieved so far, even if there's still a long way to go.
So on Thursday, honor the transgender community by promoting their voices. You can start by sharing these 16 quotes from transgender women.
1
"All of us are put in boxes by our family, by our religion, by our society, our moment in history, even our own bodies. Some people have the courage to break free."
2
"Self-definition and self-determination is about the many varied decisions that we make to compose and journey toward ourselves... It’s OK if your personal definition is in a constant state of flux as you navigate the world."
3
"In trans women's eyes, I see a wisdom that can only come from having to fight for your right to be recognized as female, a raw strength that only comes from unabashedly asserting your right to be feminine in an inhospitable world."
4
"Everyone is both sexes in varying degrees. I am more of a woman than a man."
5
"I've never been interested in being invisible and erased."
6
"So long as we refuse to accept that 'woman' is a holistic concept, one that includes all people who experience themselves as women, our concept of womanhood will remain a mere reflection of our own personal experiences and biases rather than something based in the truly diverse world that surrounds us."
8
"Trans people deserve something vital. They deserve your respect. From that respect comes a more compassionate community."
9
"I believe much more in love and heart. ... That’s much bigger [than] to see what you have in the middle of your legs."
— Lea T.
10
"I knew even as a teenager that my femininity was more than just adornments; they were extensions of me, enabling me to express myself and my identity."
11
"We are people. We’re human beings, and this is a human life."
12
"Being transgender is not just a medical transition. ... [It's about] discovering who you are, living your life authentically, loving yourself, and spreading that love towards other people and accepting one another."
13
"The therapist asked me if I knew the difference between a boy and a girl. And in my infinite wisdom as a third-grader... I said, 'There is no difference.'"
14
"Transgender people, whoever they are, they’re ordinary people. They deserve respect. They’re just human beings."
— Ines Rau
15
"I am transgender and this doesn’t mean that I am unlovable."
16
"There isn’t a trans moment. ... It’s just a presence where there was an absence. We deserve so much more."
— Hari Nef
