Trans Day of Visibility | Why Visible? Why Now?
Transgender Day of Visibility is March 31st. Now, I know, for the past several years, there has been a circling rhetoric about how we don’t need visibility, we need protection (I sadly don’t have any empirical statistics about this, but I have seen people talk about it online). While I agree that transgender people need protecting, especially our most vulnerable, trans women of color and youths, I would argue that we still need to be visible.
What is Transgender Day of Visibility?
Transgender Day of Visibility, abbreviated to TDoV, is a holiday dedicated to “rais[ing] awareness about transgender people. It is a day to celebrate the lives and contributions of trans people while also drawing attention to the disproportionate levels of poverty, discrimination, and violence the community faces compared to cisgender (non-transgender) people” (Glaad). There are many other visibility days and weeks throughout the year; Bi Visibility Week, Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week, Panromantic & Pansexual Visibility Day, Lesbian Visibility Week are just some of the many different holidays similar to TDoV.
TDoV was created “in 2010 by trans advocate Rachel Crandall. Crandall, the head of Transgender Michigan… in response to the overwhelming majority of media stories about transgender people being focused on violence. She hoped to create a day where people could celebrate the lives of transgender people, while simultaneously acknowledging that due to discrimination, not every trans person can or wants to be visible” (Glaad). Rachel clearly understood the complexity of existing as a trans person and the context required when we decide to be open about our identity, especially to the wider public.
Like most well-thought-out ideas, it spread across the internet, where, sadly, nuance often goes to die. Despite the internet discourse, the spread and continued celebration of TDoV is a wonderful thing, and its effects (not to mention the general continued efforts to educate the general public on trans individuals and their needs) have indeed been felt.
Personally, I first heard the term ‘transgender’ in 2014, around the time when Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner were both in the media spotlight. 2014 was also the first time I knowingly met a trans person. In the eleven years since, the visibility level of trans folks has skyrocketed. (And I, myself, have realized I am nonbinary.)
It hasn’t all been positive, of course. Along with many folks having a better understanding of what it means to be transgender, there has been a wave of more concentrated transphobia. Instead of just the ambient bigotry, transgender people are in the spotlight in so many ways.
Why Visibilty & Why Now?
All of the targeted hate makes one wonder why we would want to be more visible. One reason is that it’s a direct response to the Transphobes in power pushing back against transgender individuals (and the rest of the LGBT+ community) by making it harder for us to exist in public. From bathroom bills to disallowing teachers to use their students’ correct pronouns and names, the transphobic rhetoric du-jor aims to sweep us under the rug of society.
If we can’t use the bathroom outside of our houses, participate in community activities like sports leagues, receive healthcare, fly our flags with pride (Trans Legislation Tracker, 2025), we can’t be full members of our community.
Lawmakers in at least 10 states want to implement laws that redefine sex to exclude transgender and nonbinary people from accessing public services and to deny them equal legal protection. Arizona, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming are all considering these bills, alongside Indiana and Florida, which have brought forth uniquely far-reaching legislation. (Rummler, 2024)
These laws, if passed, will make it increasingly unsafe for us to be out and about and less visible to the rest of the world.
But like the hoard of dust bunnies I know is lurking somewhere behind my fridge, it doesn’t mean we stop existing. If transness is reduced to an unknown specter lurking around corners or under a metaphorical bed, we will remain terrifying and inhuman, a boogeyman for pundits and politicians to point to, distracting from the other more prescient issues that affect us all.
In order to make it so an entire group of people can be hated and used as a scapegoat, they must be rendered less than human. It’s the same strategy used in the Jim Crow South, in Weimar Germany during the lead up to World War Two, and in countless other instances of mass cruelty throughout our recent (and not so recent) history. That is infinitely easier if no one knows a trans person, and their experiences are only colored by what they’ve heard on Fox News or what J.K. Rowling has recently tweeted.
Sometimes, it seems as if we were to be out of sight, we’d be out of (political) mind, and we’d be left safe to do as we pleased. If we’re seen, we can become a target. Visibility begets vulnerability. Anonymity is alluring, can indeed provide a measure of protection, and is sometimes necessary.
With all of this in mind, I still want to ask you to consider how visibility can be a form of long-term protection. If we are visibly human, we are harder to hate. One way to mitigate this risk is to share stories of fictional trans folks. Stories that are well written, even as fiction, can still start the process of normalizing and humanizing the trans experience to people who have never lived it.
Another option is to share the real-life stories of transgender individuals who have the protection of celebrity. Memoirs can be excellent ways to become intimately acquainted with an individual’s mind.
Of course, none of this is perfect. Fiction can be written by anyone, trans or cis, informed or ignorant, and sometimes can contain many harmful stereotypes and misbeliefs. Celebrities are often individuals who are privileged in many ways, race and class being two common ones. Consuming diverse media is as important in regard to trans-related media as it is with everything else. Many of the books, shows, movies, and documentaries below will include caveats about the media, and I recommend researching any if they sound interesting to you before diving in.
However, media is a great way to learn about different points of view and perspectives. I have included a list of media that I have either consumed myself or want to consume or were recommended by friends of mine. What better way to celebrate TDoV than to learn about different Transgender experiences? (You could also financially support me, a transgender creator, by signing up for my mailing list, buying something from my shop, or donating to my Kofi).
If you’d like to learn more about the books listed here, be sure to watch the YouTube video I’ve made all about them!
Books by and/or About Trans People
At 30 I realized I had no Gender: Life Lessons From a 50-year-old After Two Decades of Self-Discovery* by Shou Arai: Shou shares a selection of his manga strips about his life as an intersex and transgender individual, as well as the advice he has about feeling comfortable in your own skin.
If I was Your Girl* by Meredith Russo: A transgender teen moves to a small town to live with her father and has to navigate all of the trials of being a teen, as well as living stealth.
Pageboy: A Memoir* by Elliot Page: A memoir about Page’s life growing up, as well as being an actor. Page also touches on his experiences being an LGBT+ advocate when he was identifying as a lesbian.
Super Late Bloomer: My Early Days in Transition* by Julia Kaye: A collection of comics Kaye has created, chronicling the start of her transition.
My Life in Transition: A Super Late Bloomer Collection* by Julia Kaye: A continuation of Kaye’s comics recording her life as a trans woman.
A Queer History of the United States* by Michael Bronski: A timeline of different trends, movements, and individuals relevant to queer history in America. This book is not exclusively about Trans history, but it does touch on it.
Bad Gays: A Homosexual History* by Huw Lemmy and Ben Miller: A selection of nefarious individuals from around the globe and throughout history who would have probably been labeled LGBT+ were they alive today. This book is not exclusively about Trans history, but it does touch on it.
Transgender History* by Susan Stryker: A timeline of Transgender history.
Transgender Warriors: From Joan of Arc to Marsha P. Johnson and Beyond* by Leslie Feinberg: A selection of different influential individuals from history who might have identified as Trans were they alive today. The narrative is interspersed with Feinberg’s thoughts and observations.
Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity* by C Riley Snorton: A book about the identity of Trans itself, through the lens of race, especially in terms of Black individuals.
Gender Queer: A Memoir* by Maia Kobabe: A graphic memoir that shares Kobabe’s life as a child, teen, and adult, as well as describing eir gender journey.
Luna* by Julie Anne Peters: A young person works through her understanding of self and gender and shares herself with her family and the world.
Shows, Movies, & Documentaries by and/or About Trans People
Boy Meets Girl: A 2014 American romantic comedy with a transgender main character who falls in love with a customer she meets at her barista job. Some homophobic and transphobic tropes are present, but it also has some positive representation.
Transparent: An Amazon Prime drama/comedy show (2014-2019) starring Jeffery Tambor as a parent who has just realized that she is transgender. The show focuses on Maura telling her three adult children about her identity and her transition. The main character, Maura, is played by a cis man, Tambour, who has been accused of sexual misconduct, which ultimately led to him leaving the show. The supporting cast includes several trans characters who are played by trans women.
Sort Of: A Canadian comedy show about Sabi, a genderfluid millennial trying to navigate their life as a child of Pakistani immigrants, a nanny to a tween, and a bartender at an LGBT+ cafe/bar. The show focuses on themes of self-growth, both spurred by the characters’ own internal lives and identities, as well as the people around them. Watch on HBO Max in the US, Sky Comedy in the United Kingdom, Stan in Australia, and M6 in France.
Clean Slate: An American sitcom about a father and his trans daughter reuniting after decades apart. Co-created by and starring Laverne Cox and George Wallace. This show was only released in February of this year but has had a positive reception thus far. A great option to challenge the stereotypes surrounding the mindset of individuals in the American south.
Veneno: A Spanish biopic that focuses on the life of Cristina Ortiz Rodríguez, better known by the nickname ‘La Veneno’. It is available internationally on HBO Max. La Veneno was one of the most iconic LGBT+ individuals. The show’s timeline stretches from the 1960s through the present day and focuses on the power of the media.
Casa Susanna: An episode from the the PBS Show American Experience. It is free to watch until July 26th, 2026. It includes interviews from multiple women who visited the resort, which was a haven for transgender individuals and allowed them to express themselves freely at a time when that would have been incredibly challenging for many individuals.
Disclosure: A 2020 Netflix exclusive documentary about the impacts of Hollywood on the public perception of Transgender individuals throughout history. This film is unique in that it also includes interviews from many different transgender individuals working in the film industry today.
Will & Harper: Take a Road Trip: A 2024 Netflix documentary that follows friends Will Ferrell and Harper Steele on a cross-country road trip while Steele comes out to friends, and they both encounter the various opinions of the public. The two friends bond and reconnect, coming to a deeper understanding of each other
Learn More: Watch the Accompanying Youtube Video!
Bibliography
Rummler, O. (2024, January 24). More states are pushing to stop legally recognizing trans people in public life. The 19th. https://19thnews.org/2024/01/transgender-state-bills-legal-recognition/
Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV). GLAAD. (2025, March 27). https://glaad.org/tdov/
What anti-trans bills passed in 2025?. 2025 passed anti-trans bills: Trans legislation tracker. (n.d.). https://translegislation.com/bills/2025/passed
