Trans Awareness Week

I’ve been remiss in not posting earlier this week, especially since it’s Transgender Awareness Week. It’s a time to celebrate transgender and gender non-conforming folks, and it’s also a time to bring awareness that we are here, our struggles are real, and we deserve the same rights and respect as anyone else. Some people and organizations do advocacy and activism during this time to educate the public (Netflix has a great documentary called Disclosure). Others hold events showcasing trans people (I’ve attended open mics for transgenders to speak or perform).

Whether you take action or spend time to learn more about the transgender community, it’s important to know that you likely know at least one trans or gender non-conforming individual. Last year there was an estimated 149,750 trans teenagers and 1,397,150 trans adults in the USA. That’s over 1.5 million people. Bear in mind, this only reflects those who openly identify as transgender, not individuals who aren’t comfortable or safe to come out as well as those who haven’t figured out this piece of their identity yet (like in my case, it took me 28 years to figure out I’m trans).

After Transgender Awareness Week there’s a more somber day on November 20th called Transgender Day of Remembrance or TDOR. It’s a vigil to honor those who’ve died from violence against the transgender and gender non-conforming community. The vigil usually incorporates reading aloud the list of names of the people we’ve lost. As of today, 46 in the USA have lost their lives in 2021, worldwide 463 in a year from Oct. 1 2020 to Sept. 30 2021. These are the highest numbers on record.

I consider myself a sort of “transgender baby,” meaning I’m very new to this identity and the community. I’ve only been aware of my identity for three years, and before then I was not conscientious to the struggles and biases transgender and gender non-conforming people face daily. I’ve attended two TDOR vigils so far, and each time the names shocked me. Not only the high numbers, but also the countries where the violence occurred. I was surprised how many of the murders happen in South America, and horrified that more are in Brazil than in the USA. With these names and numbers ringing in my head, it’s made me afraid of international traveling, which is a big change for me.

I’ve traveled to eight countries so far in my life. Ghana, Italy, The Vatican, The UK, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, and Canada. I did this before my trans epiphany, so I was presenting as female at the time, and I did a lot of solo trips in those countries. Some of my family and friends were very concerned about this because being a woman alone can be dangerous. I didn’t care, and earned a reputation for being fearless, but that has changed. My close friends talk about taking a group trip to South America some day, and I tell them that I won’t go. I’ve dreamed of going to the Republic of Ireland for years, but now I worry if their culture is openminded to transgenders.

This anxious mindset is very different for me. Right now I have the excuse that the COVID pandemic makes it unsafe to travel abroad, but someday that will no longer be the case. One day the borders will be more open, and I don’t want to live the rest of my life never exploring other countries again, feeling like I have to stay in the USA forever.

I don’t want to remain fearful.

So I have a goal to remember how and why I was fearless in the past, and work towards returning to that mindset. In the meantime, I try to make my trans identity visible when possible and appropriate. This week I wrote an email to my co-workers about Transgender Awareness Week and TDOR. Every day this week I’ve worn my trans flag suspenders (so glad I found these!). Visibility is important in spreading more awareness, so here I am doing my part.