Trans Awareness: Five Important Dates for your Diary

01 Jan Trans Awareness: Five Important Dates for your Diary

Posted at 11:47h in Blog by Louis Millington

By Louis Millington.

Want to keep up-do-date with the social conversation? Want to show the trans and non-binary people in your life that you know and care about their history and struggles? Just want to celebrate? Well, good news! We’re here with five important trans-focussed events to pencil into your calendars this year.

Transgender Day of Visibility – March 31st

Started in 2009 by activist Rachel Crandall, International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV, for short) is – perhaps fittingly – among the most high-profile internationally recognised days of awareness for trans and non-binary people. It’s as much a celebration of the lives and voices of trans people as it is an educational event, raising the profile – and the spirits – of the community all around the world.

Non-Binary People’s Day – July 14th

In terms of their gender identity and what it means, non-binary people are among the most commonly misunderstood. Most of us just aren’t taught to think about gender as something that can exist outside the binary notion of man and woman. Well, it can! And Non-Binary People’s Day is the perfect opportunity to teach people what it is to be non-binary, what experiences outside of the gender binary are like, and to celebrate the non-binary people in our lives.

(Fun fact: International Non-Binary People’s Day falls exactly halfway between International Men’s Day and International Women’s Day!)

International Pronouns Day – October 19th

It’s not as hard as people often imagine to get pronouns right. But while there are some who get it wrong on purpose, the truth is most people just don’t understand the issue well enough to change their behaviour. That’s where International Pronouns Day comes in! This day is intended to help spread, normalise and de-mystify inclusive pronoun usage. The goal is to raise awareness so that trans and non-binary people ultimately won’t have to face misgendering, which can be incredibly distressing, in the way they do right now.

Transgender Awareness Week – November 13th-19th

While a single day is a great annual event, a full Transgender Awareness Week is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the community and dig into some of the issues that impact trans and non-binary people. There are all kinds of events and discussions held throughout the week, so pop it in your diary and get educated.

Transgender Awareness Week culminates in…

Transgender Day of Remembrance – November 20th

For all the joy and beauty of transgender stories and transgender people, it is important to remember that transphobia exists and takes many devastating forms: systemic abuse, inequality, violence. These things are still problems to this day and are, in many cases as bad as – or worse than – they ever were.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is about taking the time to remember and honour the trans lives lost to the injustice of transphobia, and about making trans voices heard in the hopes of ending that violence for good.

Want to learn how you can play a proactive role in supporting trans and non-binary people around these events and more? Get in touch.

Louis Millington is a writer and editor based in Norwich, England. He is part of the LGBT+ community and a passionate supporter of trans rights.