Awareness days can feel like a calendar of hashtags. The good ones exist because someone decided a specific thing needed saying once a year, and knowing where they come from makes them easier to mark in a way that means something.
Trans Day of Visibility: 31 March
International Transgender Day of Visibility was founded in 2009 by Rachel Crandall, a trans activist from Michigan. At the time, the only widely known trans awareness day was a day of mourning. She wanted one that celebrated trans people who are alive, and drew attention to the discrimination they still face.
Visibility is a choice, not a duty. Many trans people mark the day by supporting others rather than by being seen themselves, and that is entirely valid.
Transgender Day of Remembrance: 20 November
Transgender Day of Remembrance was started in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith to honour the memory of Rita Hester, a trans woman murdered in Massachusetts in November 1998. It is a day to remember trans people killed by transphobic violence, usually marked with vigils and the reading of names.
The week before it, from 13 to 19 November, is often observed as Transgender Awareness Week.
The other dates
- 14 July: International Non-Binary People's Day. Chosen because it falls midway between International Men's Day and International Women's Day.
- 23 September: Bisexual Visibility Day. Celebrated since 1999.
- Last full week of October: Ace Week. Asexual awareness, usually late October.
- 26 October: Intersex Awareness Day. It marks the first public protest by intersex people, in Boston in 1996.
- 8 November: Intersex Day of Remembrance.
- 26 April: Lesbian Visibility Day.
- 24 May: Pansexual and Panromantic Awareness Day.
- June: Pride Month. It commemorates the Stonewall uprising, which began on 28 June 1969 in New York.
Marking them without performing them
Brands and institutions often discover these dates the morning they happen. If you want to do something that matters: donate to or volunteer with a local trans organisation, check in on the trans people in your life, and learn one piece of the history behind the date.
The pride flags section explains the flags you will see on these days, and who was the first transgender person? is a good start on the history.
Wren · Editor
Wren is the name the T4TSpace blog is published under. The posts are written by the small team that builds the app, and signed with one name so the voice stays the same from one piece to the next.