Transgender Day of Visibility is on March 31. This year, students, faculty and staff are celebrating the recent passing of a gender-affirming healthcare expansion. But students and organizations, like the Trans Coalition, who championed the healthcare expansion say that support for the Trans community shouldn't stop there.
“For us, everyday is Trans Day of Visibility,” said first-year Sauder student Gongning Ma.
They said Trans people all have different experiences with their transness and the way in which people's perceptions affect their day to day life.
Ma mentioned the strides students make on campus, citing a first-ever drag show at a Sauder equity, diversity and inclusion conference. They also said they have been working to make an inclusive environment for members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ Sauder community.
Students also run peer-support and advocacy efforts for Trans students on campus, led by groups like the Pride Collective, the Collective's gender empowerment store, the Trans Mentorship Program and UBC Drag.
Student-led campaigning by the Trans Coalition formed last year also led to the passage of a gender-affirming healthcare expansion in the recent election cycle.
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While they celebrate the expansion, Ma echoed the coalition’s concerns that gender-affirming care shouldn't have been separated from the general healthcare expansion since it makes Trans healthcare seem like it's not as important as other health items.
For the Trans Coalition, Trans Day of Visibility is a day that reminds them “Despite everything, [the Trans community] are celebrating joy and we are making positive change.”
Hélène Frohard-Dourlent, a strategist for the UBC Equity and Inclusion Office (EIO), echoed Ma’s comments about the importance of the day, saying it is an opportunity to focus on the amazing communities and to “really create an opportunity for folks to listen and learn.”
At the EIO, Frohard-Dourlent works on many issues involving human rights, which include gender expression and identity. They encouraged students who have concerns to contact the EIO’s advisors.
They also highlighted the work of the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO) to put together a clothing swap to help students find gender affirming clothes, along with the creation of the Trans, Two Spirit, and Gender Diversity Task Force, which first started working in March 2020.
The task force released its recommendations in a broadcast message on March 30.
Both Ma and Frohard-Dourlent expressed some of the fear and difficulty that can come with being Trans right now, particularly in light of the rise of anti-Trans legislation in the United States. But, both also spoke about the beauty of being Trans and invited others to show solidarity with the Trans community on this day, but also to celebrate it.
“The best way to change the status quo is to start having conversations instead of being scared of asking questions,” Ma said.