Editor’s Note (special event): “TRANS DAY OF VISIBILITY: Massachusetts Stands with Our Trans Community” — Monday, March 31, 2025, 2 p.m., Massachusetts State House, Nurses Hall, 24 Beacon St, Boston. Join the Massachusetts LGBTQ+ Legislative Caucus and Allies for a celebration of trans identity, health, and inclusivity.
From Fenway Health:
[Today], we celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), recognizing the achievements and resilience of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people around the world, including our own staff, patients, and supporters. For Fenway Health and our Trans Health Program, TDOV serves as an opportunity to confirm our commitment to caring for every member of the community who needs us, including trans and gender-diverse people young and old.
This year, Fenway Health staff will be sporting the new TDOV shirts highlighted at the top of this post when we head to work on March 31, and we encourage you all to do the same. Send us a photo showing off your TDOV shirt and we will add it to our social media photo show. Be sure to mark your email “OK to share.”
Transgender Day of Visibility was started by transgender activist Rachel Crandall in 2009. As Crandall told 19th News in 2021, “I wanted a day that we can celebrate the living, and I wanted a day that all over the world we could be all together.”
Coming together and being visible is especially important this year. The current US political situation and the increase in executive orders, legislation, and federal policies attacking trans civil rights including access to health care underlines the importance of this year’s TDOV.
Impact of Anti-Trans Discrimination
Anti-trans discrimination can create barriers to health care, employment, and social activities, leading to anxiety, depression, and isolation. Trans and gender diverse young people can be especially vulnerable and are currently the target of many anti-trans politicians and activists, with the Williams Institute finding that over one-third of TGD young people in the US reside in states that have enacted bans on accessing gender-affirming care. Many states are also attempting to bar participation in sports or limit the ability to express gender identity in schools.
The mental and emotional toll of navigating a hostile political environment can be overwhelming, but the support of families, friends, communities, and allies is vital in ensuring that trans youth and adults are given the opportunity to thrive.
Standing in Solidarity
International Transgender Day of Visibility is a call to action not just for the trans community, but for anyone who supports the idea that all Americans should be free to pursue the age-old adage of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Active participation strengthens a world where all gender identities are respected.
— From a Fenway Health press release
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