Transgender Day of Remembrance is celebrated on November 20th all over the world. On this year’s Transgender Awareness Week and upcoming Transgender Day of Remembrance, we would like to celebrate the diversity, joy, and beauty of the transgender community as well as honor those that we have lost in 2022.
While 2021 was deemed the deadliest year for transgender people in the United States, 2022 has witnessed the greatest number of anti-LGBT bill proposals, with an appalling amount of anti-transgender legislation pushed to the forefront (ACLU). From the criminalization of gender-affirming healthcare practices to discriminatory bathroom restrictions, 2022 has introduced far more dangerous conditions for transgender people in Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Still, the power of queer political activism, community-based mutual aid, and other supportive practices continues to prove the beauty, power, and strength of the transgender community, when faced with oppression. Though many of these anti-trans bills were signed into law, a vast majority were withdrawn from the courts or failed to pass. Many bills are also being proposed to pre-emptively protect states from anti-trans legislature; some which have already passed in states such as California and Oregon.
At least 49 transgender individuals have died within the past year from anti-trans violence in the United States; 12 have died from suicide (TDOR Report). Transgender women of color account for a striking majority of recorded deaths, particularly among those who fell victim to anti-trans violence.
It remains very clear that there is still a long way for us to go. The change we are generating is slow-moving but powerful and impactful. As social workers, it is essential for us to become active proponents of transgender rights by delivering trans-inclusive services in our work with the community, lobbying alongside activist groups, as well as better informing those in our personal lives.
To learn more about how to get more involved, please visit the National Center for Transgender Equality or check out some local LGBT centers: San Diego LGBT Center, North County LGBTQ Center, or the PFLAG San Diego Chapter.
Documentary on Transgender History
Screaming Queens: the Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria. Directed by Susan Stryker and Victor Silverman.
Catch a performance of the Transgender Chorus of Los Angeles
Stryker, S. Transgender history: the roots of today’s revolution. New York: Seal Press. 2017. First Published 2008.
A book, in case you prefer to read
Stryker, S. Transgender history: the roots of today’s revolution. New York: Seal Press. 2017. First Published 2008.
Diversity, Equity and Transformation (DET) Committee