Summary:
Trans Day of Visibility is celebrated every year on 31 March to honour and uplift trans and gender-diverse people worldwide, but also to amplify their voices and continue the fight for equality and belonging together.
On this day, we want to share their messages of hope.
Watch our video below, and share it with our communities worldwide!
Accessibility: captions are available in English and Spanish. Scroll further down this page to access the transcription
“Trans Day of Visibility: ‘Things get better in time. The universe has a place for you'”: video transcription
Today, the Trans Day of Visibility, maybe we can take a moment to celebrate. We have achieved some milestones, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.
[music]
[text: “CelebratingTrans Day of Visibility”]
My name is Carolina Alejandra Figueredo, I come from the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina and I am with Archivo de la Memoria Trans Argentina.
Hello, my name is Kalani Walter. I am from EATHAN. EATHAN is the East African Trans Health and Advocacy Network.
My name is Susan Gapka I reside in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Hello, my name is Henry Tse and I am from Hong Kong. Currently, I am the head of a trans-led charity called Transgender Equality Hong Kong. I am probably best known as the “Hong Kong ID guy” that successfully challenged the Hong Kong ID policy that used to require full sex reassignment surgery in order to change the gender marker on the ID card.
[music]
[text reads: “What is your story of visibility?”]
I grew up in a very gender-nonconforming way. I didn’t have a clue of what “transgender” meant. As I was growing up, I never saw any trans men being represented in media, I didn’t see anyone like myself. As I was fighting the lawsuit, you know, not being visible was a huge issue for me, because I was dismissed twice by the lower Courts, and I was desperate to convince especially the judges that we deserved a male ID so that we could live a normal life in Hong Kong. And we hoped that, by being seen, people would believe that trans men are men and that would help win the lawsuit at the end, which we eventually did!
My work really started with a visit (to the archive) that I took, bringing my own story. When I realised that this was a place that could give visibility to my story, I was really surprised, because we really never had the opportunity to be able to tell our stories in public — what we went through, the many things that we had to tell. For certain, the archive was a very important turning point in my life and in the life of every elderly trans woman who could tell about all the barbarity that we endured, that we had experienced in first person – all this pain that we held inside, we finally found the moment to tell about it.
I remember, when I was young, I was always asking myself every single day “Does it ever get better? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Does life get easier?”. And, over time, you get to experience life differently. Over time, you get to realise that these are things not to rush: you take your time, and the pieces just start falling into place.
Trans visibility is important for me for the same reason it is important for everyone else. It promotes emotional, psychological, physical health and well-being.
[music]
[text: “What is your message to our communities worldwide?”]
Today, the Trans Day of Visibility, maybe we can take a moment to celebrate this achievement.
Yes: we have achieved some milestones, not just for Hong Kong, but also for Asia, but we still have got a lot of work to do for our fellow trans siblings.
Trans allyship is important to build a mainstream momentum to ensure we are acknowledged, accepted, and respected both socially and politically.
We must have just one flag within the LGBTQ+ community: we are unity, we must be united under one flag. This is the only way that we will preserve our rights and defend them.
I’d like to say it does get better with time, and you just have to be patient with yourself. Remember to be kind to yourself, and also remember that the universe has a place for you.
[music]
[text: Happy Trans Day of Visibility to our communities worldwide]