What is Transgender day of visibility?

31^st March is the International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDoV); a day of bringing awareness, visibility, and acknowledgement of transgender and non-binary people. Frequently, the focus of this day is on the accomplishments and achievements of gender diverse people throughout history.

The trans visibility day also focuses on raising awareness of the discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide. TDoV was founded in 2009 by activist Rachel Crandall as no holiday had existed dedicated to the acknowledgement of the contributions of transgender people.

While it is important to acknowledge and dismantle the systemic oppression that significantly impacts upon the health and wellbeing of gender diverse people, this article is will focus on notable achievements and acknowledgements of gender diverse people throughout history:

7000 Before the Common Era (BCE) – 1700 BCE – Neolithic and Bronze Age drawings and figures depicts the ‘third sex’ human figure who has breasts and a penis
1820s – James Barry was an Irish military surgeon in the British Army whose birth sex became public knowledge after an autopsy
1870s – Fanny Park and Stella Boulton; two trans feminine people who were on trial in Victorian England
1910s – Harry Allen; an American trans man who unapologetically rejected female gender assignment and refused to conform to the gender norms of the time
1931 – In Berlin, Dora Richter is the first known trans woman to undergo vaginoplasty
1940s – Michael Dillon; the first trans man to undergo a phalloplasty
1950s – Rina Natan is the first trans woman in Israel to undergo gender affirming surgery out of her own free will
1969 – The Stonewall riots occur in New York City
1972 – Sweden is the first country in the world to allow transgender people to legally change their sex and provides free hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
1999 – The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was grounded by Gwendolyn Ann Smith
2000 – The Transgender Pride flag was first shown at pride parade in Phoenix, Arizona
2003 – Alex MacFarlane was the first person to obtain an Australian birth certificate and passport showing indeterminate gender
2012 – Western Australia no longer requires a person to undergo sterilization before approving a change of sex classification
2018 – WA government introduced legislation that repealed the requirement that someone must be unmarried to change their sex on a birth certificate. Prior to this, gender diverse people had to have their married annulled to acknowledge their gender legally

Australia’s first peer-led trans and gender diverse health service

Online events

Decolonizing trans health online seminar: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/decolonizing-trans-health-tickets-145309736333?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch&keep_tld=1

Trans presence: Beyond visibility: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/trans-presence-beyond-visibility-panel-tickets-144784220501?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch&keep_tld=1

Where can I read more about this?

For more information about gender diversity, language, and how mental health is impacted please read our other article: https://ndpsych.com.au/what-is-the-transgender-day-of-remembrance/

For more information about TDoV please see the links below:

https://tdov.org.au/

https://www.transhub.org.au/

https://www.lgbtiqhealth.org.au/transgender_visibility_day_2021

Working with transgender and non-binary young people: https://www.lgbtiqhealth.org.au/a_critical_development_approach_to_working_with_transgender_and_non_binary_young_people

Barriers to health care experienced by trans young people: https://www.lgbtiqhealth.org.au/barriers_to_healthcare_experienced_by_trans_young_people