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Visibility within the transgender community is often a Catch-22, especially for trans people of color, or those living in rural, conservative areas. Hiding one鈥檚 identity can be a damaging experience and increase feelings of . But standing out as a trans person can make someone a  or violence.

As a trans man who , I believe 鈥攃elebrated annually on March 31鈥攊s an important day that allows community members to come together and find support and solidarity by knowing they are not alone.

A Celebration鈥檚 History

Trans Day of Visibility acknowledges the contributions made by people within the transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse communities (hereafter referred to as 鈥渢rans鈥� to encompass anyone who doesn鈥檛 identify with their sex assigned at birth).

TDOV has been marked annually since 2009. Before then, the only day of recognition the trans community had was Transgender Day of Remembrance鈥攁 day of mourning held on Nov. 20 to commemorate trans people who have died in the previous year.

Trans Day of Visibility, then, is an attempt, as the trans community puts it, to 鈥�.鈥�

Rachel Crandall, a transgender activist from Michigan, organized the . By 2014, the day was being .

In 2015, I along with other local trans activists in Omaha, Nebraska, hosted the first of several annual events for our local community. It featured panels, Q&As, and support groups for family members, trans people, and cisgender, or cis, people鈥攚hich refers to people who identify with the sex they were assigned at birth鈥攚ho wanted to learn how to be better allies to the trans community. Some of us wore T-shirts that said 鈥淎sk Me I鈥檓 Trans鈥� on the day of the event to facilitate dialogue between the trans and cis communities.

Fighting Stigma

Visibility as a transgender person is not a one-size-fits-all approach for people within the trans community. Some people may embrace visibility while others, for comfort, safety, or other deeply personal reasons, may not feel comfortable being visibly trans.

After all, threats of violence within the trans community are not uniformly distributed. Trans women of color are , as they often  including transphobia, racism, classism, misogyny, and 鈥攖he unique misogyny that Black women face. Because of job discrimination,  of trans people engage in the underground economy, including commercial sex work, and may confront other transphobic discrimination as a result of their work.

Trans Day of Visibility is an attempt to break these cycles of violence and discrimination against trans people.

Celebrating Trans People During a Pandemic

To say this past year has been difficult for the trans community would be an understatement. During this period, trans people have been largely unable to provide in-person support to one another, and those who have had physical changes can鈥檛 fully celebrate those changes with friends.

Furthermore, the past year has seen an escalation in legislation that targets trans people with  and attempts to . More than 20 states introduced at least one  in 2020. That kind of coordinated policy campaign against a very small community鈥攅stimated to be  of the U.S. population鈥攕ends a specific message to the trans community that we are not welcome.

It鈥檚 a message I believe could be counterbalanced if we could gather in support of each other. I can attest that there鈥檚 something powerful about being in a room full of trans people. The love, support, and understanding is unlike anything I鈥檝e experienced. But because of the continuing global pandemic, most Trans Day of Visibility celebrations will be held virtually, as they were last year.

For example, the National Center for Transgender Equality, the largest nonprofit group advocating for trans rights, will host an online  honoring trans leaders. At the University of Nebraska at Omaha, we鈥檙e hosting Dominique Morgan, a Black trans singer/songwriter, in a .

Trans Day of Visibility focuses on trans people but is not exclusive to the trans community. Allies of the trans community can also take part by reaching out to a trans friend and sending their support. Those who live in a state that is trying to enact anti-trans legislation can write to their state legislators to oppose those bills. Within their social circles, allies can be visible and vocal supporters of trans people.

This article was originally published by . It has been published here with permission.