This is what non-binary looks like: people are using this inspiring hashtag to celebrate Trans Visibility Day
H&M partly manufacture their Pride range in Bangladesh where being gay can lead to life imprisonment (Photo credit should read MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images)
International Transgender Visibility Day on March 31 celebrates transgender people, as well as raising awareness to the issues facing their community and giving exposure.
Ahead of the big day, transgender people and their allies have been using the #thisiswhatnonbinarylookslike hashtag to share images and inspirational quotes about their lives.
Non-binary activists and founders of My Genderation, Fox and Owl created the hashtag that then inspired a viral trend.
International Transgender Visibility Day itself was created by transgender activist Rachel Crandall in 2009 in response to the lack of events focusing on the trans community specifically, and has been an annual event since.
It has been argued that referring to the LGBT+ community as a ‘community’ is disingenuous to the various factions within it, not least transgender people, hence having the day of awareness.
Grave statistics show that 41 percent of transgender people have attempted suicide, 80 percent of trans people feel unsafe at school and 50 percent of trans people have been raped or attacked by a sexual partner.
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The statistics of crime and violence against trans people are significantly worse than those of the lesbian, gay and bisexual community, and those questioning their identities.
Then there is the wider issue that the queer community simply cannot be reconciled as one ‘community’ at all.
The academic Eleanor Formby has even said: “I’m not sure that community is a very suitable word for such a diverse group of people.”
Related: Transgender people ‘aren’t safe in Britain’
Transgender people are hosting events worldwide for Trans Visibility Day, some of which are detailed on this Facebook page. Events are largely at universities, although you’ll likely find local meet-ups that haven’t been widely publicised by checking the hashtag on Twitter.
You can keep up with the conversation by following the hashtag #thisiswhatnonbinarylookslike, or #TDOV which stands for Transgender Day Of Visibility on Twitter.
