Every year on March 31, we celebrate the International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) and recognize the struggles, sacrifices and achievements of Transgender people. They have fought, and continue to fight, for gender equity in our society. TDOV was founded in 2009 by Rachel Crandall, a Transgender activist in the United States, as a day to raise awareness of the unique experiences of Transgender people.
The word “Transgender” (or “Trans”) is an umbrella term that refers to people whose gender identity is different from their sex assigned at birth. A person’s gender identity may or may not be visible to others and often doesn’t align with society’s expectations of them based on their sex assigned at birth. If you would like to learn what these and other related terms mean—such as sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics—check out the Genderbread Person, a handy infographic and one of many useful resources created by Egale Canada.
Most people who are Transgender still face discrimination in society and in the workplace.
Here are some tips to get you started, continue your learning or show support to our Transgender community:
- When introducing yourself, feel free to present your pronouns along with your name, such as saying, “My name is _________, and my pronouns are ______ and ______.” This creates a space where others feel much safer stating their own pronouns.
- If you are unsure of someone’s pronouns, use that person’s name. Instead of, “This book belongs to [her/him/they/ze]”, try, “This book belongs to [name].” You can also just ask someone what their pronouns are, in the same way that you would ask for people’s names when you just met them or cannot remember: “I’m sorry, can you please remind me what your pronouns are?” It is very important to do this equally with everyone, and not just people who do not meet your expectations of gender presentation.
- Review the City’s Women and Gender Equity Strategy to learn about the City’s commitment to promote women and gender equity and integrate a women and gender lens to services, strategies and plans.
- Check out The Beginner’s Guide to Being a Trans Ally by Christina Whittlesey at the Ottawa Public Library, a guide with practical advice and resources for people wanting to better understand gender identity and become better allies.
- The Ottawa Trans Library is another excellent resource and social space, housing a collection of books by Trans authors and interesting works on Trans issues and people.
Together, we can each commit to fostering a greater sense of belonging for everyone. It is our responsibility to learn about each other and our unique experiences of privilege and oppression so that we can build an equitable, accessible, participatory and rights-based world without discrimination together.
