Opinions expressed are my own and do not reflect the views of Eastern PA Trans Equity Project where I am employed or Queer & Trans Lehigh Valley where I serve as an organizer.

This year I feel more complicated than I’ve ever felt about what visibility means for trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people. This month concludes with Trans Day of Visibility, March 31st, which was started in 2009 by Rachel Crandall Crocker in Michigan. Crocker created the day to serve as a counterpart to Trans Day of Remembrance where we gather to honor community members murdered in the past year. Instead, Crocker said she wanted Trans Day of Visibility to focus “on living.” The day quickly spread to a nation-wide recognition day. 

I do appreciate that we have a moment to celebrate the vibrancy of our vast trans community but this year I am questioning who I want to be visible to and what visibility has to offer us towards trans liberation. Over the last years we have seen a dramatic increase in violence towards our trans community at all levels of our society from person to person to our government. The emotion I most associate visibility with is fear. I have directly experienced online and in-person harassment as an author of trans and queer kids books. I have felt the danger that comes with being seen by the wrong people. Just last week in Kansas trans and nonbinary people had their driver’s licenses taken. Being visible to those trans people meant their lives just became much harder. Some people will tell me to not worry, that I am not in Kansas but I am a student of history. I know these techniques can come here if we don’t stop them. Then, too, just because we are separated by state lines doesn’t mean that I don’t care deeply about what is happening to trans people across this country. 

If you are trans I’m sure these reflections are not surprising to you. Visibility without protection and care cannot lead us to liberation. To be protected and cared for, we’re going to need a lot more people to stand up with trans people. 

Still, there are moments where visibility has given me purpose and joy. This past weekend Eastern PA Trans Equity Project hosted our second annual Trans Art Showcase at the Ice House in Bethlehem which embodied to me the power of being visible and present to each other. Over fifty trans and nonbinary artists and performers shared our creativity and spirit. Each year for the Trans Art Showcase we end with a performance by the Queer Quior facilitated by Khalid Taylor. They always invite the audience to join the choir in song. There is no better metaphor for the opportunity Trans Day of Visibility can be to not be visible alone but as voices woven together. 

Trans Day of Visibility is often celebrated with flag raisings and educational events locally. There will be flag raisings organized by Eastern PA Trans Equity Project in Easton (3/31 – 12pm Centre Square), Allentown (3/31 – 4pm Allentown City Hall), and Bethlehem (3/29 – 11am at Payroll Plaza). I would love our accomplices and co-conspirators (the time for allies has past!) to think about how on this Trans Day of Visibility you can make your support for trans people real and tangible. How are you creating a world where it is safe for trans people to be seen? What risks are you willing to take for us? 

I always encourage people to contribute to mutual aid and direct aid work to support trans people so that funds can go directly into the hands of people who need it. Eastern PA Trans Equity Project and Queer and Trans Lehigh Valley are two local examples of direct aid and mutual aid work. 

Safety is a layered issue. Affordable rent, nutritious food, fair wages, access to affirming health care, and reliable transportation are all crucial parts of what could help us arrive at the future we need where all trans people are safe and cared for. Our struggle is bound up with the struggles of all marginalized people not only because some of us navigate the world in multiple marginalized identities but also because we are often subjected to violence from the same sources. We cannot have safety for trans people without safety for people of color. We cannot have safety for trans people without safety for immigrants. We cannot have safety for trans people without safety for disabled people. 

And to my trans beloveds, I invite you just for today to save your light for the people who hold you. I invite you to use today to connect to another trans person you care about. Take a moment to see each other. Then, I think we could all use a Trans Day of Rest.