Celebrating Transgender Day of Visibility in 2025
Publisher: Marlee Goodman
Transgender Day of Visibility is the sibling observance to Transgender Day of Remembrance. While Transgender Day of Remembrance is to hold space for the disproportionate amount of interpersonal and systemic harm to Trans People across the globe that leads to a loss of life, Trans Day of Visibility is meant to uplift the contributions of a group of people who are marginalized and scapegoated.
In our current socio-political climate, we find that many areas where there have been strides in recent years in our sector and across the field are being targeted for rollback, making it more imperative than ever to double down on our mission at ICOY–to champion the safety and well-being of all Illinois youth, children and families.
One of the largest discrepancies faced by the LGBTQ+ community is the lack of representation and acknowledgement in mainstream outlets, especially of happiness, health, prosperity, and successes. To support our youth in thriving, this Trans Day of Visibility we seek to shine a light on the imperative work of Transgender people, whose personhood and contributions are literally and figuratively being erased from history, as a way to model and mirror the value they hold in every aspect of society.
Notable Transgender People + Their Contributions to History
Credit: Photo courtesy of the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries
Reed Erikson (1917-1992) – Philanthropist who launched the Erikson Education Foundation. The EEF contributed millions of dollars to the early development of the LGBTQ+ movements. In addition to philanthropy, the EEF functioned as an information and counseling resource for transgender people; created a referral network of physicians and psychologists; published educational pamphlets for transgender people and their families; and conducted outreach to medical professionals, clergy, law enforcement personnel, and academics. Erikson is known to have “largely informed almost every aspect of work being done in the 1960s and 1970s in the field of gender affirmation in the US”
Credit: New York Times
Robina Asti (1921-2021) – WW 2 Navy pilot, the oldest working flight instructor on record, ended the rule on internal exams for female pilots, with the help of Lambda Legal, won widowed transgender people rights to their spouses social security, a huge step in equality with their cisgender counterparts
Credit: Transas City
Sister Mary Elizabeth Clark (1938 – Present) – An activist for Trans rights, successfully sued the U.S. Army and won an honorable discharge after having her enlistment voided upon higher-ups finding out about her identity. She was instrumental in winning rights to have gender markers changed on birth certificates and drivers licenses in California, and founded the ACLU’s Transsexual Rights Committee. She is known as a main mover of the AIDS Education and Global Information System database, previously a pre-internet bulletin board.
Credit: Netflix and Recovering Democracy Archives @ University of Maryland
Marsha P Johnson (1945-1992) + Sylvia Rivera (1951-2002) – Longtime Civil-Rights activists and co-founders of STAR (Street Transvestite* Action Revolutionaries) and the originators of the prolific Stonewall Uprising. Despite being leaders in LGBTQ+ Liberation, Johnson and Rivera each faced discrimination from established gay rights organizations due to being trans women of color, due to this they dedicated their life and work to the visibility of people who exist at those intersections and created the first LGBTQ+ youth homeless shelter, the STAR house.
*Note, Transgender is a term that was not popularized until after the deaths of Marsha and Sylvia, but is now the accepted terminology.
Credit: The Atlantic
Ben Barres (1954-2017) – Neurobiologist, chair of Neurobiology at Stanford University, first openly transgender scientist in the National Academy of Science, and a pioneering activist of women and gender minorities in STEM.
Transgender people have always, and will always exist, and in fact pre-date the gender binary by centuries (learn more about a timeline of transgender history here). Today and every day we honor and uplift a long and resilient history of the Transgender community and thank them for their contributions to society and LBGTQ+ inclusion and liberation. We also hold and recognize that visibility is not enough, and across all communities we are taking ownership of the protection of and solidarity with Trans people. Below please see resources on various calls to action and join ICOY in continuing to hold Trans safety and joy at the center of creating a better Illinois for all youth.
Resources
- Support Trans Youth – the number one protective factor for Trans + Gender Non-Conforming Youth is being respected, validated, supported, and protected by trusted adults and peers
- Educate Others – Combat stereotypes, misinformation, and harmful myths and rhetoric about transgender individuals, experiences, and the issues they face
- Visibility Matters – It is significantly more risky for trans people to be visible, than for cisgender people to be visible and vocal allies.
- Community Solidarity – Supporting transgender rights benefits everyone, standing with our most marginalized is collective care for all identities
- Share Your Story – If comfortable and safe to do so, sharing personal experiences fosters understanding and connection within and between communities
Organizations to know
- National
- Advocates For Trans Equity (A4TE)
- Lambda Legal
- Transgender Law Center
- The Trevor Project
- Trans Lifeline
- QueerDoc
- Illinois
- Equality Illinois
- ACLU Illinois
- Brace Space Alliance
- Chicago House – TransLife Care
- Youth Outlook
- Check out their incredible + comprehensive resource page here