International Transgender Day of Visibility is an event annually celebrated on March 31. The day honors transgender people and brings awareness to the discrimination they face in hopes of more equality and celebration.
Today we celebrate Trans Visibility Day by reminiscing on some past milestones and incredible moments that occurred within the Trans community over the past few years!
In 2019, the long-running reality series Project Runwayfeatured its first Transgender model on the runway. MiMi Tao made history on the 17th season of the show. In an exclusive clip from the episode, Tao said:
"I have been working so hard to get here, especially for the transgender people, they need to work harder than other people. I'm so glad I'm here. I'm the first transgender model in Project Runway."
In 2017, we sat down with Youtuber Gigi Gorgeous to talk about her documentary This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous. The film tells the inspiring story of Gigi's transition and the effects it had on her life.
For 2020's Transgender Awareness Week, Advocate Channel's Celebrity Spotlight focused completely on the trailblazing transgender stars of our generation. We talked to transgender actor Scott Turner Schofield about the importance of honest representation on television and film for the Trans community. Shows like Orange is the New Black and Pose have also normalized the presence of Transgender stories and actors in mainstream media.
In 2019, we spoke to Jazz Jennings, a transgender teen with her own TLC reality show I Am Jazz. Jazz spoke about season 5 of the show, which mainly focused on her gender confirmation surgery. Jazz hopes to educate and inspire the viewers who watch her bravery at such a young age and her confidence in becoming who she truly is.
In 2017, we spoke with America's Got Talent contestant Jackie Evancho and her transgender sister, Juliet. The two talked about their reality TV show Growing Up Evancho, which provides more of an insight on the family and Juliet's life as a transgender woman. Juliet shared:
"They get to see that I'm an activist and I'm doing this for the right reasons."
In 2019, we spoke to Pose star and transgender actress Halie Sahar on her involvement in the entertainment business and being an activist. The star talked about using her stardom and platform for good:
"I think that anything we do in life is only worth doing if you're able to spin it and give back to people. I think as humans, whether you're in entertainment or whatever field you're in, I think it's our duty to make it to a certain point and bring others along to inspire them so that they can also follow their dreams and know that they matter."
In 2020, we spotlit Provincetown Brewing Company and owner Chris Hartley for supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Specifically, the brewery supported the Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts by donating a portion of their profits to the cause. Visit provincetownbrewingco.com for more information on the company!
We are wishing a wonderful and celebratory Transgender Visibility Day to the entire Trans community today. You can visit transequality.org for more information and resources to help fight for Trans equality.
