International Transgender Day of Remembrance

November 20, 2011 was the International Transgender Day of Remembrance. This Memorial Day is held in honour of the victims of anti-transgender violence. The Day of Remembrance was started in 1999 after a woman named Rita Hester was stabbed multiple times in her apartment on November 28, 1999. Rita was a female-identified transgendered person who was often referred to in the press as “he” and her male-born name was often used; a name that she had not used for several years. Rita’s death sparked a movement within the transgendered community, whereby those who had been killed either directly or indirectly by anti-transgendered hate and bias are remembered.

Transgendered (trans) individuals are a unique community but can be invisible when they are lumped into the category of gay and lesbian, when in fact gender identity has nothing to do with sexual identity.

There are some things that cis-gendered* people can do to create a better environment where a trans person can feel more comfortable. It is important that cis-gendered people recognize that not everyone identifies as male or female. Someone’s appearance will not always be able to tell you what their gender identity is. Some trans people are not visibly trans; a person may appear male but their gender identity may be female. Others may have already transitioned and you may not even realize that they used to be male or female-bodied. Many people assume that you will be able to “tell” if a person is transgendered and this is almost never the case. Ask people what pronouns they prefer to use. Always refer to people in the pronouns that they prefer, even if it doesn’t match how you would view them. Check out the Non-trans privilege checklist!
http://www.amptoons.com/blog/2006/09/22/the-non-trans-privilege-checklist

*Cis-gendered refers to the people whose gender-identity and physical body match. For example, a person who is born in a female body with female sex hormones identifies as female. The “opposite” of cis-gendered is trans-gendered.

References:
“International Transgender Day of Remembrance,” last modified September 2, 2011, http://www.transgenderdor.org/
Action Santé Travesti(e)s et Transsexuel(le)s du Québec, Taking Charge: A Handbook for Health Care and Social Service Providers Working with Trans People (Montreal, QUE, 2011).

This article , adapted for the Shift Blog, was written by one of AIDS Calgary’s practicum students for The A Word on November 23, 2011. Check out the A Word at www.aidscalgary.org