International Transgender Day of Visibility - Visibility is Defiance

Visibility is intentional defiance when people hate you and want you to make yourself small.

As you may know, March 31st is International Transgender Day of Visibility. It's one day full of celebration of transgender people as we rejoice in being proud of who we are. Additionally, this day is about raising awareness of discrimination, bigotry, and hatred faced by transgender people worldwide.

Visibility is intentional defiance when people hate you and want you to make yourself small.

Trans Day of Visibility is not just a celebration of being trans and belonging to such a vibrant, beautiful community, but doing so despite society's messages that we should be ashamed of who we are.

Today, we're supposed to be visible, but recently, with all the escalating hatred towards trans people, many trans accounts are on lockdown, set to private to keep themselves safe.

An entire transphobic, antiTrans movement has taken hold of the world.

They pretend cishet is the default state of society and say those of us who don't fall in line are "immoral," "unwell," or "attention seeking" - ignoring the fact that many of us have tried to blend in, tried to be cis or straight, and were miserable in those lies, and that we didn't choose to be this way.

The News and media have been targeting trans people for years, but the blatant hatred and fear-mongering against trans people has, in recent months, escalated to an alarming state.

We are under attack by our government, feeling powerless, watching them pass laws that criminalize us and strip our rights away.

Many laws (based on misrepresented data and false information) target trans people's human rights, such as access to health care, bathrooms, and art.

They pretend they're "looking out for us" because we "don't know" what we want or need. They think they "know best." "Think of the children!" they say, as they cut down trans and Queer children, harming them the most.

Under the guise of protecting people, they work to pass laws that give cops a reason to harass people in bathrooms. (Though it's a bill targeted at trans people, it WILL harm cis people too.)

There are anti-drag bills that are worded so poorly and vaguely that many of them make it potentially illegal for trans people to appear in public or do any performance outside of an "adults-only venue" (not just traditional drag performances).

There are "parental rights bills" that require teachers to deadname students, use the wrong pronouns for them, & out them to their homophonic/transphobic parents, even if the student expresses that doing so could put them in danger/result in their physical harm, or homelessness.

There are bills to ban life-saving, gender-affirming care, not just for trans minors but also for trans ADULTS.

Puberty blockers, used to put puberty on pause so someone can make decisions at an older age without harmful effects for the young person, also are under attack.

There are bills to stop trans people from accessing gender-affirming care through private insurance providers and bills that target trans people dependent on public health care.

While trans healthcare is under direct attack, cis people can still access things like breast enhancement/reduction, for example - even cis children/minors. Double standards much???

Some bills would make it more difficult/impossible to update our government documents with the correct names and pronouns, which leaves us vulnerable to discrimination (possibly even violence) if we have to show an outdated ID that doesn't match who we are now.

Some bills would make it more difficult/impossible to update our government documents with the correct names and pronouns, which leaves us vulnerable to discrimination (possibly even violence) if we have to show an outdated ID that doesn't match who we are now.

Some bills want to make it legal for Trans and other Queer People to be turned away from business, and prevented from accessing services, based on the personal bigotry of the service provider against LGBTQIA2+ People. (For example, if a trans person arrives at the emergency room with a broken arm, the doctor could refuse to help them because they're trans.)

Those who take joy in causing physical pain to trans people have been encouraged by all the bills and anitTrans rhetoric being spread by the News, media, and public figures.

Violence against trans people (unfortunately, it has always been common) is on the rise, and I worry things will worsen before they get better.

Things are bad for trans people right now. More than ever, I feel aware of how many people want me to go back into hiding, pretending to be one of them and miserable for it - or worse, would like to see me dead.

Despite the hate, trolling, and death threats, I refuse to return to the closet. I will NOT make myself small or cower to those who want to see me fall.

My name is Lyric.

My pronouns are they/them.

I am trans-nonbinary (genderfluid, if you want to get specific), and I'm proud.

You will not scare me. You cannot silence me. You will not stop me.

I will remain visible - despite the bigots who want me to hide.

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