November 20th Heritage & Cultural Highlight: Transgender Day of Remembrance

About

President Biden, in the 2024 Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation, wrote, “[o]n Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor the extraordinary courage and contributions of Transgender Americans and reaffirm our Nation’s commitment to forming a more perfect Union — where all people are created equal and treated equally throughout their lives.” It is critical for us to remember that, in the same month that the first openly transgender person was elected to the US Congress, many transgender people face significant trauma and hate. Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester’s death and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. (Gwendolyn Ann Smith, Transgender Day of Remembrance | GLAAD) Transgender Day of Remembrance is an opportunity for communities to come together and remember transgender and gender-nonconforming people who have been murdered, often very brutally, for challenging ideas about what it means to be male or female, or something else. It is an opportunity not only to pause to remember those we have lost, but to help raise awareness about the persistent stigma and discrimination experienced by this community, and to help do something about it. (The Transgender Day of Remembrance - American Psychological Association).

EWB Recommended Activities:

  • Transgender Day of Remembrance - National Center for Civil and Human Rights Join us for “We Are Here: A Celebration of Trans Resilience,” a Transgender Day of Remembrance virtual event co-hosted by LGBTQ+ Institute Advisory Board members Jennifer Barnes-Balenciaga of New York City and Umut Dursun of Denver. This national gathering will honor the legacy of those we’ve lost, celebrate the resilience of those with us today, and uplift the voices of emerging young transgender leaders. Together, let’s commemorate and honor the strength of our trans communities. TDOR 2024 — LGBTQ Institute
  • Take time to read GLAAD’s In Memoriam of the individuals who have been killed due to hate violence against trans individuals. TDOR: In Memoriam | GLAAD

Connecting

There are myriad local and national organizations and groups to support transgender communities and their loved ones. No individual should ever feel afraid to live their fullest and honest life, and we encourage everyone to connect with these organizations to learn how you can be a part of making that possible.

Learning

We come from different families, cultures, and communities that impact our assumptions and biases. That is normal, and ok! What matters is that we are willing to keep learning and listening. Try out a few of these resources today to learn more about transgender experiences.

Risk Factors for LGBTQ+ Individuals

Key Protective Factors for LGBTQ+ Individuals

LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers (Johns et al., 2019; Johns et al., 2020).

LGBTQ+ young people with at least one accepting adult in their life report significantly lower rates of attempting suicide.

The Minority Stress Model, one of the most predominant theories used to explain mental health disparities experienced by LGBTQ+ individuals, suggests that experiences of LGBTQ+-based victimization — and the internalization of these experiences and anti-LGBTQ+ messages — can compound and produce negative mental health outcomes and increase suicide risk among LGBTQ+ individuals (Meyer, 2003).

Transgender and nonbinary young people attempt suicide less when their pronouns are respected, when they are allowed to officially change the gender marker on their legal documents, and when they have access to spaces (online, at school, and home) that affirm their gender identity.

The Trevor Project’s 2023 national survey found that nearly all LGBTQ+ young people of color reported higher rates of attempting suicide than their white peers in the past year. Among the more than 28,000 LGBTQ+ young people surveyed, 11% of white youth attempted suicide compared to 22% of Native/Indigenous youth, 18% of Middle Eastern/Northern African youth, 16% of Black youth, 17% of multiracial youth, 15% of Latinx youth, and 10% of Asian/Pacific Islander youth.

A 2022 peer-reviewed study by The Trevor Project researchers, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, found that transgender and nonbinary young people who had changed their legal documents reported significantly lower rates of attempting suicide in the past year compared to those who had not.

 

A 2020 peer-reviewed study by The Trevor Project’s researchers, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that transgender and nonbinary youth who report experiencing discrimination based on their gender identity had more than double the odds of attempting suicide in the past year compared to those who did not experience discrimination based on their gender identity.

Gender-affirming medical care, such as hormone therapy, is associated with positive mental health outcomes including showing promise for reducing suicide risk. A 2021 peer-reviewed study by The Trevor Project’s researchers, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, found that gender-affirming hormone therapy is significantly related to lower rates of depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary young people.

 

Doing

There are endless ways to celebrate the transgender community!

HRC emergency services

Conversation Starters

Here are some questions to start conversations with others about Transgender Day of Remembrance. For leaders, try building in time in supervisions or team meetings to prompt staff conversations about Transgender Day of Remembrance. Options could include:

  • Did you learn anything new about the Transgender community this month?
  • Have you made any new personal or professional connections this month that can help you support transgender communities and individuals?
  • Did you learn anything new about transgender individuals or their experiences this month?
  • How did you participate in Transgender Day of Remembrance?
  • How can things you learned or did for Transgender Day of Remembrance impact how you do your job?