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Trans Day of Visibility

Social Sciences, Libraries, Humanities

- University of Victoria

International Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) is an annual internationally recognized day occurring on March 31, when we celebrate Trans+ and nonbinary people—on campus and off. This day, dedicated to celebrating Trans+ people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by Trans+ people worldwide, is an opportunity for Trans+ people to celebrate and for everyone else to reaffirm collective and individual commitments to allyship and to honouring and empowering Trans+ people.

The University of Victoria strives to make campus a safe and inclusive space for all. Despite our efforts, we know that Trans+ people continue to have transphobic and transantagonistic experiences on our campus.

We are actively working across the institution to make UVic more safe and inclusive for Trans+ members of our community. We are prioritizing this work in 2022 and are committed to hearing from and working with UVic students, staff and faculty on these issues.

The Equity Action Plan (EAP) is in development and will provide UVic with a set of goals to advance equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism. Help us to make UVic welcoming for everyone by sharing your stories, experience, advice and recommendations to build an Equity Action Plan that will create long-lasting and meaningful change.

Take the opportunity to check out some of the Trans+ visibility events being held on and off campus and the resources available.

Initiatives

Request for stories

Be a part of Trans Day of Visibility 2022!

The UVic Chair in Transgender Studies is hosting a campaign on March 31 for Transgender Day of Visibility where stories of Trans+ visibility will be posted on social media.

Share your story by March 30

What do you want to share with the world about who you are? What does visibility mean to you? Why is visibility important?

Scholarships

Scholarships are available for UVic Trans+ undergraduate students ($500), master's students ($1,000), and PhD students ($5,000). UVic graduate students of any gender who are pursuing Trans+ related research in any field may also apply. Applications for undergraduate scholarships open April 1.

Events

FTM Newsletter Panel

Tuesday, March 29
1:30–2:30 p.m.
Online on Zoom

The UVic Chair in Transgender Studies, Aaron Devor, in conversation with a former leader, contributors and readers of the FTM Newsletter (1987-2008), in celebration of the Transgender Archives digitizing all 67 issues of the FTM Newsletter. Now online and available free of charge. View FTM Newsletter online. This event is part of the 10-year anniversary celebrations of the Transgender Archives.

Learn more

Trans Day of Visibility at Government House

Thursday, March 31
Noon–2 p.m.
Government House, 1401 Rockland Ave, Victoria

The Honourable Janet Austin, Lieutenant Governor of BC, and the UVic Chair in Transgender Studies invite you to be a part of an in-person reception at Government House to celebrate TDOV. If you identify as Trans+, your attendance will contribute to Trans+ visibility. If you count yourself as an ally, your attendance will show your support for Trans+ inclusion. Please invite your Trans+ friends and/or family members!

Kil KaahlGalangdal – ‘Hear Someone’s Voice Before You See Them’: Anti-Oppression Key Principles, Knowledges, and Equity-Focused Action-Based Frameworks

April 26, May 31, June 28
1 p.m.–3:30 p.m.
Online on Zoom

Yahlnaaw (she/her), Indigenous Rights and Anti-Racism Officer in the Equity and Human Rights Office leads this new workshop. Yahlnaaw is a Skidegate Haida, queer, transgender woman, which often feels like limbs stretched into many intersecting worlds. Topics covered will include, but are not limited to: white supremacy, white privilege, (systemic) racism, (implicit) bias, racialization, white fragility, settler moves to innocence, microaggressions, colonization, decolonization, Indigenization, Rematriation, MMIWG2S, intersectionality and EDI.

Register through Learning Central.

Framing Agnes

April 28–May 28
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
Toronto

UVic Gender Studies professor Chase Joynt’s documentary Framing Agnes will have its Canadian premiere at the Hot Docs International Documentary Festival.

About Framing Agnes: with genre-blurring storytelling and re-enactments featuring an all-star cast of transgender artists, the story of a young trans woman who entered a sex disorders study in 1958 seeking gender-affirming care revives untold stories of those who redefined gender in the mid-twentieth century.

 

Community events

Queer(y)ing Museums: a BCMA Gender and Sexuality podcast series

The BC Museums Association is hoping to use the podcast platform to deepen discussions around the Gender and Sexuality Inclusion Toolkit for Museums, Heritage and Cultural Institutions as well as highlight the work that’s being done in the province and beyond.

Listen to the first episode on the Maritime Museum of BC.

Queer at Sea: Tales from the 2SLGBTQ+ Community

The Maritime Museum of BC is preparing for a new exhibit called “Queer at Sea: Tales from the 2SLGBTQ+ Community”. The goal of this exhibit is to showcase queer and trans histories and culture, celebrate the roles and contributions queer, trans and two-spirit people have made to BC’s maritime sectors, and to acknowledge work that remains to eliminate discrimination against the 2SLGBTQ+ community in the marine sectors. The exhibit will run from May 17 – Nov 5.

Learn more

Research and publications

UVic Libraries resources

We invite the campus community and the general public to learn more about Trans allyship and the history of Trans rights and visibility through Trans-specific resources found in the LGBTQ2IA+ section of our anti-racism and anti-oppression LibGuide; our digitized collections of the transmasculine and transfeminine historical newsletters FTM and Transvestia; and the recent Trans Activism Oral History Project of the LGBTQ History Digital Collaboratory.

The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria is committed to the preservation of the history of pioneering activists, community leaders and researchers who have contributed to the betterment of Trans+ people.

Our collections comprise the largest Trans+ archives in the world and are accessible to everyone, free of charge.

Resources and supports