March 31st is Transgender Day of Visibility

Today, March 31st, is recognized as Transgender Day of Visibility. This annual awareness day is dedicated to celebrating transgender and gender nonconforming people and raising awareness about discrimination faced by members of the transgender community, as well as celebrate their contributions to society. 

The day was founded by Rachel Crandall, a transgender activist in 2009, as a reaction to the lack of LGBTQ+ recognition of transgender people, stating the frustration that the only well-known transgender-centered day was the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which mourned the murders of transgender people, but did not acknowledge the living members of the transgender community.

The first International Transgender Day of Visibility was held on March 31, 2009. It has now been led by the U.S.-based youth advocacy organization “Trans Student Educational Resources.”

On March 31st, 2021, President Joe Biden officially proclaimed March 31st as a Transgender Day of Visibility, stating in part, “I call upon all Americans to join in the fight for full equality for all transgender people.” The White House published this proclamation; this made Biden the first American president to issue a formal presidential proclamation recognizing the Transgender Day of Visibility.