For USC alum and drag queen Dacity, International Transgender Day of Visibility means more than simply being seen. On March 31, the day is a time of celebration and community, but also a time acknowledging that despite the world changing, they have to remain visible.
Many across the Los Angeles area and the nation celebrated trans identity while another U.S. Supreme Court ruling denied protections for the LGBTQ+ community.
“Today is just another day for trans people in the greater context of living,” said Dacity. “Visibility isn’t easier for us today than it is any other day.”
The Supreme Court declared in a 8-1 ruling that a Colorado law banning conversion therapy for minors is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech. Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion, argued the laws prevented the rights of licensed counselors who run programs designed to change teenagers’ sexual orientation or gender identity. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter.
The ruling calls into question similar laws across 23 other states.
While the Court’s decision reflects increasing opposition to anti-conversion therapy protections, the Colorado legislation is not new. California was the first state to ban conversion therapy for licensed counselors in 2012.
Communications Director of ACLU Kansas Esmie Teng directed Annenberg media to a blog on their partnership with Sam Deming, an artist that focuses on queerness and intersectionality.
“We celebrate trans joy, life, and expression that will always exist in Kansas while also reckoning with the increased politicization, violence, and discrimination that we’ve witnessed come alongside with increased visibility by society,” read a public statement from ACLU Kansas.
Recent federal actions against LGBTQ+ protections stand in contrast to International Transgender Visibility Day’s founding in 2009. Founder Rachel Crandall-Crocker saw a need for a day of celebration and happiness, not of solemnity.
Crandall-Crocker is a licensed psychotherapist with a speciality in transgender issues. She runs the Transgender Michigan help line.
Crandall-Crocker founded the holiday after the murder of Rita Hester, a Black trans woman who died by stabbing in Boston in 2020. On Nov. 20, several trans people and allies marched through Hester’s neighborhood, creating the Transgender Day of Remembrance to honor trans victims of homicide.
But Crandall-Crocker wanted a day for trans people to celebrate their living as well.
“I wanted a day that all over the world we could be all together,” she said in an 2021 interview with PBS.
In the days leading up to International Transgender Day of Visibility, protests and celebrations in support of the trans community were prevalent across the country. The transgender district in San Francisco hosted a festival last Sunday at Boedecker Park.
The district, founded by Honey Mahogany, Janetta Johnson and Aria Sai’d, three Black trans women in 2017, is the world’s first legally recognized transgender district. The family-friendly event had live music, drag performances and community activities to celebrate.
“We deserve more than a day of visibility but things like today are a good reminder for us to check in with the queer people around us,” said Dacity.
L.A. Pride hosted a “Trans Self-Care Sunday” this week in honor of Trans VVisibility Day. In a statement to Annenberg Media, Board President Lawrence Carroll said the event intended to cultivate a space for people to “feel seen, supported, and connected to affirming resources and community.”
Carrol said that the Colorado Supreme Court ruling was a reminder that visibility alone is not enough.
“Our community, especially trans youth, continues to be impacted in real ways, and it calls for all of us to stay engaged and committed to protecting dignity and well-being,” he said.
In the wake of actions against trans rights, certain government leaders reiterated their commitments to trans citizens. Both Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Los Angeles County announced proclamations for Trans Visibility Day. The L.A. County website added LGBTQ+ health services and resources with their proclamation.
On March 27, Outfront Minnesota hosted a rally at the Minnesota state capitol building for the Transgender Day of Visibility. The event had a variety of trans motivational speakers.
Idahoans also rallied at their state capitol building on Tuesday in celebration of the day, and also in protest of proposed house bill 752. The bill would criminalize transgender people for using bathrooms that don’t align with their assigned sex at birth.
Amid the constant marginalization of trans citizens around the world, Dacity said that “visibility is unfortunately a radical thing.”
Dacity will be hosting a drag show called “Trans-Form,” an all-queer, all-trans drag show. The show is a way for Dacity and others to carve out a space in the performing arts. They said that institutions have historically lacked representation and access for queer and trans people.
The show will take place at the Highways Performance Space and Gallery in Santa Monica on Saturday, April 4.
“Trans visibility isn’t just about being seen,” Dacity said. “It’s about taking space and having control over our own work in a world where the media often fails to capture our stories.”