To celebrate International Transgender Visibility Day, we’ve put together a list of five transgender heroes making history around the world right now.
International Transgender Day of Visibility was started in 2009 by activist Rachel Crandall, who was disappointed in the lack of positive representation for transgender people in mainstream media.
Crandall recalled that anytime she heard about the trans community, ‘it [seemed] to be due to Remembrance Day’ and about ‘[trans] people getting killed.’
Unlike Trans Remembrance Day- which is observed on November 20th and pays respect to trans people who have lost their lives- Trans Visibility Day “focuses on the living” and intends to celebrate the progress of trans rights and individuals around the globe.
So, we’ve decided to honour that spirit and list some prominent transgender icons that are pushing the envelope and making a difference all across the globe. You may want to get your note pad out and start jotting this information down if you want to get fully educated – let’s jump in.
Georgina Beyer made history in 1995 when she became the world’s first transgender mayor after she was elected in Carterton.
In 1999, she went on to win a seat in the New Zealand Parliament as the world’s first transgender MP and helped pass the Prostitution Reform Act to protect the rights of sex workers.
Beyer was a keynote speaker at the International Conference on LGBT Human rights in 2006 and in 2020 was awarded a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to LGBTQIA+ rights.
Titica, Angola (she/her)
Titica is the face of “kuduro” music, an Angola urban rap-techno fusion style.
Her name stems from the Portuguese word for worthless. She chose it in order to reclaim the verbal attacks she has faced as a trans woman.
Despite homosexuality being illegal in Angola, Titica is a music sensation in her home country, and across the globe. She’s played as Brazil’s Rock in Rio and collaborated with Brazilian drag queen and singer Pabllo Vittar.
As a leading LGBTQ artist and UN Goodwill Ambassador, Titica has used her platform to increase awareness of HIV, sexual health and issues in the LGBTQ community.
Chris Mosier, US (he/him)
In 2016, Chris Mosier earnt a spot on the Team USA sprint duathlon men’s team as the first out trans athlete to join the US national team.
He went on to successfully change the Olympic Committee’s policy on transgender athletes and in 2020 was the first openly transgender male to compete in an Olympic trial.
Other than his trail-blazing athletic career, Mosier has played an active role as a transgender activist, founding transathlete.com (a resource to make athletics more trans inclusive) and as the Executive Director of GO! Athletes, a national non-profit network of LGBTQ athletes.
AJ Clementine, New Zealand (she/her)
Instagram, Tiktok and YouTube content creator AJ Clementine is renowned for her activism for the LGBTQI community.
She uses humour and style to break down barriers and raise awareness for the trans community, and her own experience as a trans woman of Filipino heritage.
Her popular videos have attracted a huge TikTok following of over 903,000.
Lee Mokobe, South Africa (they/them)
Lee Mokobe is a South African slam poet and activist.
Mokobe came out as transgender during a TEDTalk they gave in 2015, in which they discussed their own struggles with gender identity.
Since then, they have helped found Vocal Revolutionaries, a not-for-profit that empowers creative African youth voices and whose works have been taught in university and college curriculums across the world.
This article was originally written by Georgie Morley. ‘I’m Georgie and I’m currently studying History at the University of Oxford. I am passionate about social change, particularly intersectional feminism and climate justice, and I enjoy engaging in these issues through volunteering, campaigning and writing.’ Visit her LinkedIn and view her Twitter.
I’m a contributing writer here at Thred. My bio and contact information can be found at the bottom of each article. If you would like to become a remote writer for Thred, please email us at [email protected] or click here to see more information on the Change Maker Network.
Women joining the carnivore trend might look like a rebellion against diet culture, but the motivations, the messaging, and the results people chase still fall along familiar gender lines.
In his New York Times piece about ‘the Men Who Eat Meat’, Steven Kurutz prefaces his exploration into the carnivorous diet trend by contrasting it with ‘Girl Dinner’.
In case you missed it, the internet trend involves women documenting themselves curating...
Such a move tells us all where the nation’s priorities lie on the environmental front.
Covering 52% of Indonesia’s land is lush rainforests, making it one of the largest tropical rainforest systems in the world after the Amazon and Congo Basin.
Contrary to popular belief, its rainforest isn’t just a dense forest with tall jungle green trees, and constant rain. In countries such as Indonesia, the term is often used...
The ongoing Barry Arm landslide has alerted experts, driving a push to understand and monitor its progress before it triggers a megatsunami that could devastate all surrounding life.
In 2019, Valisa Higman was boating around the Barry Arm fjord when she noticed massive and unusual fractures on the cliffs above the nearby Barry Glacier in Alaska. This kickstarted major efforts, with satellite data confirming that a massive section of...
In an age obsessed with niche interests and self-optimization, community has become collateral damage.
There was a time when hobbies were simply things we did.
You ran because you liked running. We watched films because we liked them. We read books because we fancied reading books. These activities stitched meaning into the fabric of daily life. But today, there’s a relentless insistence that leisure needs to justify itself in order to...
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
0 comments
