Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) is an annual international celebration of trans pride and awareness, that is dedicated to celebrating Transgender and Gender Diverse communities and raising awareness of the stigma and discrimination faced. In addition to this, the purpose of the day is also to celebrate our communities by being visible and proud. 

Lack of visibility as well as stigma and discrimination can be a major hurdle to overcome but with acceptance and understanding from society it can be done. Many Transgender & Gender Diverse people live happy and healthy lives since overcoming this barrier.

Trans Day of Visibility was started in 2009. Activist Rachel Crandall started the day in reaction to the lack of recognition of trans people, as the only other trans day of note was Transgender Day of Remembrance which centres around mourning rather than celebrating all of amazing community.


TDOV was created as a day to acknowledge and celebrate living members of the transgender community. International Transgender Day of Visibility has been held on March 31 since then!
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Being visibly trans needs to be a safe option for all trans people.
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Credit: Transhub - www.transhub.org.au

Transgender Day of Visibility

Transgender Day of Visibility is an annual observance on March 31st that is dedicated to celebrating Transgender and Gender Diverse communities and raising awareness of the stigma and discrimination faced. In addition to this, the purpose of the day is also to celebrate our communities by being visible and proud. Lack of visibility as well as stigma and discrimination can be a major hurdle to overcome but with acceptance and understanding from society it can be done. Many Transgender & Gender Diverse people live happy and healthy lives since overcoming this barrier.

 2023 Transgender Day of Visibility Campaign

Melissia (She/Her):
My name is Melissia Rose Kelly.
I am a very proud 76 year old transgender woman, my pronouns are she/her/hers.
I have been on hormone replacement therapy for almost 4 years and I am very happy and love being who I am.
All my life I’ve believed that I was born with the wrong body but could not do anything as I was constantly told I was a boy so had to grow up as a male.
I’ve only been able to do something about it since my wife of 44 years passed away from cancer.
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I am proud of my new life and enjoy being a woman.
I was asked what Transgender Day Of Visibility meant to me, to me it is a day when we as transgender people can show the non trans population that we are not the evil, dangerous or weird people some believe us to be, but are normal caring people who want to live our lives as close as possible to the gender we believe we should have been born as.
Jasmine (She/Her):
My name is Jasmine, a 37 year old married transwoman from Brisbane.
My journey began at 5 years of age when I absolutely knew I felt different to most people, I was never comfortable or at ease with myself and I longed for a different existence. You see I knew I was a girl no different to my female friends, interested in the same things, the colour pink, dolls and anything frilly. Sadly however I was never allowed to act on my impulses and deeply encouraged to live a stereotypical male life. The identity issue only got further complicated when I expressed I was romantically interested in other boys. I was inaccurately labeled and told to accept my life as it was and make the most of it. I suffered with debilitating eating disorders and it got to a very bad place where I had to make some serious decisions.
Luckily I chose to be brave and accept my situation as a trans female. Every step of the way I’ve worked hard to be the best version of myself inside and out. Sure I’ve had to deal with quite some terrible things during my transition but I’ve experienced a lot more positive things as well. I met my now husband a month into my hormone therapy and he changed the way I saw myself and my situation. His support, love and acceptance have taught me it’s ok to love myself too. I now use my situation and everything I’ve learned through my journey and also career in the hair and beauty industry to help other people going through their own journeys as I believe that’s the way of the future.

Trans visibility is important. It’s a platform to be proud, vocal, supportive and influential. We have a responsibility to educate the world, to express ourselves and our unique identities and not be silenced. To show we are like everyone else, we breathe the same air, we contribute to society and we have value. We have a unique outlook on life because we have been through adversity and difficulty in self expression and come out the other end strong, beautiful and resilient. We know better than anyone else who we are and what we have to give. It’s a change to be seen for everything we are and everything we wish to be. We are here, we cannot be broken, manipulated or erased.
Dylan (He/Him):
My name is Dylan, I'm a proud Weilwan Brotherboy living and working in Meanjin/Brisbane.
I began the medical aspect of my transition almost 20 years ago but like many others, my trans journey began much much earlier than that.
Transition has been challenging at times, one of my biggest challenges came from living in a remote area and having little to no access to gender affirming care. This included being told by a GP that trans people did not exist!
Thankfully, I knew someone who knew someone else who was able to give me the name of a gender affirming GP in Brisbane. This was a 2 day drive but the only opportunity I had to live authentically. Needless to say, I took that opportunity and as they say, the rest is history!
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Visibility is important, not just on days like today but every day! Not everyone can or wants to be visible and that is just as valid and powerful as those who are visible and proud.
For me as a Brotherboy, my identity and Culture are a very large part of who I am and something I am immensely proud of.
Storm (She/Her):
I'm Storm, a 44 year old trans woman from Brisbane. I work as a Creative in the corporate sector. I live with my wife and daughter and my favourite things to do are spending time with them, fishing, working on my car and skating.

What does Transgender Day of Visibility mean to you?
I transitioned in my late 30s, and I truly believe that if young people can see it, they can be it. Growing up, being trans and gay was really confusing - I want others to know about the joy and happiness I experience every day and that this waits for them too.

How can services and workplaces create safer spaces?
My workplace (an ASX listed Corporation) recently implemented paid Gender Affirmation Leave which has immediately increased the recruitment and retention of trans and gender-queer staff. I also feel supported when my workplace takes an internal and public stand on public issues affecting our community.
Marti (She/Her):
My name is Marti Winkworth, a proud transgender female. As a Senior Constable in the Queensland Police Service, I find myself in a privileged position, to stand tall, be proud and be visible to the community and public.
With Transgender Day of Awareness upon us, I feel it is so important to show others that trans and gender diverse persons can indeed integrate into everyday life and professional positions with out the need for fear and discrimination by others.

With the current wave of negativity that we see and hear in the media being spread across the globe, it is vital that the trans and gender diverse community remain strong and resolute in continuing to educate and to dispel myths which bring unnecessary attention.
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‘Trans and gender diverse persons (Multi Spirited), have been celebrated by the First Nations People of Australia and Northern America throughout history. So why is it so hard for the western world to catch up?’
Sharm (She/Her):
Hi my name is Sharm Giles I am a male to female pre-op transgender Woman who is 55 years old, and has been transitioning for 23 years. I am a very open and visible trans-person who identifies in her day to day life as a woman because that’s what I am. My pronouns are she/ her. I look at myself as being a bisexual woman that is attracted to both males as well as females, but in saying that I am more attracted to the person then the sex of the person. I’m a single trans-woman who lives her life to the fullest and I’m single because I have not yet found someone that truly loves me for who I am not the fact that I am a trans-woman.I’d like to keep myself fit and I like camping, fishing, riding motorbikes,I also like to be very active in the LGBTI+ community, I’m the founder of Queer Ca(ir)ns Fundraising which provides funding for small projects in the community. I was honoured to be asked to be a Mentor for a trans-youth support group as well as an older Trans support group in cairns. I am also active in many online Queer organisation as well as trying to get up and running a trans-social group To organise social events with in cairns. And it’s so great to see that our coffee catch up which is an all-inclusive coffee, Catch up is doing so well with numbers in the 30s now.

What does the Transgender Day of visibility mean to you?
It’s About being like my profile picture says: Be your authentic self. The world needs more authentic selves.
It’s about being honest with yourself and the people around you.
It’s about being mentally and physically healthy and not afraid to go to work or out as your authentic self.
It’s about being respected for just being another human that just wants to have a happy and healthy life.

How can services and workplace create safe spaces that celebrate and welcome your community?
identity and Whole self, well I think this just comes down to better education in the workplace in regards to discrimination and the correct use of pronouns, like let people have the option to have pronouns displayed on the persons name badge at work.
Jack(He/Him/They):
My name is Jack and I am a proud and visible transgender gay male, pronouns are he/him/they.
I’m also a Social Worker that specializes in Gender and Sexuality, and I am visible in my role. I’m proud to be trans.
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What does Transgender Day of Visibility mean to you?
Transgender Day of Visibility for me is a really important day of the year. I look forward to it.
The day for me is a time to reflect and acknowledge those who have gone before me and the community to pave the way for a brighter, and safer future for all transgender folks. It’s a day for me to reflect on my own personal journey up until now, the highs and the lows.
It’s a time for me to reflect why visibility is so important to me. Growing up there wasn’t much trans visibility. I think for me personally, I wouldn’t have felt so alone and different if I had known that I’m not alone, and there are so many others that experience the same feelings or gender incongruence that I have my whole life.
Transgender Day of Visibility is a day to celebrate. Celebrating the strength, courage, and beautiful uniqueness of our incredible trans community.

How can services and workplaces create safer spaces that celebrate and welcome your community/identity/whole self?
For me personally, I get tired of educating professionals when I am the client. Its not my job to educate you. Its your responsibility. It does not create a safe environment when they are not using safe language.
Getting regular LGBTIQAP+ brotherboy sistergirl training from a reputable training group/facilitator is super important.
Allowing staff who identify as trans to be visible in their roles.