A transgender activist and executive director of Transgender Michigan, Rachel Crandall-Crocker is credited with its founding in 2009 as a day of awareness and celebration of transgender and gender-nonconforming people. Crandall-Crocker said she picked March because she didn’t need TDOV to come too close to Transgender Day of Remembrance or Pride Month. She reached out to friends on Facebook and asked them to celebrate the day, and it soon spread across the country and the entire world. TDOV shouldn’t be confused with TDOR (Transgender Day of Remembrance). TDOR is held every year on 20th November to memorialize the transgender people who have lost their lives as a result of anti-transgender violence. On Wednesday, people took to social media to celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility.
On Wednesday, it was one of the highest trending topics among all social platforms. A model, actress, and one-time contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Carmen Carrera posted a video on her Instagram page with the caption: “The struggle, the tears, the fear, the pain, the drama that it took to get to be able to feel this free walking down the street, Happy Transgender Day of Visibility”. Actress, comedian, and longtime LGBTQ+ advocate Sandra Bernhard showed her love for the community. Many politicians also took to social media to recognize TDOV. Logo TV’s Twitter account celebrated the day while also recommending places for helping the transgender community. One of the country’s most well-known transgender activists, Chelsea Manning, said that visibility wasn’t enough when people in her community need housing, healthcare, and other basic needs.
