Trans Day of Visibility 2025
In a time of crisis, visibility demands action.
Today on Trans Day of Visibility it’s time to banish the elephant from the room. Visibility has brought us to where we are today. Visibility cannot, by itself, change the course of American history or society. As many (if not most) trans and nonbinary people have been saying for years, the ‘powers-that-be’ are so focused on profit, domination, and power, that the only foreseeable outcome of more trans visibility is more vitriol, more anger, and more violence against trans and nonbinary people unless it leads to action. Sadly, we’ve seen that this action can only be spurred on by bringing more suffering, harm, and death upon trans and nonbinary people.
We’re seeing the result of that trans visibility play out right now. Every day, we see state laws and executive orders that are seeking to wash away the most basic rights and protections for trans and nonbinary people. From attempting to remove our identities from their systems and documents to actively working to prevent people from using public spaces or accessing healthcare just because they are trans.
The visibility that has come for trans and nonbinary people over the past few decades has not been on our terms but instead on the terms of the most dominant in our society. First it came from the most assimilated of the LGBQ community, begging us to play along and “be normal” so that society could accept us in the same way it had accepted them. This perspective grew and we were asked to fit inside of a definition of trans identity that was most acceptable to society. This is the way of the white supremacist, capitalist ruling class. This is the response to every major social and racial justice movement in the US. Assimilate or die. Be more like us, the dominant class, and you can earn your rights.
However, that is not the future we want and now we’re paying the price for rejecting that offer. The expansive vision of trans liberation is too far outside the realm of their dominance, control, and influence. Much like Indigenous, Black, and gay liberation movements, we envision a future that is too free, too compassionate, too humane for the continuation of their hegemony. The ideals of trans liberation are an incredibly powerful solvent that strips away the lies of American democracy and lays bare the brutality, coloniality, and supremacy ideology that are the true structure of our nation. So, here is the explanation for the ‘backlash’ against trans people that we are seeing now.
But this backlash is not a rising tide, it is a tsunami. It has been building for years, decades even. Just as the sea pulls back before a tsunami strikes the coast, we have borne witness to the preparations that the ruling class have been making for this moment. We knew about Project 2025 but that didn’t change anything because trans visibility was on their terms. They distorted and skewed trans visibility into a weapon against all of us, against all of our rights of bodily and familial autonomy.
So how do we respond to a threat like this? The same way we respond to any major disaster or crisis. First, we shore up and protect the most vulnerable. Then we establish defenses to protect the rest of us. Finally, and this is the hardest part, we must wait out the storm. This doesn’t mean that we’re passive and not doing any work but it does mean we need to take it slowly, carefully, and strategically so that we don’t do more harm to ourselves or others during the most violent times. We must continue protecting each other, continue supporting and caring for each other, and continue building so that when the storm is over we can emerge and get back to building a new future for everyone. A future in which we care about people and the planet over profit, war, and power. A future in which we can truly live up to the ideals of what so many believe our nation to be–a place of freedom, liberty, equality, and justice.
Now that you have seen the outcome of trans visibility, we beg of you to turn this into a day of action. Take a stand and push back against this. More than ever, trans people across the world have been building power and organizing like never before. Stand with us, show us that you not only believe in us, but that you believe in this same future that we do: a safer, healthier, and more compassionate world for everyone.
Ready to get started? Here’s how you can dive in:
1. Let your elected officials know that you value and support trans and nonbinary rights and a future of liberation for us all. If you think that they agree with you, send them a note of thanks for standing on the right side of history. Encourage them to continue standing up and strongly supporting the rights, protections, and equity of trans and nonbinary people in Massachusetts, the United States, and the world.
2. Become a sustaining monthly donor of MTPC to help us and the trans and nonbinary community of Massachusetts weather this storm. Your regular financial support will not only allow us to continue doing urgent advocacy for laws that will protect and affirm trans Bay Staters, it will allow us to expand our community development programs that provide assistance with legal name changes, emergency financial assistance, leadership development training, and free gender affirming garments and supplies.
3. Be a visible supporter and ally of trans and nonbinary people and take the onus of visibility off of us. This is the chance to show up and show out. Go to town meetings or your local school board when they’re considering anti-trans policies and make sure they know that is not welcome where you live. Talk to your neighbors, yes even the ones with Trump signs, get to know them and let them know that caring for other humans doesn’t make them weak or make them give up any of their rights. It is time to lead by example and show the world the power of compassion and empathy. We’re all better off together, we just need to break down the walls our rulers have built up between us.
