Alaskans celebrate, discuss meaning of Transgender Day of Visibility
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Transgender Day of Visibility is a chosen day to honor and celebrate transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people.
On Thursday evening, Alaskans gathered at the Pride Center on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus to celebrate those individuals and recognize their achievements and resilience, standing in support and solidarity with the transgender community here in Alaska and around the world.
“We are uplifting people of the trans identity and nonbinary identity,” Jessi Saiki said. “We want people to be in community and to feel together, to be visible and feel seen by people who totally understand them.”
Transgender Day of Visibility was officially recognized in 2023 by the White House on the last day of March.
Saiki, the UAA Pride Center Engagement and Belonging Coordinator, says that the odds are high that many in Alaska know someone who is trans, non-binary or queer in general.
Sara Caldwell-Kan, the UAA Director of Multicultural Student Services, said Thursday’s event was meant to celebrate them all.
“Representation matters and it’s also more than that,” Caldwell-Kan said. “I think visibility is really important, when we can see others, we know what longevity looks like and what joy can look like and what life can look like.”
She said it’s also a chosen day to recognize the resilience and courage it has taken to bring trans individuals closer to full equality.
“We are actively combating erasure and violence against trans people,” Saiki said. “If we are supporting and loving trans people, we are standing with them and showing that we are there with them in solidarity.”
Saiki says when you stand in solidarity with trans individuals, it causes a ripple effect, and it does make a difference and says now more than ever is an important time in history to stand in solidarity with the trans and queer community.
“Just coming together and being in community with each other is always a reminder that folks are not alone,” Caldwell-Kan said.
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