A collection of resources for celebrating and supporting transgender visibility – on Trans Day of Visibility and everyday. Clare O’Hanlon is a librarian in a university so this collection includes an emphasis on libraries and learning, which the Commons Library loves! This article was originally published on Sway.
Introduction
Trans Day of Visibility is on March 31, and now (and always!) is an important time to learn about how you can work in solidarity with trans and gender diverse people, so I thought I would share a few resources.
Why now? Some context:
- Hate and Trans Resilience
- It was a perfect day in Hobart to stand up for trans rights (which are human rights FYI) | First Dog on the Moon
- Standing in solidarity with our trans and gender diverse community
- Why is the idea of ‘gender’ provoking backlash the world over? | Judith Butler | The Guardian
- When Trans Visibility Comes At The Cost Of Trans Safety by Yves Rees: “This Trans Day of Visibility, I’m not satisfied with trans flags and hashtags — I want to change the relations of power.”
Resources
Watch
Trans 101 videos from Minus18 – a great introduction to trans experiences created by trans and gender diverse young people in Australia, including:
Trans Day of Visibility videos – learn what this day means to trans people in Australia, including Mama Alto’s introduction to TDOV:
See also:
- Yarra Libraries Trans Day of Visibility video
- The colonial project of gender, ARCSHS Nov seminar – A/Prof Sandy O’Sullivan
Listen
- Adventures in time and gender – learn about transgender histories in an accessible, creative and fun way
- Secret Feminist Agenda podcast, especially Trans rights are human rights
- Transdemic podcast
- Transgender Warriors podcast
- Trans Day of (Union) Visibility
- Voices of Us (City of Melbourne libraries) podcast – a series of episodes that focus on the voices of queer international students.
- Organising ideas podcast:
Read and Reflect
- Trans Hub resources for allies, particularly the ones for colleagues and educators
- Moving academia beyond the gender binary by JJ Eldridge
- Non-use of preferred names – addressing a diversity, equity & inclusion issue in library systems
- Visible name changes promote inequity for transgender researchers
- Rainbow Health Australia – supporting LGBTIQ+ health and wellbeing through research and knowledge translation, training, resources, policy advice and service accreditation through the Rainbow Tick.
- Writing Themselves In 4, ARCSHS and Rainbow Health Australia’s recently released the findings from that includes several recommendations including the importance of tackling stigma and violence, addressing rigid gender stereotypes and embracing and celebrating diversity. See also Writing Themselves In 4 National Report: Key figures slide set.
- Check out Deakin’s Rainbow Inclusion website for resources for LGBTIQA+ people with a disability that was made by and with made by and with LGBTIQA+ people with intellectual disability.
Accessible and creative gateway guides to help you understand gender and queer theories, histories and experiences:
- Democracy in difference: Debating key terms of gender, sexuality, race and identity by Carolyn D’Cruz
- Enhancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) in Open Educational Resources (OER)
- Trans people aren’t new, and neither is their oppression: a history of gender crossing in 19th-century Australia by Robin Eames
- Trans legitimacy, existence and resistance in academia – a small selection of peer- reviewed scholarship in trans studies – prepared by Hannah McCann
Act
If you have not already done so, you can:
- Add your pronouns to your email signature
- Add pronouns to Zoom
- Change your Zoom background: Challenging homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia
- Use this gendered terms in library content guide (University of Sydney Library) to inform any communications you prepare (including videos).
- Use the genders, sexes, and sexualities filter in this Inclusive teaching toolkit (Monash University Library) to reflect on your teaching practices.
- Play this game to practice using they/them and more pronouns.
- Challenge harmful misinformation and disinformation that is spread about trans people:
- Use Deakin Library’s Misinformation guide and the The Commons Library’s Library’s Anti-Trans Movement Framework resources to help you understand and challenge this misinformation and disinformation and how it spreads
- Promote these resources curated by Hannah McCann in Trans legitimacy, existence and resistance in academia – a small selection of peer-reviewed scholarship in trans studies instead of those written by Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs)
- Support the trans rights readathon (and otherwise promote books by trans authors):
- Consider moving away from using and teaching Google Scholar in solidarity with trans researchers: Google Scholar has failed us.
Explore Further
- Conversations for Trans Justice – training session on 4 May
- Supporting Transgender and Gender Diverse People in Organising and Campaigning