Transgender Day of Visibility

From the Desk of Lynn Davis, Director of The Rabbi Joseph H. Gumbiner Community Action Project

This past Monday, March 31st, was International Day of Trans Visibility, or TDOV. Created by trans advocate Rachel Crandall in 2010 in response to the overwhelmingly negative portrayals of transgender people in mainstream media, TDOV celebrates the lives and contributions of transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming people in our society.* TDOV also acknowledges that not all trans people can or choose to be visible. Perhaps now more than ever, organized discrimination and systemic oppression make visibility dangerous.

Rabbi Schmuly Yanklowitz shared his thoughts in a recent newsletter, and I found them particularly powerful. He wrote:

"I won’t pretend to understand trans people. I can’t relate to 'gender dysphoria,' as I feel very comfortable in my body, and very comfortable with my gender. The concept of being “nonbinary” remains confusing to me. I’ve listened closely, but I just do not understand that experience. If I am being totally honest, I am probably a bit transphobic. Everything seems to be changing so quickly. Given my upbringing, my disconnect from trans experiences, and my own biases and fears, I do find it hard to adjust.

But I stand with trans people.

Why?

I stand with trans people because every human being has the right to flourish on their own terms—to have their autonomy respected as they respect the autonomy of others.

I stand with them because I truly do trust that when someone speaks from the heart to tell me of their experience, and to tell me the kinds of change they need, that I should listen to them.

I stand with them because they suffer in their invisibility and then they suffer in their visibility.

I stand with them because it costs me nothing. I lose nothing at all when I use the words that people have chosen for themselves: be it personal names or pronouns. I do not need to feel threatened by someone having preferences different than my own.

I stand with them because as an adult I truly have worked, over the decades, to not primarily see people through their appearance (beauty, strength, race, gender, etc.) but through their character and through their ideas.

I stand with them as a religious person because I believe the soul is the essence of the person, and I do believe G-d wants us to see people beyond the surface. The mysteries of creation are vast—and the human being is perhaps the most multifaceted and complex of all God’s creations.

I stand with them because I want to strive to be humble, and to foster love and compassion for others.

There are many pressing moral issues at this moment. A political and cultural focus on the sliver of the population that identifies as trans is no more than a distraction. I do not need to fully understand transness, or even feel fully comfortable with it, to exercise the fundamental decency of accepting others for who they are. Someone else’s identity is not a threat to me, nor do I wish to be a threat to them."
 
The ACLU is currently tracking 563 pieces of legislation across the country that infringe on the rights of LGBTQ+ people to go about their daily lives, limiting their access to healthcare, public restrooms, and sports teams, and excluding them from the protections in schools, workplaces and housing that others enjoy.
 
While not all of these bills may become law, they still cause harm. They embolden individuals or groups who hold homophobic and transphobic views, leading to increased incidents of violence and harassment, and they contribute to a culture of stigma, discrimination, and fear. The cumulative effect of these legal and social obstacles can increase mental health struggles among members of this community, contributing to significantly higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, particularly among youth.
 
Why are we writing about this here, now? The Rabbi Joseph H. Gumbiner Community Action Project explicitly embraces LGBTQ+ advocacy as a key piece of our work, and an expression of our Jewish values. Foundational among those values is the concept of b’tzelem Elohim, or the notion that all people are created in the image of the Divine and deserving of our love and respect. We believe that recognizing the humanity and dignity in all people is an integral piece of building a safer and more robust community.

*If any of these terms are unfamiliar, please explore PFLAG’s Glossary of Terms.

Interested in being a better advocate for the transgender community? GLAAD has an extensive list of resources.

To learn more about gender identity and building LGBTQ+ equality in Jewish life, especially around the upcoming holiday of Passover, visit Keshet.