Trans Day of Visibility: Not Just Seen. Defended. Celebrated. Free.
Dear Pride Center Family, Have you ever stopped and asked yourself: Who taught you what a woman is? Who told you that “girlhood” lives in your clothes, your name, your voice? That biology was destiny? That there was a checklist for gender, stamped by the state, and everyone had to fall in line? And if you’re brave enough to ask, then here’s the better question: What if all of that was a lie? What if womanhood is bigger, freer, and more radical than you were ever allowed to believe? Because here’s the truth: Trans people have always existed. ✊ Across continents. Across centuries. Across every culture. Long before colonizers came with their binaries and punishments. Long before bathroom bills and talking heads. We didn’t invent Trans people. We rediscovered them because they refused to disappear. Because no matter how hard this world tries to erase them, they rise. As a cis woman, I’ll say it plainly: Trans women have shaped my understanding of womanhood more than anyone else. They’ve taught me how to claim my body. How to live in truth. How to take up space. How to hold the damn line. They’ve shown me what it means to survive, shine, and lead. So why do we keep punishing them for existing? Why are Black and Brown Trans women — who built our movements and shaped our culture — more likely to be unhoused, unemployed, targeted, or killed? Why are Trans kids treated like threats when they are the ones being hunted? Why does a country obsessed with “freedom” keep legislating Trans people out of public life? You want to know what fear looks like? It isn’t a Trans girl on a volleyball team. It’s a government hellbent on controlling bodies it doesn’t understand. That’s fear. That’s violence. Let’s be clear. The Trump administration lit this fire. They banned Trans soldiers from service. Erased protections in healthcare and schools. Turned cruelty into policy. Now the flames are everywhere. School boards. Courtrooms. News cycles. But here’s the truth they can’t kill: Trans people are not going back into the closet. Not now. Not ever. And neither are we. This year, Trans youth are rising. They are organizing. Marching. Creating. Leading. They are clearer than most adults and braver than most politicians. They don’t care about your bathroom rules. They don’t exist to make you comfortable. They exist to be free. And when I watch them live that truth, I am reborn. But if we’re going to talk about visibility, we need to tell the whole truth. Trans men are so often erased in these conversations. Not sensationalized. Not politicized. Just ignored. And yet — they are everywhere. Raising families. Leading classrooms. Running organizations. Healing others while trying to heal themselves. Trans men are not invisible. The world just refuses to look. At the Pride Center, we see them. We celebrate them. We fight for their right to exist, thrive, and be known. If your vision of Trans liberation doesn’t include Trans men, it’s not liberation. It’s another kind of silence. We don’t do silence here. And let’s be even more real. Some of the most vulnerable, most courageous Trans people in the world right now are seeking asylum. They’ve fled violence, persecution, and state-sponsored hatred. They’ve arrived to detention centers, border walls, and red tape soaked in cruelty. Transgender immigrants and asylum seekers are not issues. They are people. They are family. They are part of this movement. They are surviving systems designed to break them. At the Pride Center, we believe no one should have to beg for safety just because of who they are. Not at home. Not at the border. Not anywhere. Trans liberation is global. If your freedom stops at a border, it was never freedom to begin with. At the Rockland Pride Center, Trans people are not our tokens. They are not our hashtags. They are our leaders. Our architects. Our fire. Alessandra Francisco, Director of Youth & Young Adult Services She builds sanctuaries. She protects our young people in a world that tries to crush them. She is the reason so many of them are still here. Still dreaming. Still fighting. Still alive. 🔥 Calliope Recinos, Community Health Advocate She meets people in their hardest moments and helps them find dignity. She navigates broken systems and imagines new ones. Calliope doesn’t wait for the world to get better. She builds it. Loren Klein, Director of Health & Wellness He redesigns care from the ground up — rooted in justice, consent, and love. He reminds people they deserve more than survival. He reminds people they are worthy of being well. These three are not our “Trans staff.” They are the soul of this place. They do not ask for permission. They lead. So when we talk about Trans Day of Visibility, we’re not asking you to see Trans people. We’re asking you to back them. To fight beside them. To fund them. To defend them with your body, your money, and your mouth. Because they have always been here. And thank God they still are. What You Can Do Right Now 1. Fund this work. Alessandra, Calliope, and Loren are doing the work. Put your money where the movement is. 💸 Donate to the Rockland Pride Center 2. Shut it down. When someone spreads lies — speak up. At the dinner table. At the school board. At your job. Silence is complicity. 🚫 3. Show up. Loudly. Support Trans-led events. Bring people with you. Visibility isn’t the goal. Justice is. 4. Hire. Promote. Uplift. Trans leadership isn’t optional. It’s essential. 5. Stay loud. Trans Day of Visibility is one day. Loyalty is forever. 🗣️ In power, in protest, in love, Brooke Malloy Executive Director Trans people have always been here. And thank God they still are. |
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