The Pride Center is hosting virtual events all week for the Trans Week of Visibility celebration. The celebration is held the week of March 31, which is International Transgender Day of Visibility, according to the center’s website. Transgender activist Rachel Crandall started the day in 2009.
Celebrations started on Monday with a Trans Liberation Panel held over Zoom, where students, faculty and staff discussed Trans lives, rights and justice, according to ship.edu/events.
“Join us each day March 29-April 2 for events centering the experiences of trans/nonbinary/ gender-nonconforming folx of color, as well as white trans/nonbinary/gender-nonconforming folx,” the Pride Center website said.
The center hopes to give voice to the experiences of transgender, non-binary and gender-nonconforming students faculty staff and community members Alithia Zamantakis, Pride Center director said.
“The Trans Week of Visibility is situated within the paradox of visibility, meaning that, trans, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people are continually relegated to the margins of society, forgotten, looked over and made invisible, yet, as trans communities and trans people become more visible in the media, anti-trans violence increases,” she said.
She also said, “The week celebrates the idea that ‘trans existence is resistance’ and transgender elders and ancestors who paved the way.”
The keynote speaker, Estrella Sanchez will speak on Wednesday about the experiences and needs of transgender Latinix and immigrant communities, racism toward Latinix people and what others can do to help transgender Latinx people, according to Zamantakis.
A full list with dates and times of events can be found on the Pride Center website.
“At Ship, we celebrate our trans, nonbinary, and/or gender-nonconforming students this week and every week of the year,” officials said on the Pride Center website.
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