OUT Georgia honors TDOV with 3-day collaborative event, TGX360 logo reveal
Atlanta, GA — OUT Georgia Business Alliance is proud to recognize and honor International Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), an annual day of observance held on March 31st to celebrate and support transgender people internationally.
This year, we are coming together for TDOV during a time of blatant anti-trans legislation across the United States, while already facing high rates of depression, suicide, discrimination and physical violence. We recognize that transgenderhood and gender diversity has deep historical roots in Black, Brown, and Indigenous cultures around the world that have been socially and systematically silenced and erased.
- There are over 1.6 million trans youth (age 13+) and adults across the United States. (HRC)
- 30% of the general American public says they personally know a trans person, 19% of Americans over 65 claim to know someone trans, while half (50%) of Americans under the age of 30 have a transgender friend or family member (Gallup via GLAAD)
- The ACLU is currently tracking 435 anti-LGBTQ bills in the U.S.
- 30% of transgender youth have attempted suicide in the past year (Williams Institute, 2021)
- 1 in 4 adults who identified as transgender avoided a needed doctor’s visit because they feared being mistreated (National Center for Transgender Equality, 2015)
- 54% of transgender and nonbinary youth in the US reported considering suicide, and 29% made an attempt (Trevor Project, 2019)
- 60% of LGBTQ youth who wanted mental health care in the past year were not able to get it (Trevor Project)
- 73% of LGBTQ youth reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety, and 58% of LGBTQ youth reported experiencing symptoms of depression (Trevor Project)
Right here in Georgia, Senate Bill 140 was passed by legislators and signed into law, which will restrict access to gender affirming care for gender diverse youth and criminalize medical providers for providing medical care that is in line with established standards of care.
OUT Georgia recognizes the transgender and gender expansive members of the community who impact and influence countless across the state, despite the increasingly hostile political and cultural assaults. Your resilience, courage, and leadership inspires our organization to better serve and center those who need it most.
In the face of a growing wave of anti-trans legislation and violence across the US and beyond, OUT Georgia wants to center joy and progress this TDOV.
TDOV E² Extravaganza
Destination Tomorrow, OUT Georgia’s TGX360, and the City of Atlanta’s Division of LGBTQ Affairs collaborated to hold the first-ever TDOV E² Extravaganza, offering transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive (TGX) jobseekers, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits equitable access to resources, support, and opportunities to advance their career, entrepreneurial endeavors, or organization’s visibility.
Highlights included 11 panel experts, 17 trans-owned businesses and trans-led nonprofits featured, 22 legal name changes processed, and 150 workshop, panel discussion, and networking attendees for the inaugural event.
A special moment of the evening came as Atlanta City Council member Liliana Bakhtiari (she/her and they/them), the first queer Muslim person to be elected in the state of Georgia and the first nonbinary person elected in the city of Atlanta, welcomed attendees and spoke out against anti-trans legislation.
TGX360
Another special moment of the TDOV E² Extravaganza was the official unveiling of OUT Georgia’s TGX360 logo, designed by beaux Xavier (they/them), a genderqueer black artist with roots in Georgia.
In 2021, the OUT Georgia Business Alliance formed a transgender advisory committee and launched TGX360, an employment and entrepreneurship initiative created by and for Georgia’s Transgender and Gender Expansive (TGX) community.
This initiative works to advance economic equity for TGX Georgians by providing full-service support, programming, and solutions to individuals wherever they are on their employment and entrepreneurship journeys, and in turn improve access to healthcare, affordable housing, and other social determinants of health and prosperity.
You can now find TGX360 on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter at @outgx360 for updates about future programming, partners, community events, resources, and more!
As we celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility, we charge allies to evaluate and expand what you can do to make a difference in the lives and success of our transgender and gender expansive siblings.
Educate Yourself
Invest the time to educate yourself about transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary people. There are so many resources available today to support you in this endeavor, including these tips for allies of transgender people, this guide to being an ally to transgender and nonbinary youth, and this article highlighting how to make transgender employees feel valued at work. Do NOT rely solely on TGX individuals to educate you; over time, that becomes a heavy left. Help us carry that burden by doing your own work.
Educate Others
One of the best ways to remember what you’ve learned is to share it with someone else. So, share with people, in your personal and professional life, the things you’ve learned that can debunk common myths and misperceptions that people have about TGX individuals.
Sponsor a TGX individual
There are multiple ways you can sponsor TGX people, from financially supporting their legal name change, gender marker change and/or birth certificate amendment to recommending them for a promotion in their workplace.
Use Your Pronouns
Display your pronouns in your email signature, LinkedIn profile, Zoom profile, website bios and on your name badge. When everyone shares their pronouns, it becomes the norm, and keeps TGX people from feeling like the odd person out and from having to advocate for our own visibility. If you’re cisgender, remember that you probably have the privilege of having a name, gender expression and vocal register that match cultural assumptions about your gender identity; but not all of us have that. Use this pronoun guide and this document highlighting strategies for inclusion in the workplace.
Don’t Let Offensive Talk Slide
Pushback on offensive jokes and comments, whether you know you’re in the presence of a TGX individual or not. The reality is, you may not know you’re in the presence of someone who’s gender diverse, or the parent or loved one of a TGX person. When someone says something inappropriate, use it as an opportunity to create an educational moment. Say something like, “Speaking of trans people, I recently learned that…” and share something you know to be true. People are more inclined to hear what you have to say when it’s presented as a learning moment instead of as a reprimand. Check out this article highlighting how to combat transphobia in the workplace.
Support Local TGX-Led Organizations
Learn about and support these local TGX-led nonprofit organizations:
- Destination Tomorrow
- La Gender, Inc.
- Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative
- Southern Fried Queer Pride
- TRANScending Barriers Atlanta
- Trans(Forming)
- Trans Housing Atlanta Program
- Trans Housing Coalition
- Trans Gentlemen of Excellence
- Ubuntu, Inc
About OUT Georgia Business Alliance
OUT Georgia Business Alliance proudly serves as Georgia’s only LGBTQ+ and Allied Chamber of Commerce.
Since 1994, OUT Georgia Business Alliance (formerly the Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce) has served the LGBTQ+ and Allied business community by advocating for the most inclusive and equitable business environment; providing support and resources to fuel economic growth; and driving meaningful community connections and impact across the State of Georgia.
OUT Georgia Business Alliance is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., and is a proud affiliate of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. For more information, contact us at OUTGeorgia.org or info@OUTGeorgia.org.
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