This week is Transgender Awareness Week, organized to recognize and celebrate trans, nonbinary and gender nonconforming people in the community. It's celebrated in the days leading up to Transgender Day of Remembrance, Nov. 20.
TDOR is observed annually to honor the memory of the trans people who lost their life in acts of anti-transgender violence that year.
This year has been the deadliest year for trans people, many of whom were Black or Latinx. At least 46 trans or gender nonconforming people have been killed this year so far. The Human Rights Campaign lists their names here.
The year also saw Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sign and pass House Bill 25, which requires students to play on teams that align with their sex assigned at birth. The law will go into effect in January.
San Antonio's City Council opposedthe bill with a resolution passed in September.
Events
San Antonio Gender Association
San Antonio Gender Association hosts a story-telling event for Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20. The event will be at the Yanawana Herbolarios headquarters and will focus on two-spirit and trans Indigenous voices.
The Feria de Resistencia event will run from 3-7 p.m., and there will be vendors and more. The TDOR ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. More information at sagender.net/tdor2021.
Texas A&M University-San Antonio
Texas A&M University-San Antonio will commemorate Transgender Awareness Week on Friday at 5:30 p.m. on the West Lawn of the A&M-San Antonio campus.
The dome of the university's Central Academic Building will be lit in the colors of the Transgender Pride flag on Friday and Saturday.
Local Resources
- San Antonio Pride Center Safe Space Fund
- San Antonio Pride Center LGBTQ+ Emergency Fund
- Trans Power SA
- TANG: Trans and Non-binary Group
- Binders for Brothers
- TransAllies San Antonio
- Texas Name and Gender Marker Change
- PFLAG San Antonio
- Black Futures Collective
Educational Resources
- Toolkits and Discussion Guide
- Tips for Allies of Transgender People
- Guide for Parents of Transgender and Gender-Expansive Youth
- Being Transgender at Work
- Guía de Comunicación Inclusiva para la Inclusión Laboral de Personas Trans y No Binarias
Books By Trans Authors
- Fairest by Meredith Talusan
- Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
- The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya
- Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters
- Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
- Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
- Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story by Jacob Tobia
- Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
- How to Kill a City by P.E. Moskowitz
- Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl's Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng Thom