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Sunday 20th November is Transgender Day of Remembrance, and we want to take a moment to remember and celebrate the lives that have been lost to transphobic violence. While this occasion is a solemn one, as an LGBTQ+ owned-business, we want to honour those we lost while talking about how we, as a community, can continue to support our trans and non-binary siblings.
As many of us know, transgender people have been at the heart of many queer movements and critical points in LGBTQ+ history. Unfortunately, although they are integral to our community, they are often most susceptible to cruelty and hatred. Sometimes from other queer folks.
Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual international event held on November 20 to honour the memory of transgender people who have been killed as a result of transphobia. TDOR was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith to honour the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil has grown into an essential annual observance worldwide that remembers those lost due to anti-transgender violence.
TDOR seeks to highlight the continued violence endured by the transgender community and raise awareness of the social prejudice and discrimination faced by transgender individuals worldwide.
Unfortunately, violence against the transgender community has been one of our community's darker components. While it is an upsetting and terrifying topic for many trans folks, trans children and their loved ones, today is a day where we take a moment to honour and commemorate those we have lost over the years. But, the day also marks the birth of a new generation of transgender youth and young adults fighting for visibility, inclusion and access to resources in their schools, communities and workplaces. So as much as today is a day of mourning, it is also a day to look ahead to a better future. TDOR also serves as a time for education and change.
Our mission as an LGBTQ+ brand is to create a safe and open space for everyone in our community. However, we can't always control what happens in the world around us, as much as we would like to believe everyone is affirming and welcoming to queer folks. But what we can do as LGBTQ+ people and allies is to support our trans loved ones, speak up against transphobic rhetoric and stand up against hate.
If you or a loved one identifies as transgender and/or non-binary and are seeking help of any kind (advice, support, counselling etc.) The Terrance Higgins Trust has a full list of UK-Based resources to support the trans community. Click here to learn more.
And if you wear one of our transgender signalling bracelets or any of our other items, we also want to remind you that as much as we love to see you wear your pride, if you are ever in an environment where you feel unsafe, take it off and slip it into your pocket.
From the RCREW team, remember to stay safe.
For a few hours every summer, the guesswork stops. You can look around and simply know. This is what Pride does that nothing else does. The question worth asking is what happens when it ends.
You and your people are in the same spaces every day. The same supermarkets, the same offices, the same commutes. The problem was never finding each other. It was knowing each other. And that is a different problem entirely.
"Every gay person must come out," Harvey Milk said in 1978. He believed visibility would destroy myths and change the world.
He was right. Nearly 50 years later, coming out looks different. It's not always a speech or a grand announcement. Sometimes visibility is as quiet as wearing a bracelet.
