Trans Remembrance Day 2020: when is the last time?

On 20 November, people around the world commemorate all transgender people who lost their lives due to violence by others in 2020. The day is called Trans Remembrance Day and takes place annually. In Groningen, too, there was time and space to reflect on this. Candles were lit, flowers laid down and the pink and blue trans flag hung in the dome of the Noorderplantsoen. It is painful to realise that being yourself provokes such violence, sometimes resulting in death. In the Netherlands, we think it is important that you can be who you are. So why is it that every year again the fear of violence and even death is and remains so great in the trans community?  

Transgender is a term for people whose gender does not match how they feel inside. Some people feel between male and female or neither. Others, on the contrary, want to be seen as male or female, for example. Often transgender people and their experiences are not well understood because many people are used to thinking in terms of a split between male and female. Soon, clothing, how you look, but also behaviour are attributed to men or women. The fact that someone does not feel comfortable in these roles and wants to define who they are by themselves then deviates from the rules. Many people find this strange; after all, aren't you born male or female? What is forgotten here is that you are born the way you are. For everyone, you automatically notice whether you feel comfortable with your gender. Transgender people often notice that it is not right for them. Discovering that you are not like most people around you can be very oppressive. In addition, few people dwell on their gender and their own interpretation, which is why many people find it difficult to understand why rules around gender can also be oppressive. As a result, transgender people face a lot of prejudice and misunderstanding. 

It is not only misunderstanding by people themselves that often makes transgender persons feel misunderstood. There are also few examples of powerful transgender persons in the media, such as television, newspapers or films. Sometimes transgender persons do make the news, but are still mentioned in a way that fits the standard. For example, with headlines like, “Formerly a man, now a woman”. Such titles are actually wrong, because a transgender woman has never felt like a man and therefore has never been a man.  

Fortunately, there are also media outlets that do show and describe transgender people in a proper way. Programmes like broadcaster KRO-NCRV's “He is a She” are thus a step in the right direction. Yet, even this programme mainly focuses on possible changes that someone is undergoing and that transgender persons are struggling with. Also, a title like “He is a She” excludes people who do not feel like a he or a she. It would be good if programmes like “He is a She” clearly show what causes misunderstanding and prejudice about transgender people and what this says about how we think and act around gender. For example, asking viewers themselves the question of what makes one a man or a woman and making them think about their own role and interpretation is a good start. 

The Trans Remembrance Day of 2020 will not be the last, but may be a beginning of an end. To counteract more understanding and therefore violence and fear of transgender persons, we will have to give more freedom to how a man or woman should be and with that, realise, that people figure out for themselves what a man or a woman is. Instead, transgender persons show that women, men and human beings exist in all forms and that is worth celebrating. 

Written by Eva Visser