TRANS DAY OF VISIBILITY
with Lydia Okello
As a non-binary person, I fall under the umbrella of trans & gender non-conforming folks. I wanted to know the origins of TDOV or Trans Day of Visibility. It turns out, the day was created to celebrate trans life. “It was designed as a contrast to Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is held annually on Nov. 20 to honour the memory of transgender people who were killed in anti-transgender violence.” *
I am a first generation Canadian-Ugandan, and I grew up in a conservative and evangelical Christian home. I only experienced very rigid gender roles growing up, and it very much shaped the way I saw myself. I spent my teen years in lace-trimmed tank tops and vintage skirts with very dubious styling. I really internalised the femininity I was taught to adhere to. I identified as straight and cisgender, and my deeply feminine style carefully showed my body in “the right way”, to be read as a woman.
As I first came out as queer, and then as non-binary, I had to address my own relationship with how I dressed. My gender journey had to involve loosening the reins on what I “should” wear for my body type. I’m at a point now where I get to express so many parts of myself, gender and otherwise through my clothing. I love to be imaginative and explorative, and to let myself find things that are less prescriptive. It’s not always loud, but some days it is. It’s not always “boyish”, but some days it is. Floofy tulle is a favourite too. It’s not one or the other — much like a non-binary identity.
