International Transgender Day of Visibility Mini-Series: Part 1 of 2
Why International Transgender Day of Visibility Matters Now More Than Ever
With International Transgender Day of Visibility almost upon us, now is a great time to reflect on its importance. Why do we need a transgender day of visibility in this day and age? Who needs it? What does it mean – to the trans community, the wider LGBTQ+ community, and to society at large? We spoke to two transgender Link committee members to get their take on these issues and to share some of their personal experiences.
Amanda G Hilton, a trans woman in her 50s who transitioned six years ago, is a Senior Chartered Legal Executive in Corporate Insurance and Risk at DAC Beachcroft. She is a passionate advocate of LGBTQ+ rights, Lead Trustee of Liverpool City Region Pride Foundation, Co-Chair of Link Up North the insurance industry LGBTQ+ network, Co-Chair of Spectrum DAC Beachcroft’s LGBTQ+ & Allies Network, and a member of the Link steering committee.
Jackson Hayes, a trans man in his mid-twenties who came out as transgender six years ago, is a customer service manager at RSA. He is also Co-Chair of RSA’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group and a member of Link’s steering committee.
Visibility is vital
Beyond the ongoing need for days that recognise inequality of all kinds, when it comes to the transgender community, “visibility” really is key. The 2021 census of England and Wales reported the transgender population at 262,000, or only 0.5% of the population. And even this may be an overestimate.
It’s no surprise, therefore, that even though Amanda and Jackson are from very different generations – Amanda grew up in the 1970s and 80s, and Jackson became an adult in the 2010s – neither of them met another trans person for most of their lives.
“It’s very much an issue of needing that visibility to help people to learn and understand.”
The same is true for their families and friends. “When I came out and transitioned six years ago the vast majority of people had not met a transgender person,” says Amanda, “so it’s very much a case of needing that visibility to help people to learn and understand.”
“In my life, and my own little bubble, I’ve been the only trans person that the majority of my friends have known their entire lives,” Jackson says. “And so a day like this is so key to spell out that I’m not the only one. There are many of us and we’re vastly different individuals.”
“For anyone that hasn’t gone through this experience, it’s hard to understand it, and that’s why talking about it is so key.”
Jackson adds that a transgender day of visibility is good for starting conversations on social media. Of course, this also comes with a dark side. Social media debate around transgender issues is often so toxic that Jackson admits to taking frequent social media breaks. Similarly, Amanda points to the huge amounts of misinformation on social media – and certain traditional media outlets – about the community.
Indeed, Jackson and Amanda both point to the irony that, while there’s never been more awareness of the transgender community, it is also being demonised and politicised in ways that feel dehumanising.
This doesn’t just have repercussions for daily life. It also obscures some of the very real issues facing trans people, such as lack of access to regular healthcare due to lack of awareness on the part of many medical professionals. Not to mention the huge years-long waiting list for gender affirming treatments.
A political punching bag
To Amanda, visibility is particularly important in the current political climate where many seek to depict the community in a negative, sinister, or unnatural light. Jackson hates how his identity has become a political issue: “It’s unfathomable how it makes somebody feel when that happens. But we’re not a political agenda. We are people. We have hearts. We have families. We have jobs.”
“I’ve seen anti-LGBTQ graffiti, specifically anti-trans graffiti and stuff like that. So if I am going out, I am stealth.”
“This is classic political playbook stuff, like McCarthy searching for Communists in the 50s when there weren’t any. The threat wasn’t real then, and it’s not real now. We’re an easy target for the bigoted and those who want to distract the public from real problems,” Amanda says. “Essentially, we’re facing the same issues that the gay community did in the 80s.”
This means many in the community fear that some may try to take away their existing political rights. Amanda is by this point a seasoned campaigner and advocate for trans rights. You can hear the fighting spirit in her words when she asserts: “I don’t think anyone would dare change the Equality Act. But you never know.”
Jackson admits that he doesn’t attend Pride in his city. Although he feels a great deal of genuine pride in who he is and what it’s taken to become his real self, “The topic of my transition does not come up in public, because I don’t want to put myself or my partner at risk.”
“We are normal people. We exist and we are part of your communities. We have always existed, and we always will.”
The contrast with Amanda couldn’t be clearer, as she feels a deep sense of responsibility to be visible. It’s a joy to hear her tell the story of going on holiday to Malta in 2023, only to discover that Euro Pride was taking place there – something she only found out when reading the inflight magazine.
“I was absolutely embarrassed that I didn’t know it was happening,” she chuckles, “but what a lucky coincidence!”
Amanda is a real Pride connoisseur. As Lead Trustee of the LCR Pride Foundation, she’s involved in organising Liverpool Pride. On top of that, in 2023 she attended eight Prides, learning from the experiences of each and bringing them back to Liverpool.
For her, this is about being publicly out and proud, a celebration of identity, sure. But it’s also about the fight, about recognising the fact that some community members like Jackson don’t feel able to be so public.
“Obviously Pride started as a protest,” Amanda says. “And in the current climate, it’s a reminder that if you dare to try and step over or step on us, we have over 20,000 people in Liverpool saying, ‘Don’t even think about it’.”
Gender, lies, and (damaging) stereotypes
When it comes to stereotyping or scapegoating, it’s clear that society still has a way to go. Not just in the UK, but internationally. Amanda refuses to even travel to the United States, because “all it takes is one crazy person over there with a gun to take a dislike to me…”
Jackson points to the fact that non-trans people often have simplistic stereotypes in their heads about how trans people look and act. “That creates ignorance, whether with malicious intent or not,” he says.
“All challenges aside, being trans is a truly beautiful experience and I just wish that society saw that as a whole.”
For Amanda, it’s not just stereotypes that are a problem, but the active spreading of misinformation. She cites the infamous example of the Scottish prisoner who claimed to be a trans woman so they could get transferred out of a male prison into a female one. She’s angry at how many media outlets used this story to advance their own anti-trans agendas.
“There are bad eggs everywhere, but to use the odd example to tar us all is ridiculous! Are we talking about banning women from becoming neonatal nurses because of the one who was convicted of killing seven babies?” she says, referring to the infamous Lucy Letby case. “Of course we’re not. You can see right away that’s nonsense.”
Speaking of misrepresentation, Jackson gets right to the point: “The hardest thing for me is to be made to feel like I’m less than human when I know that I’m not.”
Never forget that trans people are your family, friends, and neighbours
When asked if there was just one thing he wished non-trans people could understand about the trans experience, Jackson says: “There’s so much that I’d like them to know because it’s such a niche experience. But for me personally, the one thing that I would like them to know is that the life I am living now, I would do 1000 times over.
“I would never want anything different for myself, because this has provided such a unique aspect on life. It has allowed me to really feel at home within my identity. All challenges aside, being trans is a truly beautiful experience and I just wish that society saw that as a whole.”
“Your best friend might be struggling with their gender identity. And unless you’re there as a friend with an open mind, they’re not going to talk to you about it.”
Amanda has a similar response. “What I now say when giving talks is that if you’re going around saying trans identity doesn’t exist or you talk about trans “ideology” – well, you’re just denying reality. We exist. There’s a high probability that someone within your family is struggling with gender identity or in your wider family or your community. They’re your friends. They’re your family. They’re your work colleagues, your acquaintances. They’re probably so terrified of you finding out like I was that they do everything to hide it.
“The pseudoscience about what we supposedly are is utter garbage. We’re just normal people. Your best friend might be struggling with their gender identity. And unless you’re there as a friend with an open mind, they’re not going to talk to you about it.”
High hopes for the future of trans equality
That said, both Amanda and Jackson have faith in the future. Just as the gay community went through similar stigmatisation in the 80s and came through the other side, so is the same likely for the trans community.
“We’re getting there, and that’s the important thing,” Jackson says. “No change happens overnight. It’s always a slow burner. I think the leaps and bounds that have happened within the past few years have been mind-blowing to witness. I mean, I’ve only been out six years this year, and in that time alone, it has become vastly different. It’s almost like I’m walking into a new world when I go out.”
Amanda is similarly upbeat when it comes to the future: “I see the next generation of people in their 20s and early 30s now coming up, who will ultimately be the MPs and business leaders and the drivers of political change in the next 10, 15, 20 years. They don’t think like the people who are in charge now. I’ve got very high hopes for that generation, and I genuinely do believe that we’ll look back on this time in a decade or two from a very different and more equal place.”
So, do we still need a transgender day of visibility? For now, clearly the answer is yes, But if the experiences and opinions of Amanda and Jackson are anything to go by, it might not be too long before the answer might be “no”. Fingers crossed that day comes sooner rather than later.
Part 2 of this two-part mini-series celebrating International Transgender Day of Visibility will drop tomorrow: Practical ways the insurance industry can support transgender inclusion