GLAAD RELEASES RESOURCES FOR TRANSGENDER AWARENESS WEEK, CELEBRATED ANNUALLY FROM NOVEMBER 13-19 TO ELEVATE TRANSGENDER PEOPLE AND ADDRESS CHALLENGES

GLAAD: “Transgender Awareness Week arrives at a particularly profound time to celebrate transgender people’s lives, contributions to our culture, and address urgent challenges facing the community at large. In the wake of the election and a country reckoning with a return to an administration with a hostile record against LGBTQ people and especially transgender Americans, there is an imperative opportunity to center trans people in the conversation as people and as examples of freedom in the truest sense. This moment demands we all recognize the importance of trans people in our lives, as family, friends, neighbors, classmates, colleagues, and fellow Americans who are as essential to a future that is more free, more just, and more equitable for all.” 

(November 13, 2024 – New York, NY) – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is releasing resources for Transgender Awareness Week, celebrated annually from November 13-19, to increase understanding of transgender people and address challenges the community faces.

Below are resources about transgender people to include in your news and entertainment stories about the community.

GLAAD Transgender Awareness Week Resource Hub: guidance on the history of Transgender Awareness Week and Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is honored on November 20th to memorialize transgender lives taken by violence; terminology, issues, and recommended actions for allyship. Additional guidance on the GLAAD Media Reference Guide.

GLAAD FACT SHEET: on the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case, U.S. v Skrmetti, which will address Tennessee’s ban on medically necessary health care for transgender youth. Oral argument is set for December 4th. The case could have significant consequences for transgender youth and their families in Tennessee and in more than 20 other states with similar restrictions on transgender health care that’s supported by every major medical association.

GLAAD ACCELERATING ACCEPTANCE STUDY: 89% of non-LGBTQ Americans believe LGBTQ people should have the freedom to live their lives and not be discriminated against; 70% of GenZ, the most out generation in history, reported discrimination against them based on their gender identity.

VIDEO RESOURCES: 

“Here We Are”: a video campaign featuring transgender people and their families. GLAAD research shows fewer than 30% of Americans personally know a transgender person – “well, here we are.” Meet Nadya and her dad Mickey; Gio and his sister Chantille; Ashton and his dad Rick.

Southern Story Bank: video portraits of transgender people living in the South, home to the greatest concentration of LGBTQ people and yet without the protections against discrimination available to LGBTQ Americans elsewhere.

GLAAD Reports: Where We Are On TV; Gaming Report; and Studio Responsibility Index track transgender characters and storylines in TV, games and films. Just 24 characters on TV programs are transgender, down from 32 a year ago. Fewer than 2% of videogames have LGBTQ characters. Just 1% of 170 LGBTQ characters in films released by the major studios are transgender.

2024 ELECTION:

Transgender candidates were elected to office in blue, red and purple states, including the first out transgender member of Congress, Sarah McBride of Delaware, and Zooey Zephyr, re-elected to the Montana State House.

Trump Accountability Tracker: GLAAD has documented more than 225 attacks against LGBTQ Americans in policy and rhetoric, including against transgender people such as fighting to the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize discrimination against people at work.

GLAAD ALERT Desk (Anti-LGBTQ Extremism Reporting Tracker): Shows a 112% increase in incidents against LGBTQ people since June 2022; at least 30% of the incidents targeted gender identity and expression. GLAAD documents and analyzes incidents based on location and type – including against health care providers, educators, and drag performers and venues.

CULTURE:

GLAAD recommends multiple film, TV, books and audio projects to get to know transgender people through real life and fictional stories:

Every year, GLAAD recognizes outstanding LGBTQ stories in media and specifically highlights those of transgender people. See past year’s GLAAD Media Award nominees, spotlighting those stories and storytellers.

GLAAD Media Award 2024 nominees; 2023; and 2022.

Among this year’s strong transgender-centered films: 

• WILL AND HARPER (NETFLIX) 
• CHASING CHASING AMY (Coming to theaters November 20)
• A PLACE OF OUR OWN 
• BREAKING THE NEWS (PBS)
• BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND
• PONYBOI

DISCLOSURE continues to be a critical watch on Netflix showcasing  how transgender people have been  portrayed on film and TV through history, featuring transgender people as the experts of their own stories and analyzing the effect of transgender visibility in culture on society as a whole. 

Raquel Willis’ book THE RISK IT TAKES TO BLOOM is her memoir of growing up Catholic in the South, coming out in college, and into her life of advocacy.

Jack Turban’s book FREE TO BE includes interviews with youth and families in his care plus latest research on transgender health care.

Excerpts of both THE RISK IT TAKES TO BLOOM, FREE TO BE, and more are on the GLAAD LGBTQ Authors and Stories Showcase.

RESOURCE GROUPS:

Advocates for Transgender Equality 

Transgender Law Center

Transgender Journalists Association

“Transgender Awareness Week arrives at a particularly profound time to celebrate transgender people’s lives, contributions to our culture, and address urgent challenges facing the community at large,” said GLAAD President and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis. ”In the wake of the election and a country reckoning with a return to an administration with a hostile record against LGBTQ people and especially transgender Americans, there is an imperative opportunity to center trans people in the conversation as people and as examples of freedom in the truest sense. This moment demands we all recognize the importance of trans people in our lives, as family, friends, neighbors, classmates, colleagues, and fellow Americans who are as essential to a future that is more free, more just, and more equitable for all.”