SEEN, HEARD, CELEBRATED: DOZENS OF EVENTS PLANNED ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR INTERNATIONAL TRANSGENDER DAY OF VISIBILITY, MARCH 31ST

(March 27, 2025 – New York, NY) – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is releasing resources to urge accurate and inclusive coverage of transgender people leading up to, during, and after Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), observed annually on March 31st.

Resources for reporters to include in their coverage of TDOV and all stories about transgender people and issues:

• GLAAD: 89% of non-LGBTQ Americans say LGBTQ people should have the freedom to live their lives and not be discriminated against.
• GLAAD: 70% of LGBTQ people who are GenZ say they have faced discrimination or harassment based on their gender identity. GenZ is the most out generation in history, with 21% identifying as LGBTQ.
• GLAAD: fewer than 30% (28%) of non-LGBTQ people say they personally know a transgender person. News and entertainment stories that accurately include transgender people increase familiarity and understanding of trans p
• Stories about transgender people should include transgender voices: A GLAAD study of coverage of Trump executive orders targeting transgender people found that only 13 out of 35 stories included a trans person’s voice. A Media Matters study of cable news coverage found 14% of all guest segments about the executive orders across the three networks featured a trans guest.
• According to a February 2025 Gallup poll, 1.3% of Americans say they are transgender. Among Gen Z, 4.1% say they are transgender. ​​For comparison 2.4% of American adults are Jewish and 1.2% of American adults are Mormon.
• Building Power and Solidarity Across Generations, A National Call for Communities and Allies: To mark the significance of this moment, eight LGBTQ movement organizations are coming together to unify movements of queer and trans people and galvanize their membership to defy the current administration’s onslaught of targeted anti-trans attacks. The first public offering of this effort is a collaborative, virtual event: Building Power and Solidarity Across Generations to be held on March 31st at 7 pm ET on the Transgender Law Center’s YouTube page. Early registration available here.  This collaborative event is hosted by GLAAD, Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE), Equality Federation, Family Equality, Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, The National LGBTQ Task Force, and Transgender Law Center.
• Every major medical association supports health care for transgender people.
  30+ statements to quote from in your coverage, here.
• GLAAD’s Transgender Day of Visibility resource page includes terminology, data and storytelling guidance for all media to include and cover transgender and nonbinary people accurately.
• GLAAD Media Reference Guide: terminology and more than 20 In Focus sections created with experts to learn more about how to accurately and inclusively cover LGBTQ people.
• GLAAD Guía de términos y definiciones para los medios
• Find and report on Transgender Day of Visibility events, programming, people and leaders in your city and state, including a new event in downtown Chicago on March 30 bringing together more than a dozen community organizations and followers; in Atlanta, the mayor’s office of LGBTQ affairs is hosting a TDOV celebration at City Hall, “Deeper than Visibility: How We Talk about Us.” In Ohio, more than a dozen events are planned in cities across the state throughout the weekend of March 29th. In New Jersey, the Montclair Pride Center is hosting a first-of-its-kind event, TRANScending Stories, a celebration of the creativity and voices of trans authors.
• The GLAAD Media Awards will be celebrated March 27th and honor outstanding stories that accelerate acceptance about trans people across television, film, documentaries, video games, music, and journalism.

“Communities are coming together to celebrate and show solidarity for transgender people at a critical moment in history – in blue states and red states, purple states and worldwide,” said GLAAD President and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis . “Equal treatment is not a partisan issue, it’s a value that unites all of us. Transgender Day of Visibility is a chance to show up and speak out for everyone’s right to be themselves and be safe, and rally around values of acceptance and equality that make every community stronger, safer, and kinder.”

“Transgender Day of Visibility is a powerful annual observance to both uplift and celebrate the accomplishments of trans people all over the world, and to confront the barriers and discrimination many of us face to achieve true lived equality,” said Shane Diamond, GLAAD Director of Communications and Advocacy. “Trans people have been part of every society and culture dating back centuries; we have faced and overcome adversity before, and together, we will persist through this shameful and disgraceful time in U.S. history. Today, we give trans people our flowers and show our allies how they can step up and fight alongside us.”

GLAAD Guidance for Covering Transgender People:

BE INCLUSIVE TO BE ACCURATE: If a story is about transgender people, interview a transgender person. Trans people can also be cited as  experts in your story, as people who have vocations and expertise in various fields, among them: medicine, law and policy, education, sports, media representation, and more. GLAAD can provide names upon request.

FOCUS ON  FACTS AND LIVED EXPERIENCE OVER OPINION: Find and include experts in health and medicine, sports, education and human rights using research and data from reputable sources as opposed to  anti-LGBTQ politicians and pundits whose opinions and talking points are in service of an agenda over fact.

BE TRUTHFUL – NOT NEUTRAL: Avoid elevating a non-expert and non-community voice in equal weight to the experts and the majority’s lived experience. There are independently validated data sets and research that can support your reporting.

CHALLENGE HARMFUL RHETORIC: Do not report, or report as false, claims and accusations of ‘grooming’ and ‘pedophilia’ that are not accurate, undermine understanding of actual child abuse, and endanger all people, LGBTQ and not.

CONSIDER HOLISTIC REPORTING: Trans people’s struggles often take precedent over their joy, strength, and resilience shown in the face of unnecessarily challenging circumstances. Lean into stories that dimensionalize these lives and highlight the unique qualities trans people can share as guidance for everyone to live freer lives.

CHECK FOR AND REPORT ANTI-LGBTQ HISTORY: Coverage should include a source’s history with anti-LGBTQ groups and advocacy. The records of 200+ public figures are documented on the GLAAD Accountability Project.