A note on Trans Day of Visibility
This year, I feel acutely how much the tables have turned and I'm now notably visible. In fact, I’ve somehow found my way into being a visible trans person as a job.
Hi friends! Welcome back to Ranch Baby, my semi-regular newsletter updating you on what I’m up to and what I’m thinking about.
This edition comes on Trans Day of Visibility, one of the many days marked on the calendar to acknowledge and reflect on trans existence. This day has typically had a bit of a cheerier tone to it than, say, Trans Day of Remembrance in November, when we mark the lives lost to anti-trans violence in the previous year.
TDOV has traditionally been a good chance to celebrate, post a hot picture or two, and embrace our community. Relatively harmless, for the most part.
But in recent years, trans visibility has increasingly become weaponized by bad actors, largely on the political right, who seek to turn our own visibility against us. We’ve seen this in the scores of anti-trans legislation across Canada and the U.S., the discourse coming from politicians like Donald Trump and Danielle Smith, and the degradation of online spaces like Twitter.
Should we really be celebrating “visibility,” when an authoritarian far-right president wormed his way back into office on the backs of a multi-million dollar ad campaign targeting our very existence? Does visibility really matter when it’s used to justice the existence of movies like Emilia Perez? Aren't there bigger issues to deal with right now than how visible trans people are?
The very idea of trans visibility is arguably more fraught than ever before in the year 2025.
But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still carry great power. Last year in Xtra, I wrote about conservatives' movement to exploit trans visibility and how it’s grounded in a fear of progress and change.
“Being trans, and specifically being visibly trans, isn’t just about hormones and pronouns and top surgery scars. It’s fundamentally about challenging existing structures of society … For the same reasons that trans people and our allies celebrate trans visibility … so too do anti-trans actors fear it for awakening another person who questions or challenges the traditional heteronormative, sexist, racist version of capitalism we live in.”
Mel Woods
I think the further we get into our transitions, the more jaded trans people can get around the value of a day like TDOV. And that’s reasonable: trans existence is not just those early years. In an ideal world, we get to live long trans lives where visibility doesn’t actually matter that much to us. For many of us, we don’t particularly want to be visible—we just want to be.
At three and a half years into my own transition, I certainly feel myself shifting to that new phase. Seeing top surgery scars on screen is no longer novel to me, as I’ve spent every day waking up and seeing them on myself. Taking my weekly shot is no longer this massive exciting event for me—it’s a chore that I (almost) forget on the regular. Being trans is no longer novel … it’s just normal. I don't necessarily need visibility in ways I did before.
But this day is a reminder to reflect on what visibility meant to me before all of that. To remember the hours I spent watching trans guy YouTubers in my dorm room in Calgary, not even knowing yet why I found them so compelling. Or why my heart sung every time I met a trans person in real life. Or how seeing people like me helped me find the me I needed to be.
This year, I feel acutely how much the tables have turned and I'm now notably visible. In fact, I’ve somehow found my way into being a visible trans person as a job. It’s hard sometimes (tbh, it's hard a lot of the time), but it also comes with immense privilege that I shouldn’t take for granted. I know that I am now a possibility model for other people, and every moment I take to be proud of who I am and visible.
I’m incredibly lucky that I live in a place and a time and moment where I can use my visibility to advocate for my community, to tell our stories, and to demand better for us. I’m grateful everyday to wake up in this body and this life that I’ve built for myself. And that’s because I know not every person is that lucky, whether they live somewhere actively antagonistic to their existence, don’t have the access to affirming care they deserve, or simply aren’t at that place in their journey yet.
So mark this day however feels good to you, and more importantly keep fighting for trans peoples’ right to visibility every day of the year too. It matters to someone out there more than you may ever know.
Things I've made:
- The big thing I've been working on over the past few weeks is Rainbow Votes, Xtra’s pop-up federal election newsletter. Want even more of me in your inbox once a week throughout the campaign? Subscribe now for free!
Mel Woods
- I’m in The Tyee this week writing about my obsession with Too Good To Go surprise boxes, and how they’ve become an unexpected source of joy and savings for my household.
Mel Woods
- On the Xtra TikTok, I broke down five things to know about Green Party of Canada co-leader Jonathan Pedneault.
@xtramagazine Mark Carney isn’t the only fresh face on the campaign trail in the 2025 Canadian federal election. While the rookie Liberal leader has garnered plenty of attention, another leader is entering his first federal election after recently taking the helm of a major political party—and he’s openly queer. Senior editor Mel Woods breaks down five things you need to know about Green Party of Canada co-leader Jonathan Pedneault 🏳️🌈🟢 #cdnpoli #greenpartyofcanada #politics #lgbtqnews #news #canada
♬ original sound - Xtra Magazine
- Also there, I broke down some of the big things you need to know about the election.
@xtramagazine On Sunday, Prime Minister Mark Carney triggered a federal election. Canadians will head to the polls on April 28. There is one big narrative we’re watching: can Carney’s Liberal Party execute a historic turnaround, win the most seats and stay in power, after we’ve all spent the past year expecting Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives to cakewalk to a majority government? The projections show that things will be tight. Since former prime minister Justin Trudeau resigned in January and Carney was elected by the party in his place this month, projections have flipped completely and now the Liberals appear to be in the lead. But that’s all projections and predictions, not actual ballots in boxes! We’ve got five weeks of campaigning ahead of us to sort out who will actually form Canada’s next government. Senior editor Mel Woods breaks down what you need to know over the next five weeks of campaigning. With the 2025 Canadian federal election underway, Xtra is bringing back our weekly pop-up election newsletter, Rainbow Votes. Subscribe now at the link in our bio for free exclusive reporting, analysis and opinion in your inbox every Thursday 🏳️🌈🇨🇦 #cdnpoli #canadanews #lgbtqnews #politics #markcarney #pierrepoilievre #fyp
♬ original sound - Xtra Magazine
Things I've loved:
- Jasmine and I caught a 4K IMAX screening of the remastered Princess Mononoke last night and it really lived up to the hype. Find a screening this week near you if you can—truly stunning!
- My favourite perfectly terrible TV show Dr. Odyssey is back, and yes we do immediately get an “orcas attacking luxury boats” storyline!
- There was lots of great new music over the past couple weeks from Perfume Genius, Lucy Dacus and Japanese Breakfast.
- But nothing can unseat Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM as my music of the moment: “Killah” and “Zombieboy” are huge standouts!!
- My beloved Los Angeles Dodgers are back playing baseball and, as of this writing, may never lose a baseball game again? We love to see it.
- I loved this story from comedian James Tom about why he's changing his name now.
James Tom
Cat of the week:
Two for one! A rare treat of double cats!
