Every year there are a variety of events around the world that are relevant to the sex and gender diverse community. There are protest marches, days of action, memorial days, pride parades, and awareness raising events. Not all of these events are observed everywhere, and some of them are quite new.

A Gender Agenda has selected four of these days, that are fairly evenly spread across the year, and try to hold a special event for each one. Each event has a unique origin, and political purpose.

27th of February - Gender Diversity Day

Gender Diversity Day was founded in 2009 here in Australia by A Gender Agenda. We based it loosely on TransAction Day! which shares the 27th of February, and was originally founded by GLSEN in the USA. You can read more about GLSEN's vision for TransAction Day at their website.

Gender Diversity Day is intended to celebrate all Sex and Gender Diversity, and its timing is convenient for the opening of the Australian school year. We encourage education, celebration, and family friendly events to mark this holiday.

27th of June - Trans Day of Action

A Gender Agenda observed Trans Day of Action for the first time in 2009. We held the Butch Auction to fundraise, and raise awareness of trans issues in the Lesbian community of Canberra. Trans Day of Action has been running in New York City since 2005, with 2009 being the 4th Annual protest march. You can read more about the demands made by trans and gender non-conforming people in New York at the Workers World website.

Trans Day of Action is usually a political protest, and is focussed on employment. In Canberra our community is still too shy to come out en masse and protest. Trans and gender non-conforming people still experience significant discrimination both within the Gay and Lesbian community and elsewhere. This makes holding a protest unfeasible. Instead A Gender Agenda focusses on awareness raising, and education within the Gay and Lesbian Community on this day.

15th of August - Trans Day of Awareness

There are a number of different 'Trans Day of Awareness' events held by different organisations around the world. Some organisations hold this event instead of Trans Day of Remembrance, however, there are so many days in the year, there's no need to compete for the same day like that. Transgender Michigan declared the 15th of August Transgender Day of Awarness, because it is the anniversary of some kick arse trans women fighting back against a police raid. You can read more about the Compton Cafeteria Riots on the PrideSource website.

Trans Day of Awareness is about celebrating trans history, and raising awareness about the myriad of issues still facing the sex and gender diverse community. There are plenty of ways to celebrate this day. Special events, protests, press releases about trans history. The sky is the limit!

20th of November - Trans Day of Remembrance

Trans Day of Remembrance is the most widely observed of all the sex and gender diverse holidays. Trans Day of Remembrance memorialises those trans people who are killed for being trans. Trans Day of Remembrance is an important event, within the framework of a wider campaign for trans rights. It is very important for many trans people, because it is a day when they don't just mourn faceless strangers, but dear friends who were taken from them brutally and unfairly by a transphobic society.

Because Trans Day of Remembrance is so widely observed, it is often the one time a year that the trans community come together, and the one time that mainstream organisations acknowledge trans people. I have a problem with this. There are living, breathing trans people who need our help, so that they don't become another name on the Remembering Our Dead website.

If you are a LGBT, Gay and Lesbian, or other organisation that is trying to be an ally to the trans community, please don't make memorialising those of us who are dead your only contribution to the struggle for transgender rights.

November: Transgender Awareness Month

To provide a framework of awareness raising, protest and education around Trans Day of Remembrance, many places have declared all of the month of November to be Transgender Awareness Month. Universities around the USA have their queer collectives host social and educational events through November, to raise awareness and place Trans Day of Remembrance into perspective within the broader context of the trans rights movement.

This is something which I would like to see adopted in Australia, and perhaps it will catch on.