For Ariel Keener, a freshman studying sociology, Trans Awareness Week takes on a special meaning.
“Ironically, I came out almost three years ago during Trans Awareness Week, so it holds a special place in my heart,” she said.
Kenner finds Trans Awareness Week, which will take place nationally this week, to be a very personal and intimate time.
“Now it’s a very trying time, so I think Trans Awareness Week is a really good time to reach out, make a connection. It means so much during a hard time,” Keener said. “It’s the small things. Even if it’s just a Facebook post, it means the world to someone going through something.”
The Ohio University LGBT Center will celebrate Trans Awareness and Solidarity Week by featuring events on each day addressing the realities transgender people face. The week will culminate with a vigil for National Trans Day of Remembrance and Resistance on Thursday.
The point of Trans Awareness Week is not only to foster conversation surrounding transgender issues, but also to educate the general public.
“On a professional level, (it’s) an opportunity to raise awareness and expand solidarity,” LGBT Center Director delfin bautista, who uses they/them pronouns and the lowercase spelling of their name, said. “On a personal level, as a trans-identified person myself, (it’s) an opportunity to share a side of myself I don’t get to share very often — to grow through the conversations that take place and being able to understand myself differently.”
Trans Awareness Week predates bautista as director, but they have made their mark on the center. bautista has made intersectionality a goal within the events that happen for Trans Awareness Week.
“Most of the discussions have to do with self-care and self-affirmation on one level or another,” bautista said.
Trans Awareness Week takes on a special significance here in Athens.
“Looking at the realities and experiences of trans Appalachian folks gets overlooked,” bautista said, “I think where we are geographically, sadly, we often don’t think about that.”
bautista believes that a trans-inclusive Appalachia doesn’t require a new Appalachia, but an accepting one instead.
“We can talk about looking at the narratives in Appalachia that can be tweaked or refunneled to be trans-affirming or trans-celebratory,” bautista said. “Trans people have been vibrant parts of the community for a long time.”
As underrepresented as trans people are in Appalachia, many resources are available in Athens, such as Equitas Health Athens, an LGBT health organization, OU Campus Care and Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS).
CPS offers a transgender support group, which bautista said grows each year.
“That’s a reflection of both that trans people are here, and that trans people are in need of additional services,” bautista said. “There’s also an organization that is open to faculty and staff, as well as members of the community.”
Trans Awareness Week has a greater meaning not just tied to trans people. It serves the Athens area as a whole.
“Outside of the trans community, the reality is that we’re here and that we’ve made a lot progress as a movement but there’s still a lot of work,” bautista said. “How we talk about people, how we engage groups, individuals or heterosexual folk, and looking at how focusing in on this one community has rippled and sparked conversations about gender diversity as a whole.”
bautista hopes Trans Awareness Week becomes as recognizable as Black History Month or National Hispanic Heritage Month. There is, however, a caveat.
“Not commercialized, but that people know that there is a time period dedicated to the realities of trans people,” bautista said. “That it not be tokenized, not in the way that this is the only time we talk about trans people, but just highlight it a little bit more.”
bautista also hopes Trans Awareness Week take on a more positive and celebratory connotation, also similar to Black History Month.
“I think we’ve done a good job at raising awareness about the heavy stuff, but we need a space to celebrate,” bautista said. “Moving forward, I’d like to balance that with the celebrations, not just here, but the wider movement as a whole.”
After Trans Awareness Week, people can stay involved by showing up to events, Darragh Liaskos, social media coordinator for the LGBT Center and a senior studying media and social change, said.
Those who do not identify as trans can continue to express solidarity throughout the year.
“People can pay attention to trans people and offer solidarity by uplifting trans people and not overshadowing them,” Liaskos said.
