Trans events to attend in 2018

The transgender community is growing and flourishing more now than ever before. There are hundreds of regular worldwide and regional trans events every year, plus those events which are held only once every few years. Attending these events is important for everyone, but especially those members of the trans community who can benefit so very much from raised awareness. In some spheres there is still needless negativity towards trans people and these trans events can go a long way to educating the wider community and stamping this negativity out.

Which trans events shall I go to?

The answer to this depends partly on where you live and partly why you are planning to go. The ever-popular Prides are always a firm favourite. There are a whole host of separate Prides around the country, held on different dates. Notable ones include London (obviously!), Brighton, Bristol, Exeter and of course Pride Cymru. All aspects of the LGBT community are paraded and celebrated and there’s pretty much nowhere where trans people will find quite such a warm welcome as at Pride.

Are there any other trans events that stand out?

Absolutely! Take your pick………

  • International Transgender Day of Visibility is held every March 31st. This event celebrates transgender people and promotes awareness of the discrimination which is sadly still often faced by trans people. This day pays particular attention to the current lack of trans-centred celebration days.
  • Transgender awareness week. This is held annually in the second week of November and leads up to the important Transgender Day of Remembrance. The awareness promoted specifically within this week looks to identify and stamp out discriminations and create an unthinking public acceptance of trans people and the issues they face every day.
  • Transgender Day of Remembrance, held annually on November 20th. This is the only well known, transgender-focused day. It mourns the murders of transgender people and celebrates their lives. This is an important event to focus upon because it can give more recognition to the fact that so much more needs to be done to support living transgender people. Not just those taken too soon.
  • International Day Against Homophobia (including Transphobia & Biphobia). This is held annually on May 17th. This celebration co-ordinates international events which are designed to raise the profile of LGBT rights violations and to stimulate interest in LGBT rights on a worldwide scale.

And for those looking for something a bit more light-hearted, perhaps you’re new to the trans scene, or this is one of your first ever trans events. Whoever you are, and no matter why you’re going, the BFI Flare: LGBT Film Festival, is an excellent trans event to attend. You’re guaranteed to experience a whole lot of culture specifically around the LGBT community and trans people in particular – if that’s what you’re looking for.

So why not hook up with other trans folk and make a plan for which events to attend this year? Who knows, by 2019 you could have made a heap of new trans friends and broadened horizons that you never knew were out there!