Grab your pronoun pin for Trans Day of Visibility

We are celebrating Trans Day of Visibility on 31 March with the LGBT Student Network. Learn more about the day and what we have planned.

My name is Clara, and I have recently been appointed as Staff Equality Champion for Gender Reassignment. I am delighted to be able to celebrate the important date that is Trans Day of Visibility so early on in my new role.

Trans Day of Visibility is celebrated globally every 31 March and aims to recognise the accomplishments of trans and non-binary people. While it is a good opportunity to share some positivity, it’s also crucial to raise awareness of the discrimination faced by the community and educate others to drive positive change. 

As such, we are celebrating Trans Day of Visibility at RGU this Friday with a focus on pronouns to help trans and non-binary people to be seen, start discussions within our University community, and give an opportunity for people to learn and ask questions. You will find stalls in the Sir Ian Wood Building and at Gray’s School of Art from 9am – 12pm with pronoun pins and stickers ready to be handed out for free! We encourage everyone to proudly wear your pin to show your support. 

Everyone has pronouns, which is why it’s also important for cis individuals to display them, if they feel comfortable doing so. You can start today by wearing your pin, but also go further beyond Trans Day of Visibility by adding your pronouns after your name in your email signature and on Zoom/Teams, or introducing yourself and your pronouns in meetings. 

By normalising these actions, it will make trans and non-binary people feel more included and less ostracised for having to share their pronouns. Additionally, it will give them a greater sense of security speaking with you as they know that they will be accepted for who they are. Ultimately, small supportive actions like these can help the community feel seen and understood. 

Come to our stalls if you want to learn more or if you would like to chat with some of our LGBT student network members. We are hoping to recreate the success of last year’s event as described by our former Student Equality Champion for Sexual Orientation:

“Our mission was to get everyone, not only trans people, to show their pronouns. Everyone was really supportive! We really got a conversation going at RGU. We could see people picking the stickers up and talking about it as they were walking away”. 

To answer all your questions about the use of pronouns on Trans Day of Visibility, read our Q&A on the RGU Student Blog.