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IntraSpectrum Counseling Commemorates Transgender Awareness Month

By November 2, 2021November 14th, 2023No Comments

All November, IntraSpectrum is proud to celebrate Transgender Awareness Month, which is commemorated by a growing number of states, municipalities and organizations across the country. Transgender Awareness Month is a time to celebrate the transgender and gender nonconforming communities, and serves to raise awareness about who transgender people are through education, sharing stories and experiences, and advancing advocacy around the issues of prejudice, discrimination, and violence that affect the transgender community.

The month of November also includes Transgender Awareness Week (November 13 – 19), a time when many trans people, allies and organizations around the country help raise the visibility about transgender people and address issues that members of the community face. These week-long initiatives and activities lead up to Transgender Day of Remembrance (Saturday, November 20), an annual observance which memorializes and honors the memory of victims of transphobic violence. Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was founded by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith in 1999 as a vigil to honor her memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed the year prior. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence that year and began an important memorial that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. Participate in TDOR by attending or organizing a vigil on November 20 to honor all those whose lives were lost to anti-transgender violence during the year. Vigils are typically hosted by local transgender advocates or LGBTQ organizations, and held at community centers, parks, places of worship and other venues. The vigil often involves reading a list of the names of those who died that year.

We encourage you to participate in the vigils and other gatherings happening around the country, and to be a strong voice for transgender rights now and all year long, wherever and whenever it feels safe to do so. See below for information & resources.

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IntraSpectrum Counseling, Chicago’s leading psychotherapy practice dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community, is commemorating Transgender Awareness Month with blogs and resources for transgender people, friends and allies. Check back often, take time to commemorate in your own way, and know that you always have our support. For anyone needing affirming and validating support in their healing, please click here or email us at help@intraspectrum-chicago.com.