Trans people express what they love about themselves in video for Transgender Day of Visibility

‘No boundaries, no restrictions, no rules’

The world can be a very judgemental place, so it’s only natural that you may find yourself thinking about how other people perceive you.

However, the only opinion that you should ever truly be concerned with is your own.

To mark the International Transgender Day of Visibility tomorrow, GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has released a video of multiple trans people sharing the things that they love most about themselves.

The International Transgender Day of Visibility was founded in 2009 and occurs every year on March 31.

It was created by transgender activist Rachel Crandall Crocker as a way of celebrating the transgender people, as she felt that other days connected with trans folk were typically associated with loss in the community.

The video released by GLAAD features several people who identify as trans expressing why their love their identities in their entireties.

“I love being trans because there’s no one else in the world quite like me,” says Shea Diamond a singer/songwriter who was born in Arkansas.

“I love being trans because I’m not forced to be in a box where I don’t belong.”

Sir Knight, a transgender creative who grew up in Maryland, feels that he is able to live as his authentic, true self.

“No boundaries, no restrictions, no rules other than ones that I create and make for myself,” he says.

Alok Vaid-Menon is a gender non-conforming writer, educator and performance artist with more than 70,000 followers on Facebook.

“I’ve been able to create my own narrative, tell my own story and not have to subscribe to other people’s ideas of normal or other people’s ideas of beauty,” Vaid-Menon explains.

“Every day is a journey to becoming the person I know myself to be.”

Micah Prussack, a campaigns intern at GLAAD, feels that being trans has provided the tools to mould an identity, as opposed to accepting one that society has offered.

“Being trans means that I made myself and that the world didn’t make me, even if that requires going up against some of the most powerful cultural institutions in the world.”

Devin Lowe, an intersectional activist of trans experience, explained the importance of highlighting positivity within the transgender community.

“A lot of times when we’re talking about trans issues we’re always focusing on the negative, but there’s so much positivity that comes from being trans as well,” he says.

Trans people are being encouraged to use the hashtag #ILoveBeingTransBc and to tag @GLAAD on social media to share what they love about themselves.