Trans Awareness Week Reading List

Trans Day of Remembrance (TDoR) is observed annually and internationally on November 20 to honour the memory of the trans people who have lost their lives as a result of transphobic violence that year.

Trans and nonbinary people continue to face marginalization and discrimination in the form of transphobia. Transphobia can manifest as negative attitudes and beliefs about trans people, irrational fears and misunderstandings, a disbelief or discounting of a person’s pronouns or their gender identity, misgendering, derogatory language and name-calling, and bullying, abuse, and violence. Transphobia and associated stigma can also create barriers (and deterrents) for trans and nonbinary people’s access to and inclusion in services, resources, and communities. It is a collective responsibility to work to reduce these barriers. At the University of Toronto, we are committed to challenging marginalization and discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression.

Trans Day of Remembrance was first observed in 1998 by trans advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith who hosted a vigil in memory of Rita Hester, a trans woman who had been killed that year. The vigil became a commemoration of all of the trans lives lost that year to violence and has since become an annual event.

The week before Nov 20 is also Transgender Awareness Week, which aims to increase awareness, visibility and knowledge of trans people and the issues faced by members of trans communities. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the lives of trans and nonbinary people and the contributions they have made and continue to make. This year, Trans Awareness Week will be recognized November 14-18, 2022. –– First published by the U of T Sexual & Gender Diversity Office 

UTSC Librarian Whitney Kemble assembled this list of U of T Libraries resources that aims to celebrate and educate on Trans voices and experiences, identity, rights and activism, health and care, and fiction!

Trans Voices and Experiences 

Transgender Identity, Rights, and Activism 

Health and Care 

Trans Fiction