In celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, we’ve gathered recommendations from students Mattea ’28 (she/her), Milo ‘28 (they/them), and Kadyn ’27 (they/them), on what to read, watch, and listen to honor the day and take in the diverse perspectives of transgender individuals.
To start, Kadyn suggests this resource, which contains links and information about all things LGBTQ+: Who created Transgender Day of Visibility? The Transgender Day of Visibility was established by Rachel Crandall-Crocker in 2009 as a day to celebrate the transgender community, distinct from Pride Month and the Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Read and Listen
For fiction, Mattea recommends Nevada by Imogen Binnie (Topside Press, 2013), the story of a trans woman on a road trip. Kadyn recommends Stars in Their Eyes by Aska and Jessica Walton (Graphix, 2023). “It's a young adult ‘cheesy’ queer romance graphic novel, but it always makes me smile. I love a happy queer ending.”
Milo recommends the horror novel Brainwyrms (Cipher Press, 2023) by Alison Rumfitt. “Sci-fi horror, real-world political strife, and damaged characters come together to build a horrific narrative that is impossible to look away from,” says Milo. “Despite the disturbing elements, this novel is a necessary wake-up call about how hate can snowball.” Milo advises to check for trigger warnings before reading.
For a short read, Milo recommends Henry Hoke's Open Throat (MCD/Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2023), a truly original novella told from the perspective of a queer mountain lion struggling to understand their identity and place between the natural and human world. “In only 160 pages, they work through gender identity and trauma against the backdrop of classism and climate change. A refreshing perspective on the absurdity and beauty of human nature and social constructs,” says Milo.
For the memoir genre, Kadyn recommends The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation by Raquel Willis (St. Martin’s Press, 2023). “[This book is] one of my favorite memoirs on activism and what it looks like in practice. The author is a journalist who tells her story of coming out as trans in a public light. It literally makes me cry every time I read it.”
Kadyn also recommends a book of poetry written by one of their favorite queer activists: Your Wound, My Garden by Alok Vaid-Menon (ALOK Enterprises, 2021). Kadyn also enjoys Vaid-Menon’s episode, “ALOK: The Urgent Need for Compassion” on the Man Enough Podcast, and a YouTube video, “Alok on Colonisation, Gender Outrage, & Identity.”
Watch List
If you’re looking for a recent film, Mattea recommends I Saw the TV Glow (A24, 2024). “It’s a great metaphor for trans dysphoria, and self-suppression in general,” she says.
Milo has many film recommendations, starting with Vera Drew's The People's Joker (Open Road Films, 2022), a crowd-funded independent film created by and for trans people. “This zany and messy film is a semi-autobiographical supervillain retelling of Drew's early trans journey. It’s perfect for trans people who grew up finding representation in more metaphorical ways.” Milo also enjoys the work of trans filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay, particularly T Blockers (One Manner Productions, 2023). “It's an angry punk-rock trans film and it's just what we need right now…This is the perfect movie to get out some pent-up rage and keep up your fighting spirit.”
If you’re looking to watch something outside of the horror vein, Milo also recommends Luke Gilford's National Anthem (LD Entertainment, 2023). This story of a man who finds work and community at a queer ranch shows how the queer community can carve out safe places for themselves, even in a hostile political climate. “National Anthem is refreshingly non-reliant on oversimplifying labels and just allows characters to be queer, nonconforming, and experimental; depicting people at many different stages of self-discovery.”
Dominic Savage's Close to You (Kindred Spirit, 2023) stars Elliot Page in his first film since his transition. Milo says, “The story is a quiet meditation on the sacrifices and rewards that come with living as your true self, following a trans man returning home after many years and reconnecting with people from his pre-transition life.”
Need something lighter? Billy Porter's Anything's Possible (Orion Pictures, 2022) is, Milo says, “a classic high school rom-com where trans women finally get the cute and adoring first-love stories they deserve.” For Milo, the animated feature Nimona (Annapurna Animation, 2023) is hilarious, poignant, and “perfectly captures both the pain of having your identity villainized and the joy of being able to let loose and be yourself. This film is a great celebration of nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people.”
One of the voice actors in Nimona, Julio Torres, created and starred in a television series, Fantasmas (3 Arts Entertainment, 2024), with many queer, trans, and nonbinary actors in the cast.
“The surreal show's overarching plot [revolves around] their world's new requirement for ‘proof of existence,’ which can be interpreted in multiple ways but cuts deep as trans people are forced to define themselves and face their own battles for reflective documentation,” says Milo. “The main characters' exhaustion and at times avoidance in the face of anxiety-inducing bureaucracy is a familiar experience for many trans people. For me, the chaos and fluidity of the characters and storylines left me feeling deeply seen.”