What to talk about during Trans Awareness Week
October 02, 2024
Trans Awareness Week is November 13 to 19! It's a week of celebrating trans and gender diverse pride, AND it's a week for the whole community to proudly be a trans ally. It's a week for workplaces, schools, communities, allies, individuals – and it's more important than ever.
If you're just starting to learn about gender diversity and allyship, it can be can be hard to know how to get started! Here's your guide to creating meaningful conversation at work, school and beyond on Trans Awareness Week.
First step? Download our free digital toolkit, filled with everything you could need to celebrate Trans Awareness Week – from tips to educational resources to useful links to education events.
If you're just starting out learning about gender diversity and trans identities, it can be challenging to know what to talk about during Trans Awareness Week. Especially if your team or group is also just starting out!
Here are some of our favourite ways to get conversation started during Trans Awareness Week about what we can all do to stand with our trans colleagues, clients, students, friends, and family.
Why we celebrate Trans Awareness Week
Trans Awareness Week is a chance to celebrate the wonderful trans and gender diverse community. It's also the perfect, ideal time to educate ourselves and those around us about gender diversity, and the importance of being a trans ally.
This year has been challenging for the trans community, including trans and gender diverse young people. A rise in transphobic rhetoric online and in the media, news stories about transphobic violence, and awful commentary about the existence of trans young people has meant that this Trans Awareness Week is more vital and impactful than ever before.
If you're unsure how to start a conversation or to begin talking about allyship with your team or group, it can help to watch a video, then reflect on it as a group.
What to watch
Our absolute top pick would have to be Unerased, webseries created by queer director AP Pobjoy and which premiered on Minus18's Instagram feed. It follows nine trans and gender diverse teens around Australia as they navigate exams, family, friends, school, and their gender identity.
All too often, conversations about trans young people are missing the voices of trans young people themselves. Here, we hear directly from nine Australian young people about their experiences – and the result is funny, heartbreaking, inspiring, and heartfelt.
We also created a series of parent resources, along with a wonderful series of short films featuring trans and gender diverse young people.
Conversation starters
- How can we visibly and tangibly be an ally to the trans and gender diverse community?
- Why is it important to include trans young people in conversations about the trans community?
- Why is this visibility so important?
THE IMPORTANCE OF PRONOUNS
Having meaningful conversations can be tough sometimes, so a really great way to incite meaningful discussion is to lead by example. We've found that pronouns are a great springboard for education, and action when it comes to gender diversity.
You could wear a pronoun badge on your lapel or lanyard, and use that as way to start a conversation with your friends, family or colleagues about the importance of respecting pronouns and gender-neutral language. Displaying your pronouns lets others know you'll respect theirs, and normalises conversations about gender.
If someone in your team or group of mates is new to pronouns, that’s okay! That’s what Trans Awareness Week is all about – learning, and getting the conversation started. And our Pride Packs are filled with pronoun-related tips!
What to watch:
We made a nifty video all about pronouns! It's super popular, and doesn't assume prior knowledge.
Conversation starters:
- Wearing a pronoun badge is great! So is adding your pronouns to your email signature – it's an action everyone can take in honour of Trans Awareness Week
- Why would seeing an adult respect their pronouns make a big impact to a trans young person?
- Practice using gender neutral language when referring to someone you don't know / that you've just met.
SUPPORTING COLLEAGUES AND CLIENTS AT WORK
If there's one thing we know, it's that in a workplace, levels of knowledge when it comes to gender diversity and trans allyship are likely going to vary. Our Education Team is here to help – whether you're doing it in person, or digitally.
Attend our Education event as a team
Join us on Wednesday November 13 for a professional training event! This very special event is all about our Top Tips for Trans Allyship – it'll be jam-packed with actionable tips and our best strategies.
This digital event is interactive, so expect opportunities to ask questions of our expert facilitators throughout.
Register Your Spot
Conversation starters:
- Main takeaways from the training session
- If someone tells a joke that’s a little off, how can we gently let them know?
- Are there ways we can make our office more inclusive?
BEING A TRANS ALLY AT SCHOOL
Although schools are looking a little bit different at the moment all over the country, there are still some really great ways to inspire conversation amongst students and staff during Trans Awareness Week.
Listening to others’ experiences is another really easy way of inciting conversation, and being open to different experiences from different people. And when someone in class cracks a transphobic joke, letting them know that that isn’t funny lets trans students (and those that might be figuring out their identity) that they are supported. Standing up against discrimination is a massive way to make an impact and raise awareness.
Videos and content
Earlier this year we recorded a wonderful series of videos (with accompanying articles!) all about parents supporting their LGBTQIA+ children. The videos include perspectives from parents with trans children, but the whole series is a great look at supporting young people, no matter their identity.
Check them out
Plus, we have HEAPS of articles, filled with tips, information, and guides written with young people in mind.
Know what's most important? Having a good time!
Trans Awareness Week is all celebrating trans pride, and allyship! So make sure you have a good time, and celebrate, along with starting all those important conversations. And remember, trans allyship doesn't stop when Trans Awareness Week is over – make sure your activity inspires meaningful action year-round!