Transgender Day of Remembrance
#TDoR
Solidarity Week - November 1st-5th | Transgender Awareness Week November 13th-19th | Transgender Day of Remembrance November 20th
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(NH RSA 201-D:11)
In November of 1999, Gwendolyn Ann Smith organized what would become the first Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR). Smith began the then-virtual TDoR project as a way to honor trans woman Rita Hester, who had been murdered in her Boston apartment in the winter of 1998. Now, over 20 years later, Transgender Day of Remembrance is an annual international event held on November 20th as a way to confront the violence experienced by the trans community.
It is also important to note the undeniable fact that a disproportionate number of trans murders that take place are of black trans women. The overwhelming reality of the violence facing the trans community has led some trans people of color to repurpose 11/20 as Trans Day of Resilience. Through artistic renditions of the trans POC experience, the dead are not only mourned and remembered, but celebrated.
The PRHS Learning Commons has an extensive collection of notable fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels highlighting strong LGBTQ protagonists and experiences. Search the 'LGBTQIA Collection' in the Learning Commons Catalog to discover more, or check out Sora for Audiobooks and eBooks!
Want to recommend a LGBTQIA+ book for our collection? Fill out our anonymous form and we will purchase your book! Looking for inspiration? Check out the YA Pride’s LGBTQIA+ YA Masterlist!
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The first and most enduring award for LGBTQIA+ books is the Stonewall Book Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association's Rainbow Round Table. Since the first award in 1971, dozens of titles have been honored for exceptional merit relating to the gay / lesbian / bisexual / transgender / queer - questioning / intersex / asexual - ally experience! The 2022 winners have not been announced yet (ahhh...the suspense)! The 2021 winners included Darius the Great Can Do Better (the sequel to Darius the Great is Not Okay) by Adib Khorram, Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender, and You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson.
The non-fiction winner in 2020 was Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe.
In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia's intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity, what it means and how to think about it, for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.
Darius Kellner is having a bit of a year. Since his trip to Iran this past spring, a lot has changed. He’s getting along with his dad, and his best friend Sohrab is only a Skype call away. Between his first boyfriend, Landon, his varsity soccer practices, and his internship at his favorite tea shop, Darius is feeling pretty okay. Like he finally knows what it means to be Darius Kellner.
Then, of course, everything changes. Darius’s grandmothers are in town for a long visit while his dad is gone on business, and Darius isn’t sure whether they even like him. The internship isn’t what Darius thought it would be, and now he doesn’t know about turning tea into his career. He was sure he liked Landon, but when he starts hanging out with Chip, soccer teammate and best friend of Trent Bolger, epic bully, well, he’s just not so sure about Landon anymore, either.
Darius thought he knew exactly who he was and what he wanted, but maybe he was wrong. Maybe he deserves better.
Also available in Audio!
Felix Love has never been in love, and, yes, he’s painfully aware of the irony. He desperately wants to know what it’s like and why it seems so easy for everyone but him to find someone. What’s worse is that, even though he is proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many Black, queer, and transgender, to ever get his own happily-ever-after.
When an anonymous student begins sending him transphobic messages after publicly posting Felix’s deadname alongside images of him before he transitioned, Felix comes up with a plan for revenge. What he didn’t count on: his catfish scenario landing him in a quasi love triangle....
But as he navigates his complicated feelings, Felix begins a journey of questioning and self-discovery that helps redefine his most important relationship: how he feels about himself.
Felix Ever After is an honest and layered story about identity, falling in love, and recognizing the love you deserve.
Also available in Audio!
Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it's okay , Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.
But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz's plans come crashing down . . . until she's reminded of her school's scholarship for prom king and queen. There's nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she's willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.
The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She's smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true?
Be honest: It’s important to be honest with yourself, acknowledging your feelings and coming to terms with them. And it means being honest with the person who came out in your life, acknowledging you aren't an expert, asking them what's important to them, seeking resources to better understand the realities of being an LGBTQIA+ individual so that you can be truly informed and supportive.
Send gentle signals: Showing and sharing your acceptance and support can be very easy. Many people often don’t realize that LGBTQIA+ people keep watch for signs from their friends, family and acquaintances about whether it is safe to be open with them. It can be as subtle as having an LGBTQIA+ themed book on your coffee table.
Have courage: Just as it takes courage for LGBTQIA+ people to be open and honest about who they are, it also takes courage to support your LGBTQIA+ friends or loved ones. We live in a society where prejudice still exists and where discrimination is still far too common. Recognizing these facts and giving your support to that person will take your relationship to a higher level and is a small step toward a better and more accepting world.
Be reassuring: Explain to a someone who came out to you that their sexual orientation or gender identity has not changed how you feel about them, but it might take a little while for you to digest what they have told you. You still care for and respect them as much as you ever have or more. And that you want to do right by them and that you welcome them telling you if anything you say or do is upsetting.
Let your support inform your decisions: It’s about working to develop a true understanding of what it means to be LGBTQIA+ in America and trying to do your part to help break down the walls of prejudice and discrimination that still exist, for example, by supporting businesses with appropriate anti-discrimination policies, saying you don’t appreciate “humor” that demeans LGBTQIA+ people when it happens or learning about where political candidates stand on issues that have an impact on the LGBTQIA+ community.