Why this Guide?

AAUW’s mission is to advance gender equity for all girls and women as girls and women have historically been marginalized on the basis of gender. But feminized and gender-based forms of marginalization are intersectional, which means that, for some, marginalization occurs in many ways at the same time. For transgender women and girls they must, at the very least, deal with the same kinds of misogyny that many cisgender (1)  women face on a daily basis AND, at the same time, deal with the kinds of hatred and erasure that comes along with being trans and nonbinary in the United States in this political moment. 

When AAUW says that we support ALL girls and women, that means we always support transgender girls and women, and that we offer them extra support right now, at a time when their need is greatest.

As AAUW California has responded by engaging in personal and public advocacy for transgender rights and protections, the Public Policy team has also been fielding questions about how to best have conversations about transgender rights and issues. We started this guide to share out some of this guidance more broadly. 

This guide is for anyone who wants to continue to be an ally to transgender and nonbinary people. It is meant to be a complement to existing guides, such as those produced by well-known gender equity and transgender and nonbinary support organizations such as: 

The Trevor Project

PFLAG

GLAAD

HRC

Amnesty International

While some of the existing guides already contain important information about inclusive language and terminology, the AAUW of California Public Policy guide is unique in that it specifically focuses on how to have everyday conversations about transgender and nonbinary social and policy issues, offering sample responses to common questions that members have encountered as they are engaged in allyship and advocacy work.

This guide is also a living document that will be updated regularly, based on AAUW California members’ and users’ questions. So if you have questions that you would like to see addressed, questions that you have as someone trying to be a better ally to transgender and nonbinary people and/or questions that you have encountered that you were not sure how to answer, please click THIS LINK to submit them. You can also access this link using the "Question Submissions Form" button below.

Being a good ally involves a lifetime of unlearning and relearning.  This means that allyship work should be active, engaged, and ongoing. It should be driven by the wants and needs of the communities that you seek to be an ally to, for, and with. 

Doing public policy, advocacy, and allyship work will most certainly require you to have conversations across difference. These conversations can be uncomfortable and difficult, but they are extremely important. 

We thank you for having these conversations with others, for engaging in advocacy, and for using your power and privilege for the benefit of all. We hope that this guide is useful for you as you continue to engage in this important work.

(1) Cisgender or “cis” refers to anyone whose internal understanding of their gender aligns with both the sex they were assigned at birth and their external expressions of gender through things like clothing, hairstyle, and body. See the linked allyship guides for more information on sex/gender terminology.