The City of West Hollywood and its Transgender Advisory Board recognize November as Transgender Awareness Month. Since its incorporation in 1984, the City of West Hollywood has led the region in the pursuit and implementation of progressive and humane policies, fostering an environment of acceptance in which diversity is celebrated.
In recognition of Transgender Awareness Month, the City will fly the Transgender flag over West Hollywood City Hall from Wednesday, November 2 2022 through Wednesday, November 30, 2022. The City will also light the lanterns above Santa Monica Boulevard in blue, pink, and white – the colors of the transgender flag – from Thursday, November 10, 2022 through Monday, November 21, 2022.
Events during Transgender Awareness Month will include:
- The National Trans Visibility March will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2022 at 11 a.m. at West Hollywood Park, located at 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard. The event kicks off with a rally and remarks from a national line-up of speakers at 11 a.m., followed by trans and non-binary individuals taking their voices and feet to the streets at 12 p.m. Those who are interested in attending can join in the March in-person or virtually online at https://nationaltransvisibilitymarch.org.
- The City is hosting the World Premiere of The TransVagina Diaries, produced by the National Organization for Women, Hollywood Chapter, on Saturday, November 5, 2022 and Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. at the City’s Council Chambers/Public Meeting Room, located at 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard. These two performances are free and open to the public. For more information and to RSVP, please visit Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-transvagina-diaries-world-premiere-2022-tickets-427431628507
The City is also co-sponsoring community events hosted by two Trans-led organizations in Los Angeles.
- The Unique Woman’s Coalition 25th Anniversary Gala will take place on Saturday, November 19, 2022 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., tickets can be purchased at https://www.theuwc.org. The Unique Woman’s Coalition (UWC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to being a collective voice centering on the narratives and needs of Black Trans culture.
- The TransLatin@Coalition’s GARRAS Fashion Show will take place on Saturday, November 19, 2022 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. Tickets for the TransLatin@ Coalition’s GARRAS fashion show can be purchased at https://garras.org. The TransLatin@ Coalition is a non-profit organization that advocates for the specific needs of the TransLatin@ community that resides in the United States.
The City will host an in person Transgender Day of Remembrance Ceremony on Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 6 p.m. at the City’s Council Chambers/Public Meeting Room, located at 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard. The ceremony willfeature speakers and a reading of names to memorialize people who have been murdered as a result of anti-transgender violence. Transgender Day of Remembrance is part of the City of West Hollywood’s annual recognition of Transgender Awareness Month, which is recognized throughout the nation each November. Transgender Day of Remembrance is an opportunity to look forward to the future and recommit to ending discrimination and transphobia by amplifying the visibility and voices of the transgender community. More information about this event can be found on the City’s calendar at www.weho.org/calendar. The City encourages every community stakeholder to honor the lives and memories of community members and to take the opportunity to reflect on the work that remains to be done.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) tracks annual statistics of violence against the people in the transgender community. In the latest statistics currently available, HRC has reported that in 2022 there have been at least 31 transgender or gender non-conforming people fatally shot or killed by other violent means in the United States. A disproportionately high number of victims are Black and Latinx transgender women. The 2022 report follows reports of 41 deaths in 2021; 33 deaths in 2020; 27 deaths in 2019; 26 deaths in 2018; 29 deaths in 2017; and 23 deaths in 2016. According to HRC: “it is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color, and that the intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and unchecked access to guns conspire to deprive them of employment, housing, healthcare, and other necessities, barriers that make them vulnerable.” This wave of violence has been declared an epidemic by the American Medical Association. Rates of actual violence or deaths may, in fact, be higher but anti-transgender violence can be difficult to accurately measure, as victims are sometimes misgendered in reports, which can delay awareness of deadly incidents.
The City of West Hollywood has been one of the most outspoken cities in the nation in advocating for the legal rights of LGBTQ people. More than 40 percent of residents in the City of West Hollywood identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. The City of West Hollywood is one of the first municipalities to form a Transgender Advisory Board, which addresses matters of advocacy on behalf of transgender people in the areas of education, community awareness, and empowerment, and makes recommendations to the West Hollywood City Council. Through its Transgender Advisory Board, the City of West Hollywood regularly co-sponsors programming and recognizes Transgender Awareness Month and Transgender Day of Remembrance each November. For more information about the City of West Hollywood’s Transgender Awareness Month events, visit www.weho.org/lgbtq.
As part of its support of the transgender community, the City of West Hollywood has a Transgender Resource Guide available on the City’s website, which provides information about a variety of resources including legal, health, and social services, available in the Greater Los Angeles area to enhance and improve the well-being of transgender people.
For more information about Transgender Awareness Month, please contact Moya Márquez, City of West Hollywood Community Programs Coordinator, at (323) 848-6574 or [email protected]. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.
