On the annual observance of International Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31), the transgender community will celebrate the lives and achievements of transgender men, women and youth around the world. The day is also used to bring attention to the issues that the transgender community still faces. This year, Chicago activist Meggan Sommerville has announced a massive multimedia project, See Me!, in collaboration with critically acclaimed singer songwriter and White House welcomee, Sidney Chase.
The crowd sourced project will culminate in a video series showing selfies sent by members of the US and international transgender community set to original, exclusive music by Chase. Sommerville says of the project, “This project is not just showing the world who we are but will also act as a call to arms to all of our allies to stand with the transgender community in the fight for visibility and equality. You will be encouraging countless others who may not have the freedom or found the strength to be their authentic selves.”
“With approximately 1.4 million transgender men, women and youth in the United States”, Sommerville says “there is a need for visibility beyond what we see on television. Positive visibility fosters acceptance and understanding and puts faces and lives to what many outside the transgender community sees in the main stream press, especially when over 40% of transgender people attempt suicide and 80% of transgender students feel unsafe in their school environment.
The video is set to debut on March 31, the International Transgender Day of Visibility.
To participate or learn more, go to bit.ly/2kAiipG and visit facebook.com/transdayofvisibility to download branded 8.5 x 11 posters to optionally include in selfies.
Participant photos may also be emailed directly to TDOV2017@gmail.com, an email Sommerville has created specifically for the project. Photos must be G-rated for all-ages viewing, and received by March 10 to project inclusion.
About Meggan Sommerville:
Meggan Sommerville is a writer and activist in Chicago. In the past five years, Sommerville has made local and national headlines as a result of her continued litigation against her employer for gender-based bathroom discrimination.