Note: Pronouns are indicated by round brackets, closed captioning on videos is denoted by square brackets
March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day for celebration and awareness for all transgender people.
Founded by Rachel Crandall in 2009, the day has become a day loved and enjoyed by many of us around the world.
As a genderfluid teen, it is very rare that I ever see my gender represented in the media. I doubt many even know of its existence. This is why simply being visible and living our lives publicly (where comfortable and able to) is so important.
This Transgender Visibility Day, I would like to celebrate five trans YouTubers who inspire me to be visible and proud of who I am. They all make great content and in my opinion are really good role models for our community.
1. Brendan Jordan (he/him and she/her)
Brendan Jordan is a genderfluid YouTube personality who went viral for recreating Lady Gaga’s “Applause” dance moves in the background of a live news broadcast. Since then, he has created a flourishing YouTube channel where he has talked about publicly coming out as genderfluid at the Human Rights Campaign’s “Time to Thrive” conference, meeting Lady Gaga as well as driving in heels. He is really inspiring and posts really great LGBT+ content.
2. Riley J. Dennis (she/her) [CC]
Riley J. Dennis is a non-binary transgender woman who is a YouTuber, activist, public speaker and writer. Although getting what seems like an infinite amount of haters and trolls on all of her videos, she still puts out really great, well-researched content about all things LGBT+, feminism, intersectionality and so much more. She also writes for Everyday Feminism and is always vocal on social justice issues.
3. Kat Blaque (she/her) [CC]
Kat Blaque often refers to herself as ‘intersectionality salad’, as her intersections include being black, transgender, plus-sized and a woman. She has a wealth of informative and educational videos on her channel, such as her scripted content where she thoroughly researches and presents her viewers with facts and evidence on a certain topic, as well as “True Tea” for her unmeasured responses to questions submitted by her followers. Kat has been on YouTube now for over 10 years and spends much of her time flying all around the country to speak at college campuses.
4. Kaitlyn Alexander (they/them)
Kaitlyn Alexander is non-binary and is a Canadian YouTuber, actor, musician, writer and web series creator. They created their channel in 2011 and they really began to take off in 2014, when they started playing LaFontaine in the web series Carmilla. They have also created and star in the web series Couple-ish, which recently raised the funds to be able to produce its second season. On their channel, Kaitlyn posts a wide range of videos, varying from LGBT+ content, “Gin-terviews“, song covers and original songs, as well as vlogs showing their daily life.
5. Tyler Vine (he/him)
Tyler Vine (aka ‘tyince’) is a transgender man and YouTuber. Many of his videos document his transition and he posts really inspiring and informative content about his journey, including getting his name changed, getting top surgery, as well as an overall timeline of his transition. He is also a musician and singer and uploads many covers of popular songs.
While these are all amazing people, there are countless other inspirational trans YouTubers who are all just as valid and awesome as these listed here. A few other great content creators include Ash Hardell, Chandler N Wilson, Alex Bertie and Lewis Hancox.
This Transgender Visibility Day, I hope that we are able to truly celebrate and take pride in who we are. I also recognize that not all of us are in a position where we can comfortably and safely be visible, but just remember that you are just as valid and just as loved all the same.
