Trans and Non-Binary Pride Spotlight

 

Happy Pride Everyone!!! 

Each Friday this month I will highlight a different group within the wider LGBTQA+ family. 

This week I'm highlighting 30 of our Trans, Non-binary, and Gender Nonconforming siblings.

Today's spotlights are complied from various places including:

https://blog.grsmontreal.com/en/lgbt-poc-celebrities/

https://blog.grsmontreal.com/en/20-transfeminine-people-to-know/

https://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/g27702340/non-binary-celebrities/

https://rootedinrights.org/4-activists-who-make-me-proud-to-be-disabled-and-transgender/

https://disabilityhorizons.com/2021/06/10-influential-disabled-lgbtq-activists-to-follow-this-pride-month/

Aaron Phillip is a black, transgender and disabled model from New York. The now 21-year-old has already gained popularity on social media, and has modeled for Paper Magazine.

Alok Vaid-Menon is an Indian American performance artist and writer. They have several gender-neutral clothing lines, published written works, done live performances and have been invited to numerous events as a public speaker. They advocate notably for body diversity, challenging gender norms, ceasing to gender the beauty industry, countering transmisogyny and systemic racism.

Amandla Stenberg first came out as non-binary in a Tumblr post in 2016. Since then, they have been a been an open activist for more representation in the media and starred in a number of movies including The Hate U Give and The Darkest Minds.

Andrea Jenkins made history in November 2017 by becoming the first openly transgender Black woman elected to public office in the U.S., according to LGBTQ advocacy groups and researchers. Jenkins, a Democrat, was one of two openly trans people to win a seat on the Minneapolis City Council in 2017. She is also a published poet and an oral historian at the University of Minnesota. Jenkins made history again in January 2022, when she was elected as the first transgender official in the U.S. to lead a city council.

Angelica Ross is a businesswoman, actress, and transgender rights activist. She is the CEO and founder of tech company TransTech Social Enterprises, and stars in the shows Pose and American Horror Story. 

Backxwash is a Zambian-Canadian rapper based in Montreal. She came out as transgender in 2018 after the release of her debut EP F.R.E.A.K.S. Her 2020 album God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It won the 2020 Polaris Music Prize. 

Bobbie Lea Bennett’s activism demonstrates just how much non-disabled transgender people owe to their disabled community members. Bennett was a wheel chair user from Louisiana. When she obtained gender affirmation surgery in 1978, she was told that the cost would be covered under Medicare’s Social Security disability benefits program. However, her payment was denied without explanation. Bennett mobilized the community around her case, forcing Medicare officials to consider whether or not gender affirmation surgeries were medical necessities.

Brian Michael Smith is an American actor known for ground-breaking performances on television and advocacy for trans representation in media.

Chella Man is a 22-year-old YouTuber, artist, actor and model from Brooklyn, New York City. He is also a LGBTQ+ and disability activist. He is best known for sharing his experiences of being deaf, transgender, genderqueer and Jewish.

'D'LO is a transgender Sri Lankan-American performer, writer, and community activist, who performs in America, Canada, the UK, Germany, Sri Lanka, and India.

Elle Hearns is a transgender rights activist who co-founded the Black Lives Matter Global Network. Her interest in the civil rights movement and activists like Malcolm X led her to become a youth organizer. She helped organize the three-day conference The Movement for Black Lives in 2015, and founded the Marsha P. Johnson Institute. 

Cariza "Ice" Yamson Seguerra, formerly and still known professionally as Aiza Seguerra, is a Filipino actor, singer-songwriter and guitarist. Initially coming out as a lesbian in 2007, Seguerra now identifies himself as a transgender man.

Indya Moore is an actor and model known for their role in the series Pose. They started their modeling career at the age of 15 with gigs including Dior and Gucci. They are nonbinary, and are the first trans person to be featured on the cover of the US edition of Elle magazine. 

Jake Zyrus is a Filipino singer and television personality. In 2017, he came out as a transgender male after having male chest reconstruction and beginning testosterone treatment. He adopted the name Jake Zyrus, and discontinued the use of the name "Charice Pempengco"

Janet Mock is a writer, TV host and transgender rights activist. After obtaining her Masters degree in journalism, she worked several years at People magazine as staff editor. She came out as a trans woman in 2011 in Marie Claire magazine, then becoming a media advocate. She has written several memoirs, and has become the first trans woman of color to obtain a production deal with a major content company, in her case Netflix. 

Jazzie Collins. After enduring years of mistreatment as a Black and HIV+ transgender woman in her birthplace of Memphis, Tennessee, Jazzie Collins found a home in San Francisco, California. Collins first became an advocate in 2002, organizing her fellow tenants at the Plaza Hotel to resist its planned demolishment and fight to maintain affordable housing in the city.

Kama La Mackerel is a Mauritian-born multi-disciplinary artist based in Montreal. They have created and hosted local initiatives such as GENDER B(L)ENDER, Qouleur Festival and Our Bodies Our Stories. They have had artist residencies in places like Mai-Montreal and in Halifax, and have presented their work both nationally and internationally, such as in Toronto, Vancouver, New York, Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris.

Kay Ulanday Barrett is one of many disabled transgender activists who are working for justice today. Kay is a disabled queer and trans Pilipinx Amerikan poet, activist, and fashion icon. Barrett’s work discusses race, disability, diaspora, sexuality and their intersections. Barrett’s art powerfully demonstrates how systems of oppression reinforce each other.

Laith Ashley made headlines as one of the first transgender male models to appear in a national campaign.

Laverne Cox is an actress and LGBTQ+ advocate. She rose to stardom in her role on Netflix series Orange is the New Black, subsequently becoming the first transgender woman to be nominated for an Emmy for her role. She also starred and was the executive producer of the documentary Disclosure, which addresses the representation and depiction of trans and nonbinary individuals in American culture and media.

Marsha P. Johnson was a gay liberation activist and Stonewall Riot veteran. Alongside Sylvia Rivera, she founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) organization and was an AIDS activist. She was unfortunately found dead in 1992, her cause of death unofficially considered a homicide. 

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy is an activist and community leader. She advocates notably for incarcerated trans women of color, serving as the original executive director of the Transgender Gender Variant Intersex Justice Project. Other community efforts she was and continues to be involved in include helping those suffering from addiction and homelessness, sex workers, those with HIV/AIDS, low-income individuals and victims of police brutality. 

Monica Roberts was a writer and trans rights advocate. She was the founder and main editor of blog TransGriot, which brought attention to issues pertaining to trans women. She also brought news coverage of transgender homicide victims in the US to a wider audience.

Munroe Bergdorf is a British model and activist. Coming out as transgender at the age of 24, she began her modelling career with the motivation of bringing diversity to the industry. She frequently makes guest appearances as commentator on British talk shows, and is vocal about numerous causes including racism, transphobia and misogyny. 

Parinya Charoenphol is a Muy Thai (Thai boxing) fighter, model and actress. She opened a boxing camp and aerobics class for children in her home country. Her story is portrayed in the 2003 movie Beautiful Boxer.

The singer Shamir broke out on the music scene in 2014 with his single, "On The Regular," but the non-binary star opened up about the lack of diversity in the queer music movement in a 2020 interview with Billboard. "We need far more representation — the music we have now is not varied enough, and it definitely isn't black enough," he explained. "I'm operating in the hopes that me putting myself out in the mainstream again will be a good look for black non-binary people."

Shane Ortega is an Indigenous, two-spirit, disabled veteran who made history as the first soldier to openly transition while on active duty in the United States military. He entered the military to follow in his family’s footsteps and escape systemic racism that proliferated the American

Shea Diamond is an American R&B and soul singer. Her songs and activism often speak of her experiences as an incarcerated trans woman of color and issues like the gun violence epidemic in the United States.

Travis Alabanza is a British transfeminine performance artist. They have given lectures and presented at panels on topics from racism, sexual orientation and gender identity. They advocate for the inclusion of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals in mainstream feminism.  

Vivek Shraya is a Canadian writer and musician. Her discography consists of seven albums and has written over half a dozen books including I’m Afraid of Men and Death Threat. She is currently on the board of the Tegan and Sara Foundation as a director.