Yellow, orange, pink, and red bars representing a timeline and sound levels. Below, purple text reads "Making Queer History"

Making Queer History has a vague title because it has a rather vague purpose. We are not alone in our aim to tell the queer community’s history. What defines us is our focus not only on the past, but toward the future. 

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Harper-Hugo Darling
The trans flag, with alternating blue pink and white stripes, overlayed with black text that reads hashtag more than names.

The trans flag, with alternating blue pink and white stripes, overlayed with black text that reads hashtag more than names.

Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance. This day has been set aside to memorialize transgender people who have been killed in the past year. The Transgender Day of Remembrance was launched in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith in honour of Rita Hester, who had been killed the year before, on December 4th. Since then, it has grown in momentum, leading to candlelight vigils held worldwide to honour those we have lost. It's common for a list of names to be read out at these gatherings, so the names of those we have lost will be remembered and their lives meditated on.

The list of transgender individuals killed this year is much too long for anyone to share in great detail. The solution, then, is not to let the job fall to any one person but to do what the queer community does best; come together and bear the burden on thousands of backs instead of one.

During this week, we encourage everyone who can go through the list and find a name. Once you have found one, do a bit of research and tell that person’s story. Tell it in whichever way you feel most appropriate - poetry, prose, paintings, or through any form which you prefer. If tonight you go to a memorial, as I am going to, remember a name. Write it down, and when you get home, do some research. If you cannot go to a memorial for any reason, there is a list here for you to go through.

We challenge you, this coming week, to make the name you chose more than a name. Get to know the person behind it, and if you are able, share what you have learned. If you want what you have created to be shared on the Queer History Tumblr, use the hashtag #morethannames and tag us. We will share these creations with our audience. If you can’t do that for any reason, we will be posting a short article every day this week dedicated to someone on that list.

We are writing that article for you. For those who are unable, count our contribution as your own. This project's aim has always been to tell the stories other people won’t, but this week we will also be telling the stories other people can’t.

To keep up with this, follow our project on Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook. If you need to block this out for any reason, that is fine. We will be using the tag #morethannames for everything regarding the Transgender Day of Remembrance, and if you need to unfollow us this week, we will understand.

Again, I urge all those who can contribute to do so, to share the story of someone who the world would prefer we forgot. Help us make queer history.

[Disclaimer: some of the sources may contain triggering material]

Trans Respect Versus Transphobia Worldwide. Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) - Updates. Retrieved from http://transrespect.org/en/trans-murder-monitoring/tmm-resources/

Rita Hester

Rita Hester
The Ladies of Llangollen

The Ladies of Llangollen