Football v Transphobia week ends on 31st March & encompasses Transgender Day of Visibility

Transgender (trans) people have long been part of football. Across the leagues trans fans have been supporting their clubs for many years and on pitches up and down the country, trans people have been playing the game they love.

In 2015 the FA updated their policy on trans people in football to make it easier and fairer for trans people to participate in the game. The FA believes that ‘gender identity should not be a barrier to participation in football’.

Nor do we. 

Lucy Clark, a Non-League referee who is trans talked to the papers about her transition. She told the press “I have kept this secret hidden away most of my life. Now is the time to be ME”. 

We believe that football is at its best when people can bring their whole selves to the game, which is why we’ve launched the Football v Transphobia week of action in March. We’re standing up for transgender people in the beautiful game. Will you? 

Trans people come from all walks of life. Trans people  are your coworkers, family and neighbours. They are 7-year-old children and 70-year-old grandparents. Trans people are a diverse community representing all racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as faith backgrounds.

International Transgender Day of Visibility is honoured every year on March 31 and is a time to celebrate transgender people around the globe and the courage it takes to live openly and authentically, while also raising awareness around the discrimination trans people still face.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia was created in 2004 to draw the attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people and all other people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics.

The date of May 17th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organisation’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.

The Day represents a major global annual landmark to draw the attention of decision-makers, the media, the public, corporations, opinion leaders, local authorities, etc. to the alarming situation faced by people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics.

Harvey Milk Day is celebrated each year on May 22 in memory of Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist assassinated in 1978.

Harvey Milk served less than a year in public office before his brutal assassination, but his life profoundly changed a city, state, nation and a global community. His courage, passion and sense of justice rocked a country and stirred the very core of a put down and pushed out community, bringing forward new hope and a new vision of freedom. This day is a chance to honour his life and legacy and every year it highlights the strides we have taken to make society a better place for LGBTQ+ people and how far we still have to go to achieve an equal society. 

Pan Visibility Day is on May 24th and is a day to celebrate and recognize those who identify as pansexual.

Pansexuality is different from bisexuality but the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Being bisexual means being attracted to more than one gender, while being pansexual means being attracted to people regardless of gender. Pansexuality and bisexuality are not in conflict, some people believe that pansexuality better includes people all genders while others are happy identifying as Bi  In fact, some bisexual people also identify as pansexual, and vice versa. Pansexuality is included under the bisexual umbrella, which covers anyone who experiences sexual or romantic attraction to more than one gender.

Like its LGBTQ+ counterparts, Pan visibility day is an opportunity to bring to light the stories and experiences of Pansexual people in society and look at how we can work to improve inclusivity for pansexual people.