Eastmont High School students are collaborating with Wenatchee Pride to host a Trans Day of Visibility event at Memorial Park Friday.

International Transgender Day of Visibility is an event that has been celebrating trans and nonbinary individuals since 2009.

There are over 1.6 million individuals 13 years and older who identify as trans in the United States.

Eastmont High School Junior Auds and Eastmont High School Senior Ell are two nonbinary students involved in organizing this event.

Auds says the goal of Trans Day of Visibility day is to show support for the trans community, specifically trans youth, to combat against the negative media coverage on the trans community.

“We want to show trans youth that it's not all bad, even though the media is full of violence against trans people right now, there is still hope and we can be seen.”

Wenatchee Pride’s Youth Representative and Eastmont High School Junior, Leo Perry, also assisted in organizing this event.

“We are hosting a [day of] visibility in response to all the transphobic laws, legislation, and all of the prominent hate crimes that are happening to trans youth in response to all of that,” Perry said. “We're really just gathering in support of trans youth and to show that we're really here, we exist in this valley, we're regular people, we have lives and jobs, and we're students.”

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), there are approximately 435 anti-LGBTQ bills that were introduced in multiple state legislatures.

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Auds said that those who may be ignorant about trans identity should know that being trans is not a choice and that they are not out to hurt anyone.

“Being trans in our society feels a lot like wearing your shoes on the opposite feet and never being allowed to take them off,” Auds said. “It's very uncomfortable, and it can be unsafe because you could trip or fall and we need a lot of support to find our balance in these opposite shoes.”

Both Auds and Ell recommend both cisgender and transgender individuals to introduce themselves with their preferred pronouns to better support the trans community. 

Cisgender means someone who identifies as the same gender they were assigned with at birth.

Auds’ mom Kris gave a “mom perspective” on supporting someone who is gender-nonconforming.

“We see you and we love you, exactly as you are, for the person that you are and not because you fit into a gender stereotype,” Kris said.

Trans Day of Visibility will be located at Memorial Park on 2 S Chelan Ave, Wenatchee, Friday on March 31 from 4-6 p.m.

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