Each year on Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV), we celebrate the brilliance and humanity of trans and gender diverse people. We honor the joy of being in community together, even in the face of adversity. Yet in 2026, these challenges are increasingly impossible to ignore. We are navigating one of the most uncertain and rapidly shifting healthcare landscapes in recent memory, but one truth remains clear: gender-affirming care is essential, evidence-based, and lifesaving.
Over the past year, we’ve seen a wave of federal and state-level actions that directly impact access to healthcare for trans and gender diverse people. Today, roughly half of trans youth in the U.S. live in states that have enacted laws or policies limiting access to gender-affirming care, while many more have experienced disruptions in care due to federal actions.
And yet, even in this climate, trans and gender diverse people continue to show remarkable resilience. They are not only surviving our current moment, but advocating, organizing, and building.
Visibility as Resistance
TDOV has always been about more than just being seen. It’s about trans and gender diverse people being recognized in our full, unique, and beautiful humanity. It’s about the right to not only survive, but to thrive.
In 2026 however, visibility itself continues to be an act of resistance. It is a refusal to be erased, even as policies try to limit recognition, care, and freedom. It is a declaration that trans people are here, that they belong, and that they matter.
Moving Forward Together
At its core, healthcare is about people. It’s about meeting individuals where they are, listening to their needs, and providing care grounded in respect and science.
This Transgender Day of Visibility, we reaffirm our commitment to that mission. We will keep showing up; advocating for access to care, educating our peers, advancing research that lifts up community voices, and supporting those we serve. Everyone deserves to live a healthy, authentic life.