PRIDE FACT 15
The First Trans March
The first march of its kind was held on June 25, 2004, in San Francisco, CA. The subsequently titled San Francisco Trans March is one of the few large annual transgender events in the world and has likely been the largest transgender event since its inception in June 2004. The purpose of the event is to increase visibility, activism and acceptance of all gender-variant people. The first March was organized with a gathering in Dolores Park followed by a march to Civic Center after an anonymous email was sent around to several community activists. The almost original wording of the email was: “We are calling for this march to demonstrate that we are a significant and growing portion of the lgbtiq community; to increase our visibility and presence in the tgiqlb community and the overall community at large; to encourage more trans and gender-variant people to come out; to build connections among ftm, mtf, bayot, crossdressers, sadhin, hijra, transvestites, bantut, drag queens, drag kings, mahu, transsexuals, bakla, travesti, genderqueers, kathoey, two spirit, intersex and those with other labels for themselves and no labels for themselves, those who see gender as having more than two options, and those who live between the existing options; to support one another as a community, through all of our struggles; to speak out against violence, hate, transphobia, and the oppression of any and all of us under the existing social structure; and to be fabulous and powerful in the company of others that are fabulous and powerful. Dress up, show up, bring signs, speak out, and be what happens! Please enhance, translate, and pass this on to any groups, lists, or individuals who might be interested.”
Source: San Francisco Trans March – TransMarch.org