A reflection of the times, social media these days can feel more depressing than supportive. Each of us, though, can turn that around. Refuse to re-post negative news or opinions. Instead, re-post everything positive you find, and then create more!
We especially encourage posts that value and spotlight trans resilience. If you or your trans friends aren’t feeling particularly resilient these days, consider spreading others’ stories. This article highlights eight heart-warming coming out stories. The New York Times has put together a huge collection of stories and pictures of transgender people. Not all of the stories are “positive,” but have fun and learn a lot while you are looking.
What other positive things can you post? Obviously, anything positive you find in the news. FORGE checks out a daily Google News notification on “transgender policy.” Only a few of the daily articles that come up have been positive, but we are hoping that changes soon! Speaking of policy, one of the best places to see what trans-affirming policies have changed is through the work of the National Center for Transgender Equality. NCTE also posts some of the rollbacks, but is always on the ready to share the trans-affirming legislative developments, too. FORGE has created several toolkits, with posts you can easily use / repost, including “Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth is Violence Prevention Social Media Kit.”
Another category of positive news to re-post is the release of new resources and studies. Unless they are focused on profoundly depressing issues or findings, resources and studies affirm that we have allies who are working on our behalf. (Not to mention that the resource or research may be exactly the help or information we have been looking for.) Some of our favorite sources include: FORGE; National Center for Transgender Equality; Williams Institute; Center for American Progress; and Lambda Legal. All have email lists you can sign up for, or follow them on social media.
Organizations and individuals can make a big difference in trans peoples’ lives by simply sharing and raising the visibility of trans issues through your own social media outlets. If you are an organization, consider scheduling one trans-related social media post each month (or even each week!). When FORGE rolls out its new website later this month, we will be featuring several of our social media toolkits, all of which provide readymade posts for several platforms, making this action step easy as pie. Keep a look out!