We believe all LGBTQ+ people deserve to be safe, to be their true selves, and to live free from discrimination.
This public education campaign was launched as TRANSform Washington in 2016 in the midst of anti-trans Initiative 1515 in Washington State. Though this potentially disastrous measure was defeated prior to making it to the ballot box, the work to lift up the stories of trans and gender diverse people is never over, and we will continue this important work alongside our community until all people in the Northwest can live openly and safely.
In 2020, with the launch of a 5-State Story Collection Campaign, TRANSform Culture—formerly known as TRANSform Washington—shifted its name to better reflect the regional and national work in messaging research, public education and political advocacy for trans communities.
Our primary focus areas:
- Collecting and sharing stories for online and in-person audiences
- Convening trans and gender diverse leaders from across the state
- Facilitating ‘Trans 101’ trainings in for businesses, community groups, and nonprofit organizations
- Delivering media and message training for campaign and organizing groups
- Partnering alongside and advocating with transgender rights groups across the United States
Are you ready to join the fight for trans justice?
- Donate to TRANSform Culture and help drive the collection of even more stories and further these critical public education efforts.
- Learn more about what is happening in your state, and what you can do to help stop anti-trans bills in their tracks. We continue to see waves of anti-transgender state bills and ballot initiatives.
- Write to your representative and urge them to support The Equality Act! Not sure what to say? Feel free to copy and paste our sample letter.
Past Project Spotlight: Building Empathy Through Virtual Reality
In recent years, TRANSformCulture collaborated on the project, Authentically Us, is a series of short documentary films with a focus on telling the stories of transgender people in our region using 360˚ filmmaking and Virtual Reality.
In partnership with filmmaker Jesse Ayala Jr. of Fovrth Studio, these Virtual Reality (VR) films are part of Oculus’s VR for Good Creators Lab. This recently-established project pairs filmmakers and nonprofits to make great VR in the name of social good.
In winter 2018, we were thrilled to announce that one of these films, Authentically Us: We’re Still Here, was named an official selection at South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, and another, Authentically Us: She Flies By Who Own Wings, was named an official selection at Tribeca and Cannes Film Festivals. You can experience these films and many others on the TRANSform Washington Facebook page.