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What is Trans+ History Week?

Trans+ History Week is dedicated to celebrating the rich history of transgender, non-binary, gender-diverse, and intersex individuals through stories, events and lesson books for the whole world to use. It is a QueerAF launchpad project and an independent Trans+ led CIC run by a team of volunteers.

QueerAF runs the official content and mentoring of creatives for the week while supporting the initiative's events and working with international partners to deliver a global impact.

Information is a tool for liberation, and learning lessons from history helps us win the fight today.


What is a QueerAF launchpad project?

QueerAF's launchpad projects facilitate, mentor and support LGBTQIA+ creatives in their own original projects as part of our not-for-profit publisher's mission to help you understand the LGBTQIA+ world, and support queer creatives to change the media.

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Add Trans+ History Week to your calendar:

- Trans+ History Day 06 May
- Trans+ History Week 05 - 11 May 2025

Apple β€’ Google β€’ Office 365 β€’ Outlook Web β€’ Outlook β€’ Yahoo

The story so far...

MAY β€˜23 - First Article published

Marty Davies pitched for the QueerAF Queer Gaze scheme and wrote about learning that the first ever trans clinic was raided by Nazis. The story quickly became a tool to shutdown the β€˜transgender trend’ lie online.

NOV β€˜23 - Trans+ History Week announced

This led to the idea that we needed more stories surfacing our gender-diverse history, told by trans+ creatives. We needed to make space for people to take the time to learn history. After consultation with the community, we launched Trans+ History Week, which is now supported by 20 LGBTQIA+ sector orgs.

Then, thanks to all of your incredible donations in our crowdfunding raising thousands of pounds, and a huge wave of support in new QueerAF members - we were able to head full steam ahead, into 2024, with a mission to invest in Trans+ creative talent...

MAR β€˜24 - Educational workbook launched

We developed our first educational workbook, the single most important artefact we will create each year. In it, we surface four stories from our history that teach us four lessons that inspire and empower us in our present. Its job is to inspire the whole world to mark the week in their own way, using these four stories as an easy and robust guide to do just that.

MAY β€˜24 - First ever Trans+ History Week

We’ve invested in 30+ trans+ creatives to tell trans+ history stories. We’re hosting two events, a community event and a poetry event in London. AND we’ve launched a powerful UK-wide advertising campaign to encourage everyone to reflect on trans+ history.


What is QueerAF?

We're the UK's only both non-profit and regulated LGBTQIA+ publisher. Our award-winning platforms, newsletters and podcasts are launching the careers of emerging and underrepresented LGBTQIA+ creatives. We're driven by people, not advertisers.

Everything we do at QueerAF is about ensuring there is a better way for our LGBTQIA+ community to be seen, heard and celebrated in the media - this launchpad project is just the latest of our many initiatives.

Trans+ History Week is our first launchpad project, but it builds on past endavours like our What The Pox? podcast. When we support creatives, we don't just want them to leave with skills, mentoring and support - but solid foundations to succeed as they go forward.

Our top-rated weekly newsletter is publishing, mentoring, and building the resilience of queer creatives. We've been giving creatives their first commissions for over eight years. Now we're helping them build a media career and working with them to change the industry.

The UK media industry only thrives when it’s bursting with queer talent. Only a media industry that represents hires, and understands us – can help shift the narrative on being queer in the UK.

Trans+ History Week will play a part in the fight back against anti-trans narratives - but it's not for them.

It's for us, to celebrate our history. It's for the over 20 Trans+ creative talent who have been paid, mentored and provided with equipment. It's for you, to take power from our history of enduring resilience.

We've run this initiative as an investment in the community and its beautiful creative talent - so we can help Trans+ journalists build media careers.

So much of what we think and feel comes from the media, and its a huge part of the reason anti-trans rhetoric has become normalised. That's why if you can change the newsroom, you can change the country.

As a not-for-profit, we reinvest everything into this mission - and mentoring schemes like we do with Trans+ History Week. That's why we need your help.

QueerAF's biggest source of revenue is from readers like you and our newsletters are ad-free. It helps us focus on our work, instead of chasing clicks for advertisers.

So please join as a QueerAF member now. Help us invest in Trans+ creatives to give our community the history lessons it needs - to win the fight back.