NCTE Welcomes Vanity Fair Special Edition, “Trans America”

Condé Nast brands Vanity Fair, GQ, The New Yorker, Vogue, and Glamour, have released a special issue dedicated to the exploration of gender identity and expression. The Vanity Fair-branded magazine, titled “Trans America,” collects the best stories on transgender issues from these sister publications, and includes Vanity Fair’s profile of Caitlyn Jenner.

The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) is proud to collaborate with Vanity Fair on this publication, sharing insights about the movement for transgender equality, highlighting the lives and struggles of transgender people, and including a public service announcement within the pages of the publication.

“This special edition comes at a difficult time for transgender people,” said NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling. “This month alone, we have lost at least six transgender women, all women of color, to senseless violence. And while transgender people, and the friends and families of each of these women grieve, we must hold their stories in our hearts. For Amber and Shade, Ashton and Elisha, for Kandis and Tamara, and the countless others whose murders go unnoticed, we must take their stories with us in our work and everywhere we go.”

“There are so many stories of trans people in our community that go untold. And while we’ll always need media to tell more of these stories, we’re grateful to Vanity Fair for telling some of the stories that aid public understanding and ultimately lead to acceptance,” Keisling said.

David Friend, Vanity Fair’s editor of creative development, shared this statement with NCTE: “Sadly, in the weeks since the edition was sent to print, the transgender community has lost six women of color. The publications involved in creating this special edition share in the grief surrounding these tragedies. It is our hope that this issue will help educate people and underscore the efforts of those who have helped promote wider understanding of transgender people.”

Friend continued, “In appreciation of the work of trans-led community groups, Condé Nast and its magazines are proud to support the work of the Los Angeles Gender Center, the Trans Justice Funding Project, the TransLatina Network, and the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.”

The edition is available on newsstands this week.