U.S. attendees’ fear of travel threatens attendance at B.C. trans history conference

The chair of transgender studies at the University of Victoria is concerned about attendance at this year’s Moving Trans History Forward conference, anticipating a 40 percent decrease in numbers.

Aaron Devor expresses that American potential attendees are hesitant to cross the border — not due to concerns when entering Canada, but rather due to fears of what may happen upon returning to the United States.

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He highlights that the U.S. administration under President Donald Trump instilled fear in the trans community in January with an executive order stating that the federal government only acknowledges two sexes, male and female, which cannot be changed and are considered an “immutable biological classification” from birth.

Devor mentions that the biennial trans history conference commencing on Thursday had initially anticipated 500 attendees based on previous events, but now expects only about 300.

“The difference, I attribute almost entirely to Americans being afraid to leave their own country,” stated Devor, who is the founder and organizer of the conferences.

Trump’s executive order mandates that all government-issued identification, including passports and visas, must “accurately reflect the holder’s sex.”

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The U.S. State Department has announced that it will no longer issue travel documents with the “X” gender marker preferred by many nonbinary individuals, and will only issue passports with an “M” or “F” sex marker corresponding to the person’s “biological sex” at birth.

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“What I see has changed in light of the Trump administration and the actions that have been taken by the Trump administration is that trans-plus people from the U.S. are very nervous about crossing into Canada to come to the conference because they have to return to the United States,” Devor explained.

The conference, which will run until Sunday, features activists, academics, and artists from around the world, according to the university, with over 100 guests delivering presentations.

The organizers state that the event tackles “both our history and the crucial issues that impact us today and into the future — locally, nationally, and globally.”

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American philanthropist Jennifer Pritzker, who provided an initial gift to establish the chair in transgender studies at the University of Victoria, is slated to speak on Thursday evening.

Immigration lawyer Adrienne Smith, invited as a panel speaker at the conference, remarked that the Trump administration had propagated misinformation and transphobia, causing members of the trans community to feel extremely unsafe.

“And I think it’s important to note that trans people have always been afraid. We have always lived in the shadow of danger, but that danger is much bigger and much closer now,” Smith stated.

Smith commended the conference for introducing video attendance this year for the first time.

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The inaugural Moving Trans History Forward conference was held at the university in 2014, with approximately 100 activists and researchers in attendance.

Devor emphasized that the environment of this year’s conference has shifted, with “so much anti-trans rhetoric and organizing.”

“And we are facing the president of the most powerful nation in the world, who is trying to pretend that trans people do not exist at all, and doing his best to erase any evidence that trans people exist,” Devor remarked.

Smith, serving as the litigation director at the Catherine White Holman Wellness Centre, mentioned that their office has been inundated with immigration requests from trans individuals seeking to leave the United States and come to Canada.

However, Smith noted that there are limited immigration pathways available for them.

Smith highlighted that the Trump administration aimed to instill fear in trans individuals and discourage them from participating in public life.

“And not go to important things like a conference where we can talk about research and human rights, not have us gather, not have us know where each other is, and really to separate us from our community,” Smith added.

“It’s intentional and it’s working.”

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