The TransPeerNetwork is an online peer support community on Discord for trans and non-binary people around the world. We strive to foster community for all trans folks but have a focus on being intergenerational and sustainable. While people questioning their gender and people early in their coming out/transition process are welcome to join, the core of our community is made up of people who are past these first stages, with active members ranging from people pre-transition to people who have been transitioning for multiple decades. We believe that trans community can only succeed when it is inclusive, diverse and committed to fighting racism, transmisogyny, ableism and ageism.
Beliefs, Values and Principles
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The TPN started with a group video call on New Years Eve 2019. A small group of trans people from North America and Europe wanted to celebrate the new year in community. This was so popular, it became a weekly group call of about 30 folks, and eventually moved to Discord, where it grew to include over 400 active members by 2021. This culture of weekly video calls survived, and remains a central tenet of our community. We host 10 generalized and 🔗 topical video calls every week for trans people to socialize, learn from others, and support each other.
The TPN is a community built around a number of core beliefs, values and principles. Further below you can find a list of concrete rules that are meant to help convey a general understanding of how we work as a community. Our goal is not to police behavior but to rally around shared values and principles and to apply them to our daily interactions on the server.
We want to continuously regenerate and shape our community as a space that supports and empowers its members while limiting hierarchical structures and centering those on the margins. We strive to do so in a way that deeply values the role and need of all members in a collaborative and transparent co-creative process so that all members feel ownership over this space and enthusiastically participate in enriching and improving this unique community for themselves and each other indefinitely.
We strive to be conscientious, supportive, engaged, and inclusive. We take matters of gender discrimination, racism and colonialism seriously, and strive to ensure the maximum amount of folks feel safe participating here.
As such, we are not a service provider that members use but rather a grass roots community that relies on every member to contribute in whatever way they can, to maintain and improve our community together.
The TPN is an active community centered around a discord server. Next to the weekly events, there are open voice channels where members can meet on their own to spend time together, play games, support each other, discuss a wide range of topics or just quietly co-work together.
The server features a long list of text channels organized around topics ranging from social and medical transition to politics, pets, sports, making art etc.
We also offer closed sub-communities for BIPoC members, transmasculine, non-binary and transfeminine members, ace/aro members and plural systems. These spaces are only visible to members who self-identify with these communities.
I spent most of my first year of transition on TPN. I can’t express how helpful it was to have a community of other trans people to talk to about in those tempestuous early days. I owe a lot of personal development to the friends I made there who showed me just how weird and wonderful trans life can be.
Emmy
Initially, I wasn’t comfortable enough to post anything for a month. Once I finally did put myself out there, I discovered not only a great number of people willing to share thoughts, experiences, and support in my transition, but also many friends who I assume will be lifelong. I have fibromyalgia which I never had anyone to relate with about; now I even know other trans Indigiqueer people with chronic pain!
Charlotte
I never had any community pre-transition. Even after coming out, I felt like I didn't fit in on trans Reddit, or trans Twitter, or in the Houston trans community. It took me 24 years to find a place I felt like I belonged. That is the #TransPeerNetwork to me. I'm finally home.
Cass
Finding a community of international trans people helped me a lot to understand, that my issues with me being myself are bigger than just an issue with the gender norms of the society I live in. By connecting with people who have similar experiences than I have, I got to understand myself better. By connecting with people who have different experiences than I have I got a deeper understanding on diversity within the community. To me, the TPN is a safe space where I get the understanding and support I need in a time where connection in the real life is difficult.
NeumondSchatten
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If you would like to join the TPN, please take a moment to read about our values and rules!
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