History of the TLP

2015 – 2016

I recognized the need for a resource that could be utilized by the trans+ community as well as the medical, mental health, and social professionals working with us. In response, I began compiling the first version of the Transgender Language Primer. This early version was hosted by Outshine NW and quickly became a popular resource.

2017

The TLP expanded to become a dynamic Google Document. The team expanded, with members of the community adding new entries and expanding definitions regularly. With the sponsorship of an anonymous patron, we were able to hire a sensitivity editor. Together, we planted firm intersectional roots in the document.

2018

The TLP received a grant from The Transgender Justice Funding Project. We were finally able to migrate from Google Docs and into a full-fledged website. This would lay the foundation for future expansions and greater visibility.

2019

2019 was a recovery year for me. After a decade of being out, I was able to access top surgery thanks to a grant from Genderbands and the support of my wonderful community. This meant that the TLP took a bit of a back seat. We still updated and planned for the future, but we didn’t make any major changes this year.

2020

The TLP team underwent a massive change, along with the rest of the world. As a result, the team dwindled to just me, as it was in the beginning. However, I do still consider the TLP to be a community project. I am who I am because of my community and I always take their input into account. This is why I generally use “we” when talking about the TLP.

2021

The TLP launched a massive update, bringing the total number of entries to over 200. During that update, we migrated to WordPress in preparation for our massive localization project. Also, the TLP Patreon reached a point where we were able to hire a translator for our Spanish Translation Project.

2022

2022 was a huge year for us even if it may have seemed quiet from an outside perspective. We spent half a year working on the Spanish Language Translation and ensuring that it met the rigorous standards we set for ourselves. We found a wonderful translator who is nonbinary and intimately familiar with queer language in Spanish. We found wonderful beta readers who could check that the translation worked across regions. And together, we’ve put together a Spanish translation that we hope will further support our Spanish speaking community!

2023

2023 has been a recovery year for me. I left my day job of over a decade in February and embarked on a new adventure in a new industry. I also have been able to, with better healthcare, access a hysterectomy this year. So I’ve been focusing largely on managing the Spanish language implementation and keeping admin processes rolling.

2024 and Beyond

We hope that the growth of the TLP will lead to even greater usefulness for the community and the medical, mental health, and social professionals working with us. Providing up-to-date working definitions for these particular facets of life has already helped bridge that gap as well as helped questioning people find their way into a vibrant community. We hope that our upcoming expansions will provide even more paid work for the community and expand our reach into areas inaccessible to us before.