Today is Trans Day of Visibility. And Trans Empowerment Project is spending it doing what we've always done — naming what's true, even when it's uncomfortable, and asking the people with power to use it differently.

Today, we're asking that of Mattel.

Here's what's happening

Mattel is one of the world's largest toy and game companies. They hold a top-100 rating from the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index — a widely recognized benchmark for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion. They've made public commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

They also hold an active licensing agreement to produce Harry Potter merchandise. That means every sale generates royalties that flow back to J.K. Rowling — the IP owner, and the most prominent anti-trans activist in the world.

We're not asking Mattel to have an opinion about fiction. We're asking them to look at what their licensing dollars are funding in the real world — and decide whose side they're actually on.

The receipts

This isn't a feeling. This isn't a culture war take. This is documented:

These are not opinions. These are financial and institutional decisions with real-world consequences for 2Spirit, Trans, Intersex, and Gender Expansive people everywhere.

Why this matters to us — personally

Trans Empowerment Project was founded in 2016 to serve Disabled 2TIGE-BIPOC communities. In the years since, we've watched the political and cultural climate shift in ways that have directly, materially harmed the people we serve.

I've had to move because of what's happening. I know parents of trans kids who are terrified — kids being pulled off puberty blockers, denied access to bathrooms, turned away from healthcare. I know people who have lost jobs, homes, and communities. I know people who've lost the will to keep going.

This is not abstract. This is our lives.

And when a corporation with an HRC award on the shelf continues to financially sustain the person funding the legislation driving this harm — we say something about it.

What we're asking Mattel to do

Our petition makes three specific asks:

1. End all current Harry Potter licensing agreements at the earliest contractual opportunity. We're not asking them to break a contract. We're asking them to not renew one.

2. Publicly commit to not entering new Harry Potter merchandise deals. A one-time exit isn't enough. We want a clear statement of intent.

3. Issue a transparent statement explaining how their licensing decisions align with their stated DEI values. Accountability requires transparency. We want Mattel to say — publicly — how they reconcile these two things.

How you can help — right now

Trans Empowerment Project has a direct reach of 53,000 people globally. If even a fraction of those people share this petition, we will be in front of millions within days. That kind of visibility brings press. Press brings pressure. Pressure creates change.

Here's what we need from you today:

Sign the petition. Takes 60 seconds. [PETITION LINK]

Share it everywhere. Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, BlueSky, Discord, text message, group chat. Especially share it with parents of trans kids, with teachers, with HR professionals, with anyone who works in corporate DEI.

Tag Mattel directly. @Mattel on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter. Make sure they're seeing the conversation.

Tag @HRC. They certified Mattel. They should be asked to weigh in.

Trans Day of Visibility only comes once a year. But the harm Rowling's funding enables happens every day — in courtrooms, clinics, school boards, and family living rooms.

Today, we're visible. And we're using that visibility to do something with it.

In solidarity and spite,