The TikTok-a-Thon for Trans Healthcare is a yearly fundraiser to raise money for

transgender health care Transgender health care includes the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of physical and mental health conditions which affect transgender individuals.Gorton N, Grubb HM (2014). General, Sexual, and Reproductive health. In L. Erickson-Schroth. ...

. The fundraiser is a

livestream Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming media, streaming of video or Digital audio, audio in real-time communication, real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature ...

organised by trans

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

influencers Mercury Stardust and alluringskull to fundraise for the mutual aid nonprofit Point of Pride. The fundraiser is organised for March 31,

International Transgender Day of Visibility International Transgender Day of Visibility, often simply Trans Day of Visibility (often shortened online as TDOV), is an annual event dedicated to celebrating transgender people raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people, ...

and has raised over $4 million.

Description

The fundraiser is hosted by Mercury Stardust, known as the Trans Handy Ma'am, and a TikToker named Jory, known as alluringskull. The TikTok-a-Thon for Trans Healthcare guests has included the Point of Pride cofounder Aydian Dowling, Dylan Mulvaney, Mama Tot,

V Spehar Vitus Spehar, better known as V Spehar, is an American journalist and podcast host best known for their TikTok account, UnderTheDeskNews. Career Before entering journalism, Spehar worked in the culinary and hospitality industries in New York ...

, makeup artist Darius Hall, Ve'ondre Mitchell, and Zaya Perysian. The campaign raises funds for transgender healthcare provided by the nonprofit organization Point of Pride, an organization that provides

gender-affirming care Transgender health care includes the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of physical and mental health conditions which affect transgender individuals.Gorton N, Grubb HM (2014). General, Sexual, and Reproductive health. In L. Erickson-Schroth. ...

. The care funded by the fundraiser includes; chest binders, femme shapewear,

hormone therapy Hormone therapy or hormonal therapy is the use of hormones in medical treatment. Treatment with hormone antagonists may also be referred to as hormonal therapy or antihormone therapy. The most general classes of hormone therapy are hormonal therap ...

, telehealth access, permanent hair removal and

gender-affirming surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their gender identity. The phrase is most often associated ...

. 90% of funds are used to support trans healthcare through Point of Pride's Gender Affirming Care Access scholarships and grants. Stardust has said about the event: "In a time that often feels like it is hard for us to even exist publicly, it's nice to have a refreshing moment of hope." In 2022, Stardust and Jory hosted the first "TikTok-a-thon" to coincide with

on March 31. Originally aiming to raise $24,000, it raised more than $120,000. The 2023 fundraiser was a 30-hour

on both TikTok and

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

. The livestream raised more than $100,000 in its first hour and $1 million in its first six hours. In total, the event raised more than $2 million from 57,500 donors. For 2024, Point of Pride set a fundraising goal of $4 million. Within the first ten hours of the event, Stardust's and Jory's TikTok accounts were banned nine times due to mass reporting from

trolls A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human be ...

, resulting in multiple interruptions. As of April 9, 2024, the fundraiser has raised $2 million.

References

External links

* {{TikTok navbox 2022 establishments in the United States 2022 in Internet culture 2022 in LGBTQ history Charity events in the United States TikTok Transgender health care Transgender events in the United States Virtual events