There are 700,000 transgender people in the United States (Gates). Imagine you are one of them. You recently turned nineteen years old, and you are enrolled in university. You are among the luckiest transgender people. Your university chose not to discriminate against you because of your gender identity when you applied. You come from a supportive family, so you have the opportunity to attend university and eventually have a decent-paying job and the ability to support yourself, instead of being kicked out of your childhood home and forced to enter the sex trade to survive, like many transgender youths (Bigelsen). Your health care provider has chosen to treat you despite your gender identity. Because of this, you are luckier than most transgender people; however, you still face many daily struggles, even at your seemingly progressive university.
Public restrooms always present a dilemma. If you use the restroom of your anatomical sex at birth, you will likely be harassed. If you use the restroom of the gender that you identify, you may be kicked out. There is one set of unisex public restrooms on your university’s campus near the dining hall. You use these when you are near them, but you spend most of your day in buildings on the other side of campus. You have to plan when you will eat and drink throughout the day because you do not have the luxury of using the restroom whenever you please. Upon meeting new people, you are often met with uncomfortable questions and remarks such as, “Have you had the surgery?” or “So you’re really a (wrong gender or sex).” Even after you have corrected people, some may choose to refer to you with different pronouns than you prefer or address you by the name given to you at birth rat...
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...bsolute determinates of behavior. Sex is a biological characteristic, and general differences between sexes are byproducts of evolution. Gender, on the other hand, is a human made concept, not a biological byproduct of hundreds of millions of years of evolution, so it is possible to redefine and reinterpret what gender is.
Works Cited
Bigelsen, Jayne. Homelessness, Survival Sex, and Human Trafficking. Covenant House. Covenant House, May 2013. Web. 6 Dec. 2013.
Gates, Gary J., Ph.D. "How Many People Are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender?" Williams Institute. UCLA School of Law, Apr. 2011. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.
"Hate Crimes." Equality Maryland. Equality Maryland, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.
"Lab Members." Visual Attention Lab. Havard University, 2013. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.
LOVING v. VIRGINIA. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 06 December 2013.
While sex refers the biological characteristics that make up a person, their gender is determined by the behaviors and attitudes considered “proper” by society according to their sex.
With the “Orange Is the New Black” star, Laverne Cox being transgender and permitted to play a vivid character as “Sophia”, Caitlyn Jenner’s announcement on the Diane Sawyer interview in 2015, and the arsenal of social media, being non-cisgender (not the gender assigned at birth) in general, has been discussed more than ever. Due to the Internet’s broadness, people who met this classification are unraveling new identities such as non-binary and genderqueer (only people who are this can say this word as “queer” is a slur). Being cisgender is the norm in society. I am also non-cisgender and this is an unique thing that possessed many scars.
The question as to which bathroom transgender people should use has been a huge debate over the last few years. Some people claim they should use the bathroom of whatever gender they identify with while others claim this will result in them harassing cisgender people using the bathroom and that instead transgender people should use the bathroom according to their assigned gender at birth. Another solution that is often suggested is to institute a gender neutral bathroom for either just transgender people or for everyone to use. In general transgender men and women are men are simply that: men and women and they should be able to use the bathroom that best correlates with their gender identity.
Transgendered people in America have made many great strides since the 1990s. They have encountered violence, lack of health care, and the loss of homes, jobs, family and friends. There have been many phases of the struggle of being transgendered in America over the years. The current phase we must be in now is equal rights. There are many variations of discrimination against the transgendered community. In our society we simply do not like what we do not understand. It is easier to discriminate than to try and understand. We are all created different and we should appreciate our differences. The change must come by addressing the views of the public. There is much justification in the unequal rights of transgendered peoples. The Human Rights Campaign has been started to achieve equal rights for all Americans including the LGBQ community. A serious injustice is in the world of sports. Professional sports are one of societies major traditions totally based on rules and regulations that are meant to preserve the integrality of the games, but may not be inclusive to all its players.
Transgender is an umbrella term, meaning an individual’s gender-identity does not align with their assigned sex at birth. Although transgender is a protected class in eighteen states, these individuals still face discrimination within the country and around the world (“Non-Discrimination Laws”). Transgender is not a lifestyle, no one chooses to live their life constantly being discriminated against. Transgender issues should be more educated on and their lives should be more protected.
Grant, Jaime M., Ph.D., Lisa A. Mottet, J.D., Justin Tanis, D.Min., Jack Harrison, Jody L. Herman, Ph.D., and Mara Keisling. Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. Rep. National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 2011. Web. 22 May 2014.
The eye opening article utilized for this analysis is titled, “Trans Women at Smith: The Complexities of Checking ‘Female’” ,written by contributing writer, Sarah Fraas on August 24, 2014 (pg 683-685). Fraas starts off by introducing the audience with a school that accepts trans women, Mills College, and talks about how glorious this decision is. The author then begins to talk about other schools not as accepting as Mills, especially Smiths College. She spews many facts and analysis on the issues trans women face today throughout the article including how transgender women are not gaining enough support to succeed, most transgendered women are neglected in school, and the fact that many have been accused of being a woman for the “wrong” reason. She also mindfully includes the image of a woman of color holding up a sign saying, “Support your sisters, not just your CIS-ters!”. The author utilizes this image to show people that we are all one whether we
“Qualitative study that paints a picture of what life is like for transgender people, Wyss (2004) interviewed seven transgender high school students and asked them about their experiences at school. … Many report that not just other students harassed them but that people they even considered friends would either help or join with assailants during physical attacks. Two of the students were set on fire in school. There were also constant threats of sexual assault, or coercive sex, or physical assault, both verbal threats and notes left in lockers.”
Government agencies such as the Affordable Care Act law defines no sexual discrimination including gender identity, transgender status prohibits majority of insurance companies and healthcare providers from refusing to cover transition-related treatments or using incorrect pronouns under the law. However, the greatest effect can only occur when we — as an American society — change our paradigm. What we can do to help to contribute the changes of degrading experience for many LGBT people in healthcare setting are educating ourselves and creating more awareness in general public to ensure that everyone needs to be treated equally whoever they are. We should be more open-minded to create a welcoming and acceptable workplace environment inclusive of all trans people, to prevent transgender from getting reluctance to reveal their sexual orientation or gender identity to their health providers by training on the full scope of this minority group health in medical schools, and to keep fighting for the state-laws to ensure equality in for transgender individuals in the public utilities and services since only almost half of U.S. states discriminating against transgenders is considered
Because America views gender in only two categories, people who upset the binary are subject to mass discrimination by members of the general public, causing them to lose their homes, jobs, or life savings. For example, in a study of Northeastern business students, 34 percent gave a hostile response when approached with a situation regarding a transgender employee. Each student was given the same scenario where a female employee was uncomfortable sharing the bathroom with a male-to-female transitioning co-worker. Of the 194 students, only 27 percent gave an inclusive response, making all restrooms gender neutral (Rudin 726). The study exemplifies how transgender individuals are misunderstood and discriminated against in the workforce and even in the broader society. It is shown that transgender people are more mentally secure when they exist in a society that accepts their identity. Michael, a transgender man, cites the importance of support networks and the assistance that comes with it. His mom is “still pretty hostile about” his gender identity, which has affected his life negatively and has made it harder for him to talk to her openly (Dentice
Currently the citizens living in the United States are imprisoned within the binary of two genders. It is only acceptable for a person to identify as a male or a female. Depending on the gender the person identifies, as there is an expectation of how that person should look and act. The person identifying as the specific gender, must maintain the gender norms that are in place. These gender binaries are so prevalent in our lives; it is to the point where a large group of Americans are being overlooked. This group of Americans identifies as transgender, which means they do not fit society’s expectations of how a specific gender should look and behave. (gaycenter.org, 2012). The trans population does not fit the expected gender molds that are
Unfortunately, people that identify as transgender do not have the same rights as I do. A transgender person by definition is: “someone whose gender identity-that is, an individual’s internal sense of being male or female-does not align with his or her assigned sex” (Barry). Transgender people can get refused to seen by a doctor, just because they are transgender. A study of how transgender have been discriminated by medical providers was done and the study showed: “Nineteen percent had been refused treatment by a doctor or other provider because of their transgender or gender non-conforming status” (). Broken down by race, the ethnic group that was refused the most was: American Indian (36%), Multi-Racial (27%), Hispanic (22%), Black (19%), White (17%), Asian (15%) and then 19% (Total Sample). Not only can they be refused medical treatment, but doctors and medical professionals can be verbally abusive as well! “Over one quarter of respondents (28%) reported verbal harassment in a doctor’s office, emergency room or other medical setting and 2% of the respondents reported
There is no doubt that men and women are influenced by biological factors. The question is are gender roles based on nature, nurture or both? When discussing human sexuality, drives and desires hormones play a substantial role in our behaviors. The physiological differences externally in males and females are obvious. For example, when aroused, males become erect, whereas females become lubricated instead of a clitoral erection. In the article, “Biological Aspects of Sexual Orientation and Identity” Milton Diamond Ph.D. claims “These differences obviously pertain to copulation, but many other mechanisms exist that are less related to coitus but very much related to sexual expression and childbearing. Muscle mass, body and skeletal articulation, enzyme and endocrine production, and other physiological features and reflexes are additional distinctions. The endocrine system of males is relatively tonic in operation, while the female system is basically cyclic during the reproductive years.” Some of these biological factors are thought to shape gender differences due to hormones and brain function. According to “Biological Theories of Gender” Saul McLeod claims that, “The biological approach suggests that there is no distinction between sex and gender, thus biological sex creates gendered behavior.” This theory
In the United States, more than 700,000 people have identified themselves as transgender. These statistics include people of all ages from the children to the elderly. In several surveys conducted in U.S. schools, several children were identified as transgender. For instance, in a 2015 survey in Dane County, 1.5% of the students were transgender (Hoffman). With the revelation, there is a call for unisex bathrooms to accommodate all these students. For example, a nine-year-old student was denied access to the female bathroom in Queensland (Hosking and Sun). This shows that transgender people sometimes go through a hard time; especially in societies where being a transgender has not been accepted. Statistics show that transgender people often become victims of bullying. For instance, 22 women were murdered in 2015 due to being transgender (Goodyear). Additionally, a report by The National Transgender Discrimination Survey shows that more than 40% of transgender people have attempted suicide because of the lack of acceptance in the society (Grant, Mottet, and Tanis 2). Although unisex bathrooms will not eliminate transphobia, it will be a start to ensuring their acceptance in the future. Stereotypes associated with transgender people will be crushed at an early age, giving an opportunity for their acceptance in the
Sex and gender are terms that are mixed up from day to day and seen as similarities rather than differences. Sex is what distinguishes people from being either male or female. It is the natural or biological variations between males and females (Browne, 1998). Some of these variations are genitals, body hair and internal and external organs. It is the make-up of chromosomes, men have one X and one Y chromosome and women have two X chromosomes, these are responsible for primary characteristics (Fulcher and Scott, 2003). Gender on the other hand refers to the sociological differences between male and female. This is teaching males and females to behave in various ways due to socialisation (Browne, 1998). Example: masculinity and femininity. Girls are supposed to show their femininity by being non-competitive, sensitive, dependent, attractive and placid. If and when some girls don’t succeed in keeping this image they will be referred to as a tomboy. On the other hand, boys show their masculinity through aggression, physical strength...