The word Transgender is becoming more well known to the general public and more importantly Trans peoples’ rights. No official surveys have been done in Britain to discover how many Transgender people are living in the country, however estimations place the number at 300,000 up to 500,000. Despite the number of transgender people in Britain and across the world many trans people still suffer from discrimination and abuse, mainly referred to as ‘Transphobia’.
The term ‘transgender’ has been around for many years but few people know or fully appreciate its’ meaning. ‘Transgender’ is a term used to describe people who's gender identity differs from the sex the doctor marked on their birth certificate. ‘Gender identity is a persons internal,
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For transgender people, the sex they were assigned at birth and their own internal gender identity don’t match.’ Many people do not feel comfortable or safe enough to come out as transgender without fear of discrimination and many people who are transgender don’t label themselves as trans, they simply label themselves male, female or any other gender identity they feel comfortable with. Transphobia is often confused with homophobia (discrimination against somebody because they are homosexual) as gender and sexuality are usually very closely linked, these however are very different things. Many people believe that transgender people are gay and are changing their gender to create a heterosexual relationship, which is extremely offensive to transgender people and their partners as it isn’t true. Discrimination and stigmas surrounding trans people take many forms such as people assuming that transgender people are incompetent or psychologically unstable. The World Health Organisation classifies being transgender as a mental illness and Denmark is becoming the first …show more content…
The number of transgender people attempting suicide is a lot larger than the number of lesbian, gay or bisexual people who responded to various surveys, although it is not mentioned as often in the media or news coverage. ‘4.6% of the whole U.S. population have reported a suicide attempt compared to between 10 and 20% for lesbian, gay or bisexual people. However the number of transgender people attempting suicide has risen to a staggering 41%. Trans gender people develop mental health issues and attempt suicide for many reasons such a s’[physical assault, harassment in school and job loss due to bias’. The biggest reported cause of suicide attempts within the transgender community is sexual assault, often from existing partners. Harassment is very common for trans people. ’64% of young trans men and 44% of young trans women experience harassment and bullying at school from both pupils and staff.’. Although transphobia is a huge problem that is negatively affecting thousands of people it is not mentioned enough in the media. Serge Nicholson (from the charity GALOP) said; ‘A third of transgender people in the UK go through abuse every year,’ and ‘AS much as 80%of transphobia is not reported.’ For example ‘at least 13 transgender women were murdered in 2014.[‘ The need for estimation comes from newspapers and family members misgendering the victims,
The medicalization of transgender tendencies, under what was Gender Identity Disorder, was demoralizing to all transgender people. This resulted in a form of structured and institutionalized inequality that made an entire group of people internalize their problems, making them question not only their own identity, but also their sanity. Therefore, the removal of this disorder from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 2013 and the newest editions was important in that it shows society’s recognition and acceptance of the transgender
For instance, sociologists would argue that characteristics of the male gender in a given society include independence, and dominance whereas females express more passive behavior. Gender identity, on the other hand is an individual’s sense of their gender or in other words, their sense as to whether they are feminine or masculine. Therefore, transgender is a term related to “people whose gender identity is different from the gender commonly socially assigned to them on the basis of their biological sex” (Morrow & Messinger, 2006, p. 7).“Biological theories assume that gender should be consistent with biological sex and there are only two genders and two sexes” which does not correspond to transgender people. Furthermore, transgender is also used as a general term to include people such as transsexuals and cross-dressers
Transgender is defined by Wikipedia as, “the state of one's gender identity (self-identification as woman, man, neither or both) or gender expression not matching one's assigned sex.” The article explains how a transgender individual may define themselves as having the characteristics that are normally associated with a particular gender but will choose to identify elsewhere on the gender continuum. It use’s the love story of Rhys Ernst and Zackary Drucker as an example. It took five years for Zackary to transition from male to female and Rhys from female to male. But both truly believe that they were born the wrong gender, and choose to correct this wrong with hormone treatments, surgery and personality changes that to the more tradition eye may seem absurd and abnormal. This is one of the main reason such transgender couples are talking about their transformations. To beach this gap between transgender’s and the rest of the population. It is believed that by educating society, we are more likely to accept something than if we do not fully understand the parameters that surround such an issue.
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.
Such as finding acceptance by yourself and others, and having gender dysphoria, the confusion and anxiety that comes when your gender feels undecided. Gender dysphoria can become particularly severe during puberty. To make the dysphoria even worse, there can be significant stress given by society for people to follow gender roles and binaries, which can make “labeling” your gender even more difficult. All of these stereotypes are often used by many people, making it hard to find someone to accept you for who you are, which could result in depression. For non-cisgender people of races other than white, it can be even more difficult to find people willing to accept your identity. The rate of transgender suicide attempts is about 9 times the amount of the rest of Americans. About 40% of trans people have tried to kill
Living life as a transgendered person is not easy. There are very few times when someone comes out as transgender and their lives are still relatively easy to manage. There are a copious...
Transsexuals, defined simply is a person who from the very core of there being feels like they are in the wrong orientation and transgenderism is that state of being when one's gender doesn't match those feelings. In the case of transgender children they usually feel like god made a mistake and in some case scenarios boys particularly try to alleviate the situation themsel...
However, an umbrella term, or a word that covers more than one specific topic, such as transgender, does not only describe people who identify as the opposite sex; it also describes people who identify with both male and female genders, people who identify as genderless, or people who fluctuate between two or more genders. Many transgender people often refer to themselves simply as “trans.” Transgender does not define one’s sexual orientation, however; gender is considered a social construct while sexuality is not.
Imagine going through life believing that you were born into the wrong body. This is how a transgender feels as they go through life. A transgender is a person who whose self-identity does not conform unambiguously to male or female sex. This topic is very controversial due to many arguments about the differences between the male and female physique. The natural biological differences between males and a females play a huge role in this controversy.
Transgender Today Nowadays, there are lot of unexpected changes coming in our lives every day which are challenging to our society. Gender issues are one of the hot topics among new changes. Transsexuality is a critical part of this gender issue. After reading the article “Night to his day” by Judith Lorber, I found a clarification regarding the social construction of gender. While looking for some facts about transgender, I have also found a lot of articles with different points of views from researchers, scientists and individuals who have transformed from their origin to transgender men/women.
Statistically, 0.3-0.5% of individuals in the United States (approx. 700,000 people) identify themselves as transgender and global estimates provide similar percentages (Gates, 2011). Studies conducted regarding transgender individuals show that this class of people suffer from unusually high physical, verbal, and sexual abuse, as well as discrimination in housing and employment (Patel, 2013). Patel (20...
Transgender people can get refused to see a doctor, just because they are transgender. A study of how transgender people have been discriminated against 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 being physically attacked in a doctor’s office”.
Gender is seen as a spectrum, and one can fall anywhere on this spectrum. Again, according to Sam Killerman, being transgendered means living "as a member of a gender other than that expected based on sex assigned at birth." Just because a person is born with male genitalia does not mean they have to be male.
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
It’s upsetting to know that there are so many trans-phobic people out there who believe gender is natural and bash people of trans simply because they do not conform to society’s gender expectations. It’s important to realize that transgender people are no different from you and I they are humans just like the rest of society. It is also interesting to note a lot of people get uptight and uncomfortable when the topic of transgender comes up .Our society is so ignorant when it comes to the topic of sexuality and