Have you ever been fearful to use a public restroom because you weren’t sure if you may
have to put up with some type verbal abuse, physical intimidation, or even arrest? The majority of people
in today’s society, would probably respond with a “No”, and may even think that the question posed was
rather ridiculous, in an age where civil and equal rights are part of our laws. However, for transgender
people, the stares, fear, and anxiety of simply using a public facility is very real. In a study done by the
Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 53% of transgendered respondents reported being verbally harassed in
public accommodations (Clark). For many transgender people, walking out of their front door each day,
can prove to be a challenge because they do not generally blend in, but are constantly stared at, whispered
about, or laughed at because of their gender expression. Many people are unaware of the types of privilege
that they hold over transgender people. Cisgender, by definition, is when a person identifies as the gender
they were assigned at birth. Cisgender Privilege refers to privilege that is unearned and granted to a
majority group that is considered the default. Transgender people lack Cisgender Privileges and the lack
of these privileges most likely have impacted their lives with psychological and physical harm, or other
negative consequences, such as the loss of homes, jobs, and freedoms (Clark).
In Lucian Clark’s, March 1, 2014, “Cis Privilege” Post on Gender Terror, she states that
transgender people face extreme degrees of discrimination and oppression. She reports that transgender
people not only report verbal harassment, but also physical harassment at all places ...
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...he notion of herself as “female” or “feminine”. She notes that the use of
conventional labels to define herself has been comforting, but it also oversimplifies who she is and can be.
She states that she looks forward to learning more about alternate ways of reconstructing identity in a way
that encourages the growth and individuality in people. I think this post provides a meaningful dialogue
on how trans phobia amongst the feminists population, can challenge the very beliefs and principles in
which feminists embrace. Transgendered women seeking acceptance in the feminist community should find it there. I think Dusty’s solution would be ideal, but that change will need to occur in an
incremental way. Education on what the issues are would be key in the success of dismantling patriarchy,
and the acceptance of all to re-design their own gender identity.
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
What I mean by this is that their privilege is dependent on where they are located and are dominant in that area. The example in the essay “The Unexamined” that Ross gives when he was going to Rome illustrates this very clearly. As he says that the white people have the privilege of being unexamined, it depends on how good they fit in with others in the same area. When he was in his city everyone around him had similar features so he would blend in easy. In this case nobody would examine him, or point a finger on him, hence the being in a privileged group opinion he had about himself. But all this would change as soon as he moved to another place, where people have different features then his. He would stand out from the rest, losing his group’s privileges as unexamined. So in order for Ross to maintain his group’s privilege he has to maintain his geographic location. Another example that shows that privileged groups maintain their privilege by staying in the same location is of that of people who are part of a gang. Being in a gang you have the privilege of having power over other people who are not part of your gang. Everyone is afraid of you and nobody would come against you. I’ve seen this in a lot of different movies that I like to watch during my free time. Members of different gangs taunt everyone that come in their territory. They are the ones that make the rules in that area. They have the privilege to rule other people’s lives. But if they move to a different area that’s not part of their gang they lose their privilege. They are not in control anymore. Nobody cares who they are no one is afraid of them. It’s like they don’t even exist anymore. These two examples show that groups can maintain their privilege by staying in the same geographic area, otherwise they would lose it and be no more than a regular group with no power or even a slight importance
“Privilege is not the product of luck, happenstance or natural occurrence. If it is not these things, then what is it” (Sensory & DiAngelo, 2012, p. 78)?
“The federal government and almost every state recognize transgender people’s right to change their name and to have identification documents with the gender marker that matches their gender identity.” (Jami Kathleen Taylor, 2007) There are a lot of misconceptions on what the meaning of transgender is, some think that they only become the person whether it is male to female, or female to male after surgery. What people fail to realize is that every transgender person transitions in their own way.
Grant, Jaime M., Lisa A. Mottet, Justin Tanis, Jack Harrison, Jody L. Herman, and Mara Keisling. Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey.Washington: National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 2011. 158-59.
An example in privilege would be straight privilege. I never thought about that privilege until this class. I then realized this is a norm and accepted in society. Homosexuality is looked down upon because of many reasons from religion to society norm. Someone who is straight does not have the problem to come out or worry about losing close relationships because of their orientation.
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.
The word “Privilege” is defined as being an immunity granted to a person or group of people that is meant to give one an advantage over others or benefit them in a useful way. Privileges are supposed to help people, but some do not want to accept the privilege and they should not be forced to partake in the advantage. Some privileges could be dangerous if a person partook in it and they could end up harming others. For example, there is a “grandfather clause” that allows certain people to drive a boat without taking safety classes or tests other people are forced to take. This could put someone who does not know how to drive a boat safely to drive one legally. Some topics are controversial when it comes to a privilege, like whether owning a
When an individual identifies themselves as transgender, it means that they feel that their biological gender does not match with their psychological gender. To put that into a simple man’s term, the individual feels they “were born in the wrong body”. For example, a man feels that he was meant to be born a woman and vise-versa. It does sound rather unusual, but why should that matter? An individual should be able to make his or her own decisions about how they live their life. Unfortunately though, not everyone feels the same way about this. That is how the controversy is created. This is why transgender rights should be strengthened in America not only because it is morally correct, but also because it would ease the lives of the people within this group, reduce the discrimination and harassment rates of transgender individuals, and help establish awareness.
Privileges are things that a person receives that gives them an advantage over most people (Merriam-Webster). These are benefits that only certain people receive for being in a certain group or discourse. Peggy McIntosh, director of the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, wrote “White Privilege and Male Privilege” and states “I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privileges, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege” (605). She argues that whites and males receive certain privileges, yet they do not even notice them. This shows that different races and women are still put at a disadvantage, but the people who receive the benefits are blind to the problem. Many people will argue that she is correct while some others will explain why this not is the case.
Early April 2016, North Carolina passed a law restricting governments from passing laws that are discriminatory. This law is intended to protect Transgender people from discrimination. Discrimination against Transgenders is against the law, and it has stirred up arguments throughout the nation. With more and more people standing up against discrimination regarding Transgenders, the debate about Transgenders is now nationwide. Unfortunately, Transgenders still continue to face public discrimination due to misinformation and misleading statements from the media.
For instance; referred to the correct pronoun and are not misgendered, are not asked about which genital body parts you have, if you have undergone any medical surgeries or enhancements and not being questioned about your ‘real’ gender. In addition to these privileges, cisgender privilege allows those individuals to have safe and non-violent access to public places, such as bathroom, but also access to sex-segregated events and facilities that correspondence to your gender identity without any question, resentment, refusal, or risk of violence. Cisgender privilege induces criminalization of the non-heterosexual community, posing a enormous risk to many
Transgender people deserve to have all the rights that a non-transgender person has. As a person who assigns herself to her assigned gender, I can go to the doctor at anytime with any problem and can get treated very easily. 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 Rights and Gender Neutral Bathrooms Cassidy Howell No one wants to feel like they do not belong or like they are not cared for. Transgender people are just like everyone else and deserve to be treated equally as cisgendered people. According to Sam Killerman, being transgendered means living "as a member of a gender other than that expected based on sex assigned at birth. " This definition is extremely important because a transgender person is still a person.
Recently, there has been an uproar of debates on the topic of gender neutral bathrooms. Most of the debates have had to deal with the LGBTQ+ community trying to use the bathroom they identify with. However, these debates have mainly focused on transgenders, “transgender is a term used to describe people whose gender identity differs from the sex the doctor marked on their birth certificate” (GLADD). There has been several bills that “have been filed in three states to prevent transgender people from using bathrooms consistent with their gender identity” (Tannehill). Kentucky has tried to pass bills that target transgender students, but the bill in Texas and Florida would apply to everywhere (Tannehill). There are many different sides to this