Transgender and Cisgender Youth Differences
How does transgender youth experience adolescence differently than their cisgender youth counterparts? This question cannot be answered with a simple sentence, in order for me to conceptualize a possible answer I had to first define what transgender and cisgender are. According to Transgender Student Guidelines, transgender is a term that represents an individual who identifies differently from what his or her biological gender is. While cisgender is a term used to characterize individuals that identify as the gender he or she was assigned at birth. Some differences that transgender and cisgender youth experience during adolescence are: suicide rates, education, discrimination, bullying, and social
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According to a study by GLAAD, “…41% of transgender individuals attempt suicide, compared to 1.6 of the general population”. Potential causes are ignorance, lack of a friendly environment at school, and lack of non-discrimination laws and policies for transgender individuals. However, if schools and families would create a safe and discrimination free environment, that acknowledges transgender students and other children. The result would be a culture that teaches students and children to be mindful and respectful. If this happens, then there is potential that discrimination would decrease and social acceptance would increase.
To be clear, it was not a walk in the park to find a research topic. I first decided to research the history of LGBT because I wanted an easy A, but I soon realized that that topic was way too broad. Then, I decided to research the Stonewall Riots and how it has changed society in terms of today, but I found myself quickly uninterested. The last
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However, I did stumble upon a website titled, “National Equality Map| Transgender Law Center” created by Movement Advancement Project, and was has been updated within the last month (uniform resource locator, http://transgenderlawcenter.org/equalitymap). This website allowed me to view an interactive map of the United States, above the map there were four tabs labeled: “Overall Policy Tally”, “Sexual Orientation”, “Gender Identity”, and “State Data Table”. Each tab revealed percentages of states that have policies for sexual identity. It also revealed which states do and do not have laws or policies. The source is extremely important because it exposes how most states have negative policies towards transgender individuals, and it is up to date. I found this source to be needed because it really hits the nail on the head with evidence that transgender individuals are not protected, unlike their cisgender
In order to answer whether transgender children be allowed to use the restroom they identify with I would first like to identify what transgender means. According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary “The Medical Definition of TRANSGENDER.: of, relating to, or being a person (as a transsexual or a transvestite) who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the person 's sex at birth.” I believe the knowing what transgender means is important because there are misconceptions about someone being transgender. This definition is also important as it helps support the pros and cons of my argument. I was confused about transgender individuals before doing research for this paper. However, based on the article “From Jack to Jill:
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.
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...
Like any other ordinary teenager, I have the desire to be accepted by my peers. However, living in a society that excludes others who do not meet the expectations of norm can make fitting in a challenge; especially towards someone like me, a transgender teen. For the most part, not many people know this about me. Holding me back, with shame I must admit, is the intense fear of being rejected by others. Yet, on a daily basis I must confront this anxiety and risk placing myself in a position where my identity meets constant subjection to someone else’s judgement.
In today's world there are many different sexual identities a person can adhere to, instead of just being heterosexual or homosexual. What a sexual identity is, is how one refers to think of oneself in terms of whom one is romantically or sexually attracted to. A type of sexual identity is when a person both male or female feel like they are inside the wrong body and they wish to have a sex change. Individuals who identify themselves as transgender aren’t usually adults, in some cases it is children who go through the stages of feeling out of place with there bodies and wish to change it. Some people in today's society would find it very odd that children would wish to be in a different body, in order to understand why this is happening you would have to know what exactly is transgender and transsexual, what causes transgenderism, and the early signs of transgenderism. This phenomenon has been around for a very long time and due to the fact that there is a large misunderstanding there is much confusion when faced with it. In order for one to understand how children become transgender or transsexual one must know what transgender and transsexual mean, what causes transgenderism, and the early signs of it and be mentally prepared for what is to come. Most of the responsibility in understanding transgender children falls on the parents of transgender children.
Many LGBTQ homeless youth develop negative side effects from living on the street without support. LGBTQ youth that live on the street is faced with a little more challenges than homeless heterosexuals youth (GNOF). Family rejection puts LGBTQ homeless on the street without support, which causes them to practice survival crimes such as trading sex for food or money (BreakOut). Survival crimes such as trading sex can have many negatives problems that comes with it, such as an increase in diseases inside the community of being incarcerated by the police. Many LGBTQ homeless youth steal food to survive and then go to jail for a crime just so that they can survive (BreakOut). Without the support of their love ones, many LGBTQ youth turns to substance abuse with leads to jail time and puts them into the criminal justice system (Wes Ware).
In recent years 18 states have enacted laws to help protect transgender and non – binary people, but there are still some states unwilling to get with the program. Kentucky State Sen. C.B. Embry Jr. introduced a bill that seeks to ban transgender students from using school bathrooms that match their gender identity, it would also enable students to sue schools for $2,500 if they encounter a transgender peer using what they perceive to be the wrong restroom. (unsure how to site). In Florida there is a law going though the process that states
For most people, the idea of Transgenders is new and complicated. Because the idea is so fresh, many adults struggle with how to address this topic to the children because they lack knowledge
Many people are arguing over the transgender bathroom situation, even here in our very own school system, Grace Christian Academy. Some say one should use the restroom of his/her biological identity, while others say one should have the right to use the restroom they gender identify with. Now the issue is starting to arise in public and private school systems, since the law now states every school has to have at least one transgender bathroom available on school property. As a parent with a child in your school system, I would like to express my opinion on this matter with you. Even though this is a private Christian school, and I am a Christian myself, I do not see a problem with having a transgender bathroom on school property for multiple reasons. For example,
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.
In this paper I will examine different psychological theories on binary gender identity and diverse gender identity. My intention is not to argue which set of theories is more accurate but more to provide information and let the reader decide for themselves in the light of their own experiences what theory makes the most sense to them. The psychologically charged debate over gender identity and its presence in society has taken the form of intuitions because of social necessity. On one side, diverse gender identity argues that traditional binary gender norms are no longer relevant nor an accurate reflection of the society that we live in today. The other side argues the more traditional concrete male/female gender identifications are paramount
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...
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
Transgendered individuals face an incredible amount of hardships due to their identity. So what exactly does it mean to be transgendered? According, to Human Rights Campaign transgender is an umbrella term for individuals whose gender identity differs from what was assigned to them at birth it is about their gender identity. Transgender deals with gender identity; being born female or male at birth, but identifying with the opposite gender assigned at birth. The acts of violence against transgender individuals are extreme and hard breaking. People of trans continue to face discrimination and oppression on a daily basis. People of trans are often neglected by society and sometimes even by their own loved ones. Additionally, the suicide rate among the trans community is very high due to bullying and rejection they face.
Transgender Culture does not make me nervous but I do lack an understanding of what the transgender community consist of. I want to know more about whom the Transgender people are, rather than as a media headline about what bathrooms a trans-man or trans-women should be able to use. I believe that learning about more aspects of the culture that I am not aware of; I will become less ignorant of the culture. Questions that I have about the culture include: What are the different types of Transgender? Why don’t all transgender people transition into the gender that they identify as? What are the preferred pronouns to use towards a transgender person? And, what hardships is this culture going through at the moment? Through research and reflection, I hope to become more culturally aware about the Transgender