Barriers To The Transgender Community

This is in direct correlation with the increased probability of mental illnesses in the transgender population. Traditional views certainly do not help as many transgender citizens are told they are “sick” because of their difference with many religious and personal beliefs. A study from Boston published earlier this year in the Journal of Adolescent Health, reported that transsexual youth had two to three times increased risk of psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety disorder, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, self-harm without lethal intent, and both inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment. These statistics show the clear consequences of mental health transgenders are facing if transgender rights continues to be unregulated. It is essential that the federal government steps in to take action in order to make sure things do not continue on this downwards path.

S.E. Hinton; An Intelligent Woman “How a piece ends is very important to me. It's the last chance to leave an impression with the reader, the last shot at 'nailing' it. I love to write ending lines; usually, I know them first and write toward them, but if I knew how they came to me, I wouldn't tell,” Said Susan Eloise Hinton. Many of Hinton's books are in a male point of view. Hinton is a strong, independent woman that has strong feelings for writing.

Of the study’s 25 participants, 20 were female-to-male. The authors determined the main problem for the participants was the struggle to find transgender-sensitive health care. The subjects described discrimination by healthcare systems, lack of knowledge and hostility by providers, and lack of health insurance to cover transgender-specific healthcare needs. Some of the FtM participants who had problems with pelvic pain, abnormal uterine bleeding, and a history of abnormal Pap tests kept their gender as female on their insurance so they could still get the care they needed. Using a national cross-sectional survey data set, Shires and Jaffee (2015) reported similar findings. Of the 1,711 FtM participants included in this study, 41.8 percent reported verbal harassment, physical assault, or denial of equal treatment in a doctor’s office or

Throughout history, it is evident that inequalities and disparities are part of health systems and society. Even after all the success of activism, such as the work from the human rights movement and campaign, inequalities and disparities are still evident today. Especially within minority groups, such as LGBTQ* (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) individuals – this is not to say that LGBTQ are the only categories when it comes to sexual orientation and gender identities, thus it is followed by a * – and racial groups. Furthermore, it is evident that within minority groups there are specific micro-level groups that experience unique and sometimes even greater amount of inequalities and disparities. For example, the micro-level group of transgender individuals from the LGBTQ* community is one of the many minority groups that experience both medical and social disparities and inequalities.This paper will discuss both the medical and social inequalities and disparities that Transgender Individuals face, including structural violence and intentional violence.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) falls within societal minority groups such as low income, people of color, and disables (AHRQ, 2011). Due to their gender identity, discrimination, violence, and even denial of human rights and healthcare services is a common challenge among LGBT population. LGBT still faces many health disparities primarily related to the historic bias of healthcare professionals anti-LGBT manners even though society acceptance has been favorable. According to Ard and Makadon (n.d), “until 1973, homosexuality was listed as a disorder…, and transgender still is.” This stigma prevents healthcare professionals to openly ask questions in a non-judgmental manner related to sexual identity. On the other hand, if the patient senses that the healthcare environment is discriminating they may be reluctant to disclose important information as their sexual orientation; thus, missing important opportunities of been educated about safety and health care risks.

Majority of transgender people will face some sort of discrimination in their lifetime whether it is through being rejected by their families, denied housing or finding employment. “Employment discrimination forces many to become involved in the street economy and in survival crime. Widespread bias and ignorance among law enforcement and other officials mean that transgender people are disproportionately subjected to arrest and, in turn, imprisonment.” (al, 2011)

Recently, the issue of allowing transgender people access to public facilities according to the gender they identify with has caused much debate throughout the United States. The bathroom bill seeks to control access to public facilities of transgender individuals, based on the gender they were assigned at birth. In 2015, bills were passed stating entering a bathroom not assigned to a person at birth was a crime. Surrounded by misconception, the bill does “not legalize harassment, stalking, violence, or sexual assault.” Since the bill arose, there have not been a rise in violence or other incidents in the states protecting the transgender rights (Transgender Equality). The bill simply states if one is living as a woman, to use the women’s restroom,

The transgender population often have complicated medical needs and encounter numerous health disparities including discrimination, lack of access to quality health care and social stigma. Some health disparities include various chronic diseases, cancers, as well as mental health issues (Vanderbilt University, 2017). Transgender individuals are at increased risk of HIV infection with their rates being reported “over four times the national average of HIV infection, with higher rates among transgender people of color (Grant, Mottet, Tanis, 2011).” In addition, they usually do not have health insurance (Makadon, 2017) and have a lower probability of preventative cancer screenings in transgender men (AMSA, 2017).

Regarding access to healthcare, transgender individuals often face the most obstructive barriers when attempting to receive care. Whether they are seeking access to hormones, therapy, general health services, reproductive healthcare, or specialty healthcare, transgender patients typically cannot get what they need without jumping through many hoops or hiding their identities. This occurs especially so in cases of intersecting identities -- where an individual is not just transgender, but is transgender and a person of color, disabled, gay, indigenous, undocumented, poor, etc. These intersecting identities interact in multifaceted ways to produce even more barriers for trans individuals seeking healthcare due to healthcare provider bias, insurance requirements, and doctors’ general unwillingness to help coupled with inaccessibility founded on racism, transphobia, homophobia, mental illness stigmatization, etc.

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

Coming out as a transgender, identifying with a gender expression that differs from the assigned sex, has proven to be quite difficult through the ages. While the acceptance of transgender people has grown significantly higher throughout the years, people’s stance on them are still quite divided, and the uphill battle for transgender rights has proven this. Just giving transgenders the right to simply go to the bathroom they identify with has shown to be controversial according to the TIME cover Battle of the Bathroom. The TIME magazine makes sure to note the problem defiantly “far more than public facilities” (Scherer par. 9). Transgender rights are a problem that Jamison Green, president for World Professional Association for Transgender Health, thoroughly addresses in a report written by Alan Greenblatt for CQ Researcher. Jamison Green’s specific purpose in that report is to justify why transgender people deserve basic human rights like everybody else, as shown in society, through his use of facts, qualifiers, figurative language, counterarguments, and appeals to logic and values.

LGBT patients facing discrimination in the health care are completely unethical, immoral and a violation of their civil right. The WHO, constitution enshrines “the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right of every human being”. According to a 2010 report by Lambda Legal, 70 percent of transgender respondents had experienced severe discrimination in the health care.

I don’t oppose or support the death penalty in society. The main reason I am torn between these to is because there are times when I feel that the death penalty is very necessary for the crime that has been committed. However there’s another side of me that struggles with the idea of killing another human being and in a way playing God. This is something I have thought about many times over the years during different public trial. Like in the case of Ted Bundy he was a serial killer who was executed in 1989 by the method of the electric chair. Based on his many statewide crimes of being a serial killer I feel like this was the best method for him but was this for society to decide. Next I’m going to talk about what the bible has to say about the death penalty which is part of the reason for why I am torn in deciding to support or oppose the death penalty.

Transgender people are discriminated on an almost daily basis. They are discriminated in the workplace, as shown in a study commisioned by the Equalities Review. In a group of transgender people who have jobs and are prone to workplace-enviroment effects and opinions, “many respondents experienced harassment from co-workers and employers.” Nearly 29% of the group experience verbal abuse and harassment in the workplace enviroment, and about 4% received physical abuse. About 7% experienced threats, and about 27% experienced some sort of different treatment due to their gender non-conforming ways.(Whittle 38-39). In another study, it was found that being mistreated in the school years would have a negative effect on future outcomes relating to employment. “Those who were physically attacked in school were considerably more likely to stay in a job (64%) compared to those who were not (42%) (Grant 50).” They are also discriminated in public as well, adding on to the distress that many transgender people suffer from regularly, making it seem as if all transgender people are crazy. Transgender people are just more likely to be diagnosed as someone with a mental disorder because its helpful to see that those who have been diagnosed are “hurting and something needs to be done to help (Kreitler 1).” In

The social issue that I chose which affects society today is transgender inequality. These issues are more recently gaining attention and becoming a prevalent topic of inequality within our country. A transgender person is someone whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth. As more and more transgender people share their stories in the media, the social problems that arise from these stories are discrimination within their everyday lives. They suffer from scrutiny and judgment from their peers, and thus many hide their gender identity from family and society. This social injustice can be as simple as a glance or staring, or offensive comments and questions to violent hate crimes. Transgender people are prone to violence and harassment, and often not feeling safe in any aspect of society. They are fired from jobs, denied medical insurance, and being murdered left and right solely for being transgender. “A staggering 41% of respondents reported attempting suicide compared to 1.6% of the general population, with rates rising for those who lost a job due to bias (55%), were harassed/bullied in school (51%), had low household income, or were the victim of physical assault (61%) or sexual assault (64%)” (National Center for Transgender Equality). The structure of this paper will consist of adding all the research that was gathered over the semester, news articles and peer