For decades, the term ‘transsexual’ was restricted for individuals who had undergone medical procedures, including genital reassignment surgeries. However, nowadays, ‘transsexual’ refers to anyone who has a gender identity that is incongruent with the sex assigned at birth and therefore is currently, or is working toward, living as a member of the sex other than the one they were assigned at birth, regardless of what medical procedures they may have undergone or may desire in the
Through examining the ways intersex individuals are treated in a medical setting, one can see how science only allows binary bodies to be created. Crawley et al. (2007) discusses intersex individuals and the standard treatment of intersex children, being to alter their ‘abnormal’ genitalia to resemble one of the two genders. This has become the normal treatment as if this is necessary, but the only threat the child is in danger of is not fitting perfectly into the heteronormative standard of correct genitalia. Because surgical intervention proves we alter and change one’s sex, it becomes difficult to claim that sex and gender are solely biological, when clearly one’s gender and sex becomes largely altered the moment they are born into society. Anne Fausto Sterling, outlines her concept of the five sexes, explaining that intersex is a term used to describe any individual that doesn’t fit into the narrow categories of male and female. She explains that the same process that was in play in the Middle Ages is
The experience of growing up LGBTQ+ alone is one of difficulty in much of western society; however, this becomes even more so when a person is transgender. This stems from many origins. It is, of course, possibly the most argued that being transgender is a choice. People argue that if someone can change their sex, they should be able to change their race or age. Many people say this out of jest, but some say it in seriousness, not understanding what people who are transgender are truly experiencing. None of us ever will if we ourselves are not transgender. In the film Growing Up Trans, we see parents who vary in their levels of support for their children. For many parents, especially those who hold their religious faith close to
Now, that is a lot of power. We often entrust a doctor’s judgement wholeheartedly because they just want the “best” for us, and in the cases of interesexed individuals, the physician simply wants to rid them of all the adjustment horrors that comes with such configuration, but seldom do they question the inadequacies of our role system, nor have they considered the possibility of such individuals developing into a perfectly happy and capable human beings without reassignment. Perhaps this is due to their inability to associate normalcy with anything outside of the binary. Inevitably, problems began to emerge from these reassignments. Some reassigned individuals felt aligned with their prescribed gender, but most did not. Some of these cases are extremely unfortunate, because their genitals had already been mutilated at birth. Such outcomes had prompted physicians to take more precaution when dealing with intersex babies. Sterling’s noble effort in assimilating intersex individuals through further categorization will help them find a classification system where there is a place that they can fall under, but it does not change the views of the masses, nor does it make it much easier for them to appreciate themselves as who they are, although it is a
Problems arise as intersex individuals mature as they come to realize their unconventional bodies, at the same time, trying to establish their own person and identities. Medical management of intersex individuals are at the forefront of both problems and solutions as conditions can sometimes be kept in secrecy (Diamond and Beh, 2008). It is then the aim of this paper to define intersex and those impacted by these conditions. Intersex individuals are marginalized people who struggle for acceptance, want to establish their gender identity and strive for social equality.
As a nation, the United States often views itself as a champion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights. While we are far ahead of many countries, quite a few of which still criminalize same-sex relationships, we aren’t the queer utopia we like to see ourselves as. Even today, there are many states within the US that do not have laws explicitly prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace or during the hiring process. According to the Human Rights Campaign’s website, there are currently sixteen states that have no statewide employment laws protecting the rights of queer and/or trans individuals in the workplace. An even larger number of states have no laws protecting LGBTQ from housing discrimination. Since same-sex marriage was legalized in June 2015, many people feel as though the fight for equal rights is over. However, what people tend to forget about, are the dozens of macro and microaggressions queer people still face in many cities, towns, and states throughout the country. Not only are LGBT people in the United States still subject to discrimination in educational institutions and in hiring practices, but these discriminatory acts are highly regionalized.
One of the newest issues that schools are facing today is accommodating transgender students. In May 2016 the US Department of Education and Department of Justice’s has recently sent down recommendations that schools make the following modifications to school policy: Transgender students may use the bathroom and locker room associated with their gender identity. According to KOLR 10 news Nixa schools are not going to accommodate students for this recommendation.
The definition of uncomfortable, per Dictionary.com, is causing or feeling or awkwardness. The definition of unsafe, per Dictionary.com, is possible to cause harm or injury. The definitions of uncomfortable and unsafe are similar in some ways and are simply confused with each other, especially in cultivation. The major variance between the two words are physical pain is present in unsafe. Transgender is not new, the rights of transgender people is what is new to society, particularly in America. Recently the debt for gender natural bathrooms and if transgender people should be allowed to use the restroom of their preference.
There has been a lot of questioning and a huge debate concerning the rights of transgender people. Some subjects are concerned about which bathroom or changing room they can go to when needed. They are worried enough to be stating that a transgender person has the right to choose any bathroom, or locker room that he or she prefers. It began in 2016 when the Obama administration banned sex discrimination in schools. That is when the Education and Justice Departments enforced school districts and colleges to allow transgender students to use whichever bathroom or changing room they needed. At this point, many school districts were worried about federal funding being withheld if they didn’t follow through with the enforcement made by the Education and Justice department.
“Before I knew I was transsexual, I went through years of pain... It’s only now that I’m living as a woman that I finally feel comfortable with myself” (“Real Lives - Three Transsexuals”). This quote, from a male-to-female transsexual individual who was living as a woman while waiting to qualify for gender re-assignment surgery (GReS), shows the pain that those who struggle with gender identity disorders (GIDS) undergoi while “trapped” in the physical and social constraints of living as their original gender, as well as the relief that comes with living as a member of their “true” gender. Some may argue that use of surgery for purposes of treating gender identity disorders is morally unacceptable since trans sexuality does not belong
Transgender and transsexual rights campaigns champion the rights of individuals to identify as a gender opposite to, or (sometimes, but not always) more broadly “other than,” that which they were assigned at birth. Some movements for intersex and trans rights even reject assignment at birth altogether as inadequate for classifying their sex or their future gender identity. Both camps raise questions challenging the interconnectedness of gender and biological sex, but some of the ways in which trans and intersex individuals pursue civil rights are markedly different. Leslie Feinberg, author of Trans Liberation, defends the right to express and identify as whatever gender one wishes, regardless of sex assigned at birth, without fear of persecution. Intersex people also argue for acceptance of a “body-gender disconnect” (relative to hegemonic ideals) but with the important detail that their bodies never could have fit on a binary to begin with. But, as discussed in Giving Sex by Davis et al., when trans people seek the right to immediate and unencumbered medical intervention with their sex, in order for ethics and insurance to allow for it, they and their physicians must make the argument that such a body-gender disconnect is a medical emergency, while intersex people instead seek the right to not have their sex surgically altered and for medical professionals to not view their intersexuality as a medical – or social – emergency.
In the Contesting Intersex, Davis draws one of the most interesting interviews with the intersex people. That is inclusive of both their parents as well as the medical experts around them. The discussion explores the off-questioned dilemma that exists on intersex in medical as well as activist communities. Additionally, it expounds on the evolution of thoughts about intersex visibility together with transparency. The researcher found a lot about the act. For instance, it is evident that framing the action is harmful and can affect a person’s life. In fact, there is a persistence controversy over the same in
One out-group of mine is the community of people who are transgender. I do not identify with this community. In the United States, this group has expanded over recent years. Transgender people go through a lot of discrimination in the United States. There are many negative stereotypes and prejudices that are associated with this group. There are many people who are supportive of this community, but there are also many people who are not supportive.
Transgender, denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex. Many people don’t feel comfortable as their birth sex, and they switch so it is better for them even though a lot of people find it wrong. Transgender people should be treated the same way as non-transgender people.
Many people have spoken about having a tough time accepting a person since the way they sexually identify themselves is different. Being identified as transgender has become a highly controversial topic around the world and part of the population does not quite understand why the people that identify themselves as transgender choose to do so. Some people do not believe in what it means to be transgender and let their opinions on the topic change the real meaning of the term.
It's easy for people to hate what they don't understand. Imagine if you were learning how to play the guitar, and no matter how many times you practice and study the right chords, you just can't seem to grasp the concept, and there is nothing wrong with that. Plenty of people happen to have this mindset when it comes to transgender people. There is this constant debate concerning transgender men and women and their rights. In some cases, they are expected to abide by certain requirements in order to full change their gender and aren't granted the right to use the bathroom based on their gender identity.