Disability Law : A New Wave Of Benefits

Transgender people are discriminated against due to a variety of reasons. We will look at how being transgendered in prison affects their right to health care, how health care laws are changing for people who have transgender identity disorder (GID) and how the Eighth Amendment is

When discussing injustices, it is pivotal--for the sake of true progressive social change--to include all oppressed groups into the dialogue. Transgender People tend to be heavily misrepresented and demonized. Because of transphobia, there

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

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.

Everyone is given a gender the moment they are born. At birth they are either one of two genders: masculine or feminine. This gender everyone is assigned affects many of our day to day actions and our looks. However some people may evolve differently as they grow up and may not fit the rigid boundaries set for the sex they were assigned at birth. In recent years there has been a boom in a third considered gender: the transgender population. However with the boom comes the argument of to what extent should transgender people be protected by the government. Throughout the existence of transgender people, the rights of transgenders have been

Kidd and Witten define the term transgender vaguely, stating it “describe[s] people who transcend the conventional boundaries of gender, irrespective of physical status or sexual orientation” (Kidd & Witten, 2007, p. 36). This term is a reference for the ‘other gender’ that is not particularly male or female. Currently, within the American society, there is a growing awareness of individuals who are transgender. Much of this awareness comes from LGBT movements and

Using the framework set out by Netting, Kettner, McMurty, and Thomas’ Social Work Macro Practice this paper seeks to systematically analyze and inform the reader about the discriminatory North Carolina laws regarding gender-marker changes. This paper will first describe the population and related need for binary transgender people, either transitioning from male-to-female or female-to-male, second examine the relationship between the need and the population, and conclude with a brief description of general changes.

Legal discrimination is alive and well in the United States. All over the country, groups of people are being forced into situations that are converse to the very nature of their being, subject to extreme violence and hatred. The very narrow minded view of how the country sees sex and gender, as exhibited by the media, is causing immense harm to many American citizens, as the idea of a binary gender system and long-standing sexist views has contributed to the segregation of bathrooms under the thin veil of protection. Bathroom facilities should no longer be segregated by gender to prevent transgender-based discrimination, therefore decreasing the prominence of depression associated with transgender people because a binary view of gender is flawed.

Transgenders are being categorized as being mentally ill. Though transgender counseling exists it only focuses on pathology and diagnosis. Transgenders are also severely at risk of hate crimes. In the United States alone, there are 321 transgender hate crimes per year. Transgender hate crimes can be compared to Muslims post-9/11. There’s no law to protect them from these hate crimes and nothing is ever really done to show them that they have rights too. There’s no law protecting them with employment right’s either. Due to discrimination they are vulnerable and led to no job, homelessness, suicide and even no health care. ( Anneliese A. Singh, Danica G. Hays, and Laurel S. Watson 20)

Discrimination has been a problem for many years, from the slaving of African Americans dating back to 1619, to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) individuals being shot in the streets a few weeks ago. However one specific group of people, transgendered people have been targeted for decades, yet they haven’t had the mass media coverage as other discrimination issues have. Focusing on their physical abuse, and psychological impact and the substance abuse from the discrimination they face; I hope to highlight these issues and show that they need help fighting this discrimination as well, and this isn’t just an individual problem but the bigger society’s issue.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s a few cases made it into the legal record with published decisions that other courts could read. In most of these cases the lawyers called in doctors as expert witnesses. The judges involved fell roughly into two camps. Some turned to the doctors who opposed transsexual surgery and rejected the petitions in the name of preserving the status quo. Others cited the doctors who endorsed transsexual surgery and tried to provide “relief” to the individual petitioners. The two camps came up with different definitions of sex. Neither, though, paid any attention to the transsexual activists who rejected the medical model, and neither questioned the need for the legal categories of female and male. In fact they went

While discrimination is pervasive for the majority of transgender people, the intersection of anti-transgender bias and persistent, structural racism is especially severe. People of color in general fare worse than White transgender people, with African American transgender individuals faring far worse than all other transgender populations. Many transgender people are also the targets of hate crimes. They are also the victims of subtle discrimination—which includes everything from glances or glares of disapproval or discomfort to invasive questions about their body parts (Bassichi, Lee, & Spade, 2011). Discrimination laws and hate crimes laws encourage us to understand oppression as something that happens when individuals use bias to deny

Thus, this law restricted male-to-female transsexuals from receiving vaginoplasty, making it impossible for these individuals to legally change the sex documented on their papers. As a result, finding employment or access to health care became a constant struggle. This theme of oppressing marginalized people is what ultimately leads to institutionalize discrimination as bylaws are created to target those who do not fit into social norms. As a result Namaste states, “transgendered discourse is utopic, and one profoundly informed by privilege” as political programs only benefit a select few such as those who already have jobs, homes, and access to health care (22). Thus, Namaste implores that those involved in transsexual politics and theory, as well as feminists, to focus on “making broader links among the structures that regulate marginalized people”. It is for this reason that Namaste cannot condone the actions of those that reside within Transgendered Officers to Protect and Serve (TOPS) as it entails transsexuals the ability to arrest prostitutes, drive homeless people away from a bench, send someone to jail, or “ticket the street kids trying to make a few bucks at the traffic lights” (29). Thus, Namaste concludes by stating that in order for change to begin, it is crucial for transsexuals and feminists to intervene in the criminalization that occurs within the lives of those who are

A REPORT OF THE NATIONAL TRANSGENDER DISCRIMINATION SURVEY” which is a comprehensive survey taken by over 7,500 respondents a part of the LGBT community to discuss their experiences of discrimination that will further encourage the implementation of better protection towards gender variants. Authors concluded the:

In the last few years the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community have made major strides in a positive direction toward equal rights within the legal system, including the recent Supreme Court decision ruling that same-sex marriages will be recognized in all 50 states. Sixteen of those states and the District of Columbia have full anti-discrimination laws that include protecting gender identity and expression. This leaves roughly 70% of the country’s population living in states without comprehensive anti-discrimination laws (Cobos & Jones, 2009). The work has just begun, as the LGBT population continue to face discrimination regarding education, employment, housing, and healthcare.