Cressida Heyy Summary

The most obvious example is the differentiation of “transsexual” and “transgender.” In the article, “transsexual” is used to refer to someone who has specifically had treatment to physically change their body to match their gender identity; “transgender” is someone whose gender identity does not match the gender they were assigned at birth, regardless of whether they have made physical gender-related changes to their body (155). Today, the term “transsexual” is almost obsolete. Interestingly, however, Halberstam briefly presents conflict between “transsexuals” and “transgenders” that is mirrored somewhat today in informal conflicts between “truscum” and “transtrenders/tucutes” (154-155). In today’s transgender communities, people called “truscum” (generally by other people) feel that people they call “transtrenders” or “tucutes” are not truly transgender; they feel these people are merely pretending to be transgender for the sake of attention. On the other hand, those called “transtrenders” or “tucutes” (generally by other people) feel attacked and policed by “truscum” and insist that they are transgender regardless of whether they meet the standards set by truscum. Halberstam cites some identity politics (154-155) that are reminiscent of this, which suggests that even as terms change, identity policing remains a consistent issue in transgender

In “Transgender People of Color at the Center: Conceptualizing a New Intersectional Model,” Kylan Mattias de Vries explores the “link (between) multifaceted social positions to institutional and structural inequalities” (21). More specifically, the author hypothesizes that the trans population experiences gender as intersectional, along with “race, class and sexuality” (4).

In the article “America’s Transition” Steinmetz reports that George traveled to Denmark to begin his transition to a woman named Christine Jorgensen (40). In the 1950s the transition from male-to-female was very rare. The subject of transition from an assigned sex at birth to the opposite was taboo. After Christine’s story was published in the New York Daily News and Time, American society began to question the definition of gender and why George was now Christine. Deceptively like today, as Time magazine mentions, “history is filled with people who did not fit society’s definition or gender (40).” Media talks about transgender, and it seems new, but it is not. Transgender is not something that just occurred today and had never been heard of before. This subject is just now coming out into the open more often than usual. In parallel to the “coming out” from transition, society is not far from the 1950’s because there is still stereotypes and discrimination against the transgender

Stories involving transgender people have been in newspapers, magazines, and tabloids for over fifty five years. These stories have captivated and intrigued American culture from the start, but not always in the most positive light. It began in 1955 when Christine Jorgensen, born George, publicly announced her gender confirming surgery and began life as a legally recognized woman. There was a media frenzy with headlines such as “Bronx GI Becomes a Woman!” and “Bronx ‘Boy’ Is Now A Girl”. But instead of “withdraw[ing] from public attention [Christine] turned the notoriety to her advantage with a series of lucrative tours on the lecture and nightclub circuit” (McQuiston 1989). “By cultivating the demeanor of a lady and refusing to call herself

Transgender issues cover a a multitude of spheres: discrimination (at school, in the workplace, when looking for housing), violence, suicide, and identification through legal documents to name a few. Transgender individuals deal with greater struggles than that of cisgender individuals, or those who identity as the gender which they were assigned at birth. Perhaps one of the greatest struggles transgender individuals have to deal with is acceptance, whether it be acceptance from others or acceptance of themselves. Cisgender individuals, or those who identify with the gender identity given at birth, do not have to worry that their gender identity will be accepted; society has already dictated it to be ‘normal’ and ‘acceptable’ (“Definitions of Terms”). Trans individuals are not afforded this luxury.

Spade articulates these institutions as gatekeepers who reinforce a narrative mold that SRS patients must internalize and use strategically to be seen as “authentic” transsexuals, erasing ambiguous gender identities by only granting access to those who appear to thoroughly reject all aspects (both physical and social) of the anatomical gender they were born to. Spade enthusiastically injects his experience as a way to guide and personalize his discourse, making a break from the tradition of portraying the trans experience as a routinely shared narrative rather than the wide array of individual experiences they

These studies were published in response to the growing visibility of individuals who cross dressed, gender disguised, or to use the twenty-first century umbrella term, transgender. As a result of these studies, professionals concluded that such individuals suffer from mental disorders. Reports like these were published into the twentieth century. While these studies were conducted and written by doctors who were not and did not identify as gender nonconformists. One of the first known transgender persons to publish during this time was the British doctor, Michael Dillon. His 1946 work, “Self: A Study in Ethics and Endocrinology,” defends transgender people identify as a gender that is different from the one assigned to them by doctors. Dillon has undergone female-to-male sex change surgery. He also argues against doctor’s claims that transgender people suffer from mental disorders. This book failed to reach a broad audience and as a consequence, the 1950s and 1960s also brought numerous studies about transgender individuals by doctors who continued the tradition of claiming transgender people are

Discussion of issues related to non-normative sexual and gender identities as related to mental health began in the 19th century (Drescher, 2010). Initially medical and psychiatric providers viewed issues related to gender identity as resulting from delusional thought processes (Drescher, 2010). As a result the concept of surgery as a solution to gender identity differences was viewed as unnecessary and ultimately an incorrect form of treatment (Drescher, 2010). In 1952 the first gender reassignment surgery was performed in Denmark on an American citizen (Drescher, 2010). The publicity in the American media that followed this surgery brought the concept of gender identity to the public eye. During the 1960s research about gender identity started to develop and it was the work of Money, Stoller, Benjamin, and Green that ultimately change professional and public concept of Gender Identity (Drescher, 2010). These four individuals were among the first to conduct clinical and academic research on gender identity and gender roles (Drescher, 2010). As a result of their research beliefs about non-normative gender identity shifted from a problem of the mind to a biological disorder that was fixed and should be treated with

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

This is also highlighted in Between the Sexes, when Debbie Hartman makes the hasty choice to change her son, Kyle into a girl. Both parents and intersexed individuals show a great deal of confusion within the standard, two-gender system of the modern world. The seven people from "Gender Identity and Coping...", were asked if they were happy with their gender reassignment surgery. Six replied that they were not (Schweizer, 196). All of these case studies may take from a small sample, but they also all point to similar results. Although, all six described their dissatisfaction with the surgery differently, implying a deeper level of consideration than Gorman and Cole display. One wanted to be left as they were. Another wished their parents chose the other sex. Generally, though, Between the Sexes's assertion that gender reassignment is psychologically harmful is well supported. In order for this to be truly acceptable, researchers would need a sampling of a group of intersexuals who were left unaltered. Unfortunately, no such study exists.

People with gender Identity crises do not feel their genitalia reflects who they are inside. They may feel a powerful drive to have their genitalia match their self-image opting for sex reassignment surgery. Gender expression is far more relaxed than it has been throughout our history in America, but it still poses a problems for some on a daily basis. Gender expression is one area where women have a social advantage over men. It is far more socially acceptable for a woman to dress masculine than for a man to dress feminine; although neither are without predigests.

With the establishment of these gender identity clinics, and the financial backing of philanthropist Reed Erickson, a transsexual man, the health care needs of transsexual people gained increased attention and support. Despite this new attention, the clinics used Benjamin’s model of “true” transsexuals. This differentiation between “true” transsexuals and other gender variants became a serious and highly important diagnostic decision as gender affirming surgeries were irreversible. This resulted in many transsexual individuals to be denied access to hormones and surgery. Specifically, transsexual men encountered difficulties, as transsexuality was primarily seen as a male-to-female only transition. In fact, during the late 1960s the United States leading UCLA Gender Identity Research Clinic debated whether trans men should be considered transsexuals. Many trans men themselves did not label themselves as transsexuals as they only knew about other transsexual women (Meyerowitz, 2002; Beemyn, 2014).

The ultimate goal of every transsexual surgery was to pass as an accepted member of the gender of choice. For many people, this concept was met with hostility especially by the feminist community. Feminist theoreticians like Janice Raymond believed these "she-males" to be a threat to women's power and identity(340). She argued that, " all transsexuals rape women's bodies by reducing the female form to an artifact, appropriating this body for themselves" (340). All transsexuals wanted to be accepted by their newfound community which they so desperately wanted to be apart of. They wanted to be free of the stereotypes associated with their prior selves and be welcomed into the male or female community as a card-carrying member. But in order to do so, objectivity must come into play. For transsexuals, the most important thing is to "pass". "Passing means to live successfully in the gender of choice, to be accepted as a 'natural' member of that gender" (352). To be objective is to let go of one's prior gender role and accept the individual for what gender they embody currently. A person would need to forego a transsexual's prior history as male or female and decide to focus and embrace who they are now.

Today’s widespread liberty has brought a life to every individual which was inconceivable in the ages of conservatism. Although the alteration in our life commonly accepted heading in a direction of the better, there are some fields in this better life where people tend to have abusive, violent and endless debates. The most controversial topic connected straight to the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) people. While growing amount of sex change surgeries are performed, its public judgement reached extremity due to the disagreement between those, who think it shouldn’t be regulated by the state and advertising these operation doesn’t violate the individual’s liberty and the others, who state its opposite.

In fact, the common example of a female undergoing gender reassignment surgery to become a man is a common example that simultaneously addresses and reinforces the cisgender man-woman gender binary as it excludes non-binary transgender individuals. Furthermore, gender or sex assignment surgery is used as a tool in favor of and against transnormativity. The argument for gender assignment surgery employs that transgenderism is a medical condition or disorder that needs to be treated. Thus, transnormativity becomes seen as a “regulatory normative ideology that structures interactions in every arena of social life” (Johnson). Transormativity is problematic, because of its inconsistencies. Transnormativity also simultaneously causes inconsistencies that affirm gender identities while “restricting access to gender-affirming medical care” (Johnson). However, the gender reassignment surgery is not always an option for the totality of transgender individuals, because it is usually an option for transgendered individuals in the gender binary, and not non-binary transgender persons. Foucault argued against modern Medicine, because he believed Medicine perpetuated normativity, so he would argue against transormativity. Foucault would argue against transormativity, because forcing people to transition via sex reassignment surgery was ultimately evil, because it perpetuated the genders stereotypes that discriminate against transgender people in the first place. Non-binary genders are not