Despite the dramatic progress that the LGBTQ community has made within the past five decades, they still face a multitude of issues today. In recent years, LGBTQ individuals, especially the transgender community, have fallen victim to numerous forms of violence and discrimination in the United States. The LGBTQ community also still has to struggle with the stigma that surrounds their sexual orientations and identities. Little is being done to effectively resolve these issues; however, there are a number of policies and laws currently in place to combat discrimination and violence against LGBTQ individuals. On the other hand, many states have tried to limit LGBTQ rights by implementing laws that allow discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, particularly in public services and employment. Currently, one of the most controversial issues involves transgender people and their bathroom rights. Since …show more content…
Some people have even gone as far as to threaten and intimidate transgender individuals who refuse to use the bathroom that corresponds with their biological sex. Gavin Grimm, a 17-year-old transgender male was allowed to use the boys' restroom at his school, until some parents complained, and the school board approved a policy that required students to use the bathroom that matches their biological sex (Hersher). Grimm sued the school board, and his lawsuit argues that the bathroom policy is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment and violates Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972, which bans discrimination by sex in schools. In April 2016, the fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Gavin Grimm, which marked the first ruling by a US appeals court to find that transgender students are protected under federal laws that ban gender discrimination
We are socialized to assumed heterosexuality is normal because it is all around us. Most of us are born into a heterosexual, mom and dad relationship. As we grow up looking up to them it becomes normal to see heterosexuality. Throughout my upbringing, my parents did not talk about homosexuality much. All of my family members throughout at least the first two generations identify as straight, so it was not something I grew up being around. Therefore it was never talked about in a positive or negative way. In biology class and church we are taught that we are on this earth to reproduce and contribute to the renewal of civilization. To do this the ‘normal’ way you would get married and heterosexually reproduce. It is taught that the only natural way to have sex is inserting a penis into a vagina. Institutions reinforce this by continuing to teach children throughout their education that man and woman are the normal thing. This belief came from the fact that a female egg cannot turn into a fetus unless it is fertilized by a male sperm. The cycle of heterosexual socialization promotes heterosexism because it is promoted as the ‘right’ thing to do throughout all forms of media and teachings. When all you see as a positive thing growing up is heterosexual, married couples with biological kids you are conformed to think that is the only way to find happiness. Heteronormative socialization excludes many different types of people such as couples who cannot conceive their own
One current court case is dealing with a federal judge releasing an injunction to momentarily restrict transgender students from using school bathrooms as well as locker rooms of their choice (Eldeib). In blocking students from using something as simple as a restroom or locker room, a student’s identity can be misconstrued. Especially with a student who may already feel differently about their identity. A mother in Denton, Texas, hopes to change the legal problems revolving around the controversy of bathroom laws in Texas schools. Amber Briggle states her 8-year-old transgender son has felt he needs to wait to use the restroom until he would arrive home. As well as this, Briggle confirms her son, MG’s grades dropped drastically. His grades continued to worsen until he was given a restroom alteration, allowing him to feel comfortable. (Wright). Along with MG, many students do not feel safe in their schools because of having to hide their transgender identity. Students may not feel safe just because Texas is such a conservative state. Ken Paxton and other state leaders even exchanged in transphobic rhetoric at the 2016 Texas GOP convention. Because of the strong conservative viewpoints in Texas, young people as well as students in the area may not feel accepted as who they are, leading them to disguise their true self. School is already a tough time in a child or teens life, and being discriminated against because of how one identifies does not make a student’s lifestyle any easier. Because transgender students in Texas schools are entitled to free expression of gender identity, they are also permitted to dress how they please. As well as wearing the clothes a transgender students feels most comfortable with, it is permissible to address these students by their preferred name. Because transgender
Homosexuals have become way more open on television with no shame. Now of days on television it is normalcy to be a homosexual. Ever since the fight for gay rights started, that is when it become more normal and not looked down upon. Not only is there more gay characters on hit television shows, but there are plenty of actors on television shows that are homosexuals in real life. Not only is there more homosexuals, there is also beginning to be a few transgenders that have popped up as well. Some shows that publicly include gay and transgender characters are "Glee," Grey's Anatomy," and "Modern Family"("Gay on Tv: It's All in the Family,"2012). Not only the fiction shows have that, but shows like "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" as well. Their own dad came out to say he wanted to be a girl. He was a major athlete in the Olympics, and he came out. It has been shown that many people have been influenced to come out and be more open with their sexuality, because when they see people on television doing so; they will as well.
Every person in the United states is entitle to their rights based on the amendments. Transgender students are protected by Title IX and cannot be neglected in schools by anyone or they will stop receiving federal money. “The Justice and Education Departments issued guidance that, under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, schools receiving federal money may not discriminate based on a student’s transgender status and that the departments would treat a student’s gender identity as the student’s sex for purposes of enforcing Title IX.” (According to New York Times). This should be applied to every single school not only schools that get federal money because every transgender student should be protected by a law just as every other cisgender student. Every single citizen in the United states is protected by their civil rights which is “the rights of citizens to political and social freedom and
Gavin Grimm is a transgender who was born as a female, and want his right to go to the boys’ bathroom. In Richmond, a federal appeals court has said that he can sue the school board, because they are practically taking away his right to be what he wants to be (Balingit). “The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia filed a lawsuit against the Gloucester County School Board for adopting a discriminatory bathroom policy that segregates transgender students from their peers” (@ACLU).
More and more kids and teens are realizing that, they are not who they want to be. Meaning that, they want to, or have already changed their gender identity. This doesn’t seem like the problem, but these kids, teens, and even adults don't have the rights we have on a regular daily bases. According to Discovery Education, it says that, these kids and teens aren’t allowed to use the bathroom of the gender they choose to be. This is a big problem throughout the United States, especially in elementary, middle, and high schools. The government also took away the law stating that transgender people, are to use
Here in Canada, this issue has been brought forward in both communities and provincial level of concerns. To take a look closer to home, the city of Toronto had witnessed the complexity of this issue in the past years. A Toronto transgender teen who identifies as a male, was banned from using his high school boys restroom, and was forced to leave school grounds and search for a public bathroom at a gas station. Concerns were mentioned for the safety of Spencer, and also how he felt uncomfortable being forced to use the women’s restroom; however, several parents and students agreed with how the school was taking action to this problem. After a petition was enacted by fellow supportive students, Spencer was allowed to freely use the restrooms at his high school.
The changing norms of the generation has brought upon commotion between various states because of the presidents judgement. The transgender bathroom policy allows transgender students to use the bathroom they identify as and not by the sex on their birth certificate (Fox News, 2016). The transgender bathroom policy has both successes and failure to ensure safety for transgender students resulting to its change being for not only trans-gender. Gender neutral bathrooms allows safety for those who are not only transgender, but also a part of the LGBTQ community, etc. but it causes a conflict with gender segregation. Adding additional bathrooms to suite other gender preferences costs more money and not everyone is going to accept what they walk into the bathroom and see. The gender neutral bathroom policy should be taken off of hold and be put into action because everything is constantly changing and those who do not identify as the sex they were assigned at birth are at risk for harm.
We Although there are major accomplishments in the LGBT community today, there are still problems that are present in the LGBT community especially the Black LGBTQ+ community members are having a little more of a struggle to find acceptance in their community. Intersectionality is a concept often used in critical theories to describe the ways in which oppressive institutions (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia, classism, etc.) are interconnected and cannot be examined separately from one another. An example of this is that women are considered an oppressed community. A more oppressed woman would be a woman of color because she would have to deal with both racism and sexism.
When approaching public restrooms, most look at the gender on the door that associates with their own gender. However, some stare at those labels wondering which one they belong in. These types of people are often referred to as transgenders. Transgenders are people who identify themselves with the opposite gender of their biological sex. Therefore, for this category of people, entering a restroom is not so easy. They often wonder whether they should go into the bathroom of their biological sex or of their gender identity. The debate has spread throughout America today. Transgender bathrooms have been discussed in politics, education, and even criminal cases. Both sides of the debate offer valid evidence to support their claims. The only compensation
Throughout history, members of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and queer community (LGBTQ) have been persecuted because of their sexual orientation. There has been a tremendous struggle for power, within the LGBTQ community. Throughout the years, people have tried to suppress the rights of these individuals, because of their own moral beliefs. Some methods they pursue are more aggressive than others. Certain individuals will stop at nothing to keep this community down, and will even act with ruthless aggression to do so. There are a multitude of cases within the last decade to prove this true. When someone does decide to this, they are considered hate crimes.
However, President Donald Trump is moving to reverse Obama-era guidelines on transgender students' right to use the bathroom of their choice in public schools to no rights at all (Kennedy). Certain schools give transgenders the right to choose the bathroom that they're comfortable in, while in other schools, it is necessary to be on a sex-reassignment plan and to have your sex legally renamed in order to use the bathroom you wish. Yet, there are problems which occur in this, “Schools can only require an assertion of gender transition. Requiring a diagnosis or treatment before a student is considered transgender may be unfair to lower-income students without access to such options, advocacy groups say” (Blad). One thing that many don't consider is the setting of income in which these students have. Another issue is that President Trump’s opinions on transgender students has lost federal protections that allowed them to use school bathrooms which match their gender. “In several cases, schools have opted to allow transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identity, but complaints from parents or others in the community have prompted schools to reverse their policies” (Kennedy). Even though some parents may be worried of danger involving creeps and predators, it is important to take into consideration the safety
Religious conservative groups heavily involved in politics voice disapproval for passing nondiscrimination laws protecting. LGBT people. The argument often introduced in LGBT violates the religious accommodation requirement of Title VII (Kapln, 2006; Vu, 2004). There are some jurisdictions that provide protection against discrimination. President William Clinton issued Executive Order 13087, amending Executive Order 11478, that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in federal employment. It states, “It is policy of the government of the United States to provide equal opportunity in federal employment for all persons, to prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin handicap, age,
Looking back throughout history at the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender individuals, it isn’t hard to see that we have made the majority of our strides in the past 10 years. As a society we have decided the time is now to put an end to the lack of rights for people of different sexual orientations. Accepting LGBT individuals and providing them the same rights and protections as all other Americans makes us a more united, respectable Country. Everyone deserves equal treatment and opportunities regardless of what their sexual orientation may be.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, also known as LGBT population have experienced a great deal of oppression worldwide. These particular individuals undergo discrimination from society, whether for reasons of ignorance, fear or intolerance, this population faces challenges in multiple areas of social justice sexual. Although the LGBT culture has made some strides in the areas of state and federal legislation, there is still a wide range of criminalization that takes place within our culture. Understanding the LGBT community and the history of their oppression may be the first step in becoming culturally competent. For many years this culture was denied their basic constitutional rights that were afforded to their equal heterosexual peers. Basic rights such as, adoption and marriage were uncommon to this culture until the 20th century.