Reflection Paper On Being Transgender

To understand this problem better, one must first know what identifying as Transgender signifies. Being Transgender is when one does not identify with their biological sex, it is a feeling you can get as early as two or three years of age (“Gender and Gender Identity at a Glance”). Being

I have never experienced what the people in the LGBTQ community have gone through because I have never struggled with my identity, but I have struggled with my personality. Growing up with ADD (attention deficit disorder) and had a tough time making friends since I was “loud” and “annoying”. The struggle with filtering what I said and talking at an appropriate time, made it hard to make friends. As a freshman in college, I still struggle with the disorder when I get excited, but in calmer situations, I am able to tell myself to stay quiet. As I grew up, I realized how many other people struggled with the same thing I did, and I don’t feel like I’m the only one who’s struggling with themselves anymore.

I remember the first transsexual couple I met (both were trans) were the “odd” kids in school. They were often made fun of and told to go back to their genders. Though I may have never made fun of them, I also couldn’t understand them. They seemed to just be making their lives more difficult in my eyes. Once I got to college I remember sitting in on a seminar that a student put on about biological intersex and the impact it had on people. It was the first time I started to look at life as less black and white, less holy and sinner when it came to genders and started to accept that people are different and with people come the

I couldn't imagine how it would feel to be born a gender that didn’t correlate with who you wanted to be. Growing trans is more than wearing the opposite sex clothes, it's a big step in life that is irreversible.

My identity in comparison to transgender is a cis-woman. Cis- is a prefix for cisgender that means a person that identifies themselves with the term have their gender identity matched to the gender they were assigned to at birth (Trans Student Educational Resources.) The opposite of cisgender is transgender. People who are transgender identify as a different gender than they were given at birth. I identify as the gender that was given to me at birth, which is a woman. A transgender person might identify as a woman even though their gender at birth was a man. They might identify as a man even though their gender at birth was a woman. Overall, my identity is mostly different from transgender people except a transgender person and I may both identify as a woman.

Disclosure of transgender identity is one of the most challenging yet personally liberating pronouncements that an individual can share with others. Verbalizing their self-identity can be a struggle for transgender individuals due to fears of social disapproval, rejection, loss of loved ones, discrimination, ostracism, verbal harassment, and violence (Shira Maguen, 2007).

Who hasn't been told to "just be yourself and people will like you?" It seems like such a simple notion. But what if being yourself could lead to harassment, rejection, isolation, unemployment, homelessness, physical violence, or even death? Not so simple anymore, is it? Sadly, this situation is one that confronts transgendered people worldwide on a daily basis.

The typical narrative of gender non-conforming individuals I have been exposed to is that of a “man born in a woman’s body”, so while I found myself at a disconnect from my assigned label as a girl, my limited understanding of gender left me confused when I found I was no more personally connected to a male label. Recently however, I have learned that it is possible for someone to fall past the traditional narrative of transgender America; identifying as neither man nor woman, both man and woman, or somewhere between the two. Gaining this knowledge allowed me to realize with the discomfort I find in being called “ma’am”, unease in being referred to as a “daughter” or “sister”, and disassociation with conventionally female pronouns she/her, that I could identify my gender as agender or more broadly,

In a lot of places around the world more and more people are coming out as “Transgender.” The term transgender means that the person’s gender identity does not correspond with the gender they were assigned as having at birth. From personally having a transgender boyfriend I have since realized that these people experience a lot of discrimination in and from society. Many people simply just do not understand what the term transgender means and they see it as someone just “wants to be a man” or “wants to be a woman.” While there may be people who present it this way, it is more so that the individual just “feels” different, and “feels” as if they are “in the wrong body.” Some people experience this feeling at a young age as my boyfriend did in his elementary age. We live in a world who put these people down for being who they truly are, and no human being wants or needs that.

I’d like to start by saying that I personally don’t find your comments or questions about transgender and intersex in any way as being offensive. I can’t imagine anyone who identifies as either would be offended by someone legitimately trying to understand without judgment. I feel that the LGBT+ community has included so many sub-identities because of the need for acknowledgment and understanding of the diversity that exists. Although none of these identities are new, the terminology to many are very new and growing. Even many of us who have been “members” of the LGBT+ community for several decades are scratching our heads at new terms and definitions. Or maybe I haven’t been paying enough attention over the years. As a lesbian of over 40 years, I too, am confused by much of this so please don’t feel out of place if you do. With that being said, I hope I can shed some light on your question about transgender and intersex identities.

My main inspiration on making this sculpture is based on what’s happening in today's world. There are many boys and girls that want to be the real them without having to hide it or being judge at everyday of their lives. Just for being what they want to be in there life. Being transgender has a lot to deal with the United State history. Transgenders were a big issues back in 1620. Many transgenders were killed or punished by being slaves (Genny Beemyn).They did not had the freedom to be whatever they wanted to be. My view in the next 250 years is that every human being will be loved and cared no matter of who there are they will be accepted . As well have the freedom and right to be themselves. This is important to me because we all are different

When I found a picture with my friend from my closet, I really wanted talk about my story to someone. I want many people to know about “transgender”, and I also want to people who are suffering by bully because of transgender, so I decided to post my story to SNS.

Masculinity is the dominant idea of what men are supposed to be—a number of characteristic traits that men have to possess in order to be seen as men. This kind of pressure can be difficult to handle for many cisgender males, so one can only imagine how transgender men are affected by it. The pressure to obtain masculine traits is difficult for trans men because there are a lot of expectations from them in order for them to be accepted as men by the society. The pressurizing ideas of masculinity makes it difficult for transgender males to be accepted as a man and to “pass” one according to society’s expectations. To understand what masculinity means for transgender men and how they have to behave because of masculinity is important. Is it possible to redefine masculinity for trans men?

Throughout today’s society, there are multiple views and opinions on whether or not there are more than two genders or if gender is even just a social construct. Each person has their own individual preference on how they express their gender. Therefore, we can no longer assume what someone identifies as just by looking at them. Over the years I have learned more about gender expression and gender identity as I gained friends who were homosexual as well as transgender. I feel as if I was introduced to all of these ways of life at a young age, therefore I can, in some ways, teach those who are uneducated and do not know what to think. I have personally never really thought about the different gender identities I could label myself as but as of right now I identify as a cisgender female

When I think of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) group, I cannot really relate to them at all because I am a straight female. I also have different beliefs about the group. I do not choose to ridicule anyone just because they are different but I do stay true to what I believe in. Despite my beliefs, I was very open to their discussion and tried to relate and understand where they were coming from. During the session, I realized that many people in the LGBTQ community suffer ridicule every day, want to change how the LGBTQ community is looked upon, and struggle with identity.