Standing My Ground For Equality In The Transgender Community

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

In the documentary, Noah, an 18 year old male to female transgender, many people in school ask question about her gender over and over again. Because of the harassment, many tend to drop out from school. “Harassment and bullying lead almost one-third of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning) students to drop out of high school” (T Salazar). For most of them dropping out from school means working at a lower wage. Or even worse they became homeless. Some people argue that we should create a separate school of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students. However critics say that it means of “segregation or shielding the youth from the real world.” Giving a class about LGBT people in schools might be the solution, since students then will be aware of it. Education about LGBT people teaches not only students, but also the whole generation. Therefore, schools should be the primary targets to teach the society about LGBT

People often have an inaccurate picture of reality. Most people consider themselves friendly, forgiving, and welcoming human beings. They believe they have a sound sense of morality, adhere to their foolproof policies of right and wrong, and promote righteousness. Unfortunately, through the eyes of transgender students, this is rarely the case. Although The Title IX law is supposed to defend them from discrimination, sexual harassment, and bullying (Source A), the success of this vague list of rights is nonexistent.

The United States is a divided society. We like to categorize ourselves according to political affiliation, race, and religion. We are members of the middle, low-income, or wealthy classes. We choose what seats to sit in during a football game according to the team we are rooting for. It is oddly comforting to know that you belong. All too often, however, transgender youth are denied that sense of ubelonging because they defy society’s categories of male and female. The gender binary divides society into two separate, unequivocal categories that marginalizes transgender youth and directly impacts their emotional health and well-being. Society’s collective response of demeaning, shaming, and violence further increases the divide.

The matter of equality has always been a hot topic in every avenue of news, in every new stand and now on every web browser. Some of the earliest stands for equality were rioting in the streets of London for women’s suffrage, and human, rights. Even the pilgrims had to stiff the upper lip and break away to the New World for religious freedom. No matter the time, equality for one, always means oppression for another, until the underdog stands and fights.

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)

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:

The transgender community has been particularly outspoken about the injustices they have faced as transgender individuals as of late. Due to this, the public’s attention is drawn to what can be done to help these individuals gain the same rights that cisgender people have. A particularly potent topic is that of transgender students in high schools. On account of the attention, schools and teachers are faced with whether they will help or hinder the lives of their transgender students. Unfortunately, it has been made clear that high school teachers and high schools in general are not doing enough to accommodate their transgender students.

The unemployment of transgender people is high mainly because of the fact that they become unemployed since they decide to come out as the gender they truely feel which is the opposite of the sex they’re born with. Nineteen percent of transgender people are denied health care because of their gender and are becoming homeless, which will lead to more abuse once they enter a homeless shelter. Despite the fact that “gender equality” is mentioned in the laws of the United States, it isn’t necessarily true since there is inequality present when a transgender person is present in situations where they shouldn’t be discriminated or treated unfairly to begin with. For things such as going to the bathroom and putting up with being part of the fifty-three percent of transgender people who are verbally attacked to becoming a prostitute or a drug dealer just to get by with some money to survive and pay to transition to fit your gender expression, are issues that could’ve been avoided if the laws improved by explicitly adding transgender people to the list of those being protected in the law. The Title VII of the Civil Rights Act may say that people shouldn’t be discriminated or mistreated based on gender, but it is only most effective if the person is cisgender and not transgender. The discrimination and lack of protection is causing fourty-one percent are attempting suicide because they feel unprotected and therefore depressed, especially since they have no support. In order to diminish the amount of discrimination transgender people in the United States face everyday of their lives in aspects that leave them vulnerable, The United States needs to have laws explicitly stating that the rights of transgender people are being protected by the

Transgender is a topic that many are uncomfortable to address. However, in a society that is evolving individuals need to be equipped with tools on how to except diversity and embrace unique characteristics of all people. Transgendered individuals feel shame and guilt for not fitting into the expectations of norms that society creates. Society needs to be educated and there needs to be awareness risen regarding transgender individuals. Without awareness, many fall victim to social problems such as mental health, poverty, and discrimination.

The transgendered women and men have always been here, however, they are experiencing oppression. But they are not purely identified as the products of oppression (Stryker & Whittle, 2006). It has been claimed by that authors that “it is passing that’s historically new.” The meaning of passing is hiding and invisibility. Transgendered people should have the freedom to live their life freely and show who

The LGBT community has made new laws each day to bring equality to all. “Throughout its, America has symbolized equality of opportunity for people of all races, origins, religions and creeds, serving as a beacon of hope for anyone seeking a better life. However, despite its founding principles of equality and acceptance, the United States also has a long history of denying basic rights to certain people” (LGBT Equality). When the US discriminates against a certain thing people retaliate and rise up and try to make new laws to help their cause. The LGBT community has been striving to bring equality in many ways. The LGBT community has made great strides in gaining equality of same-sex marriage, gay adoption, and transgender equality.

The social issue that I chose which affects society today is transgender inequality. These issues are more recently gaining attention and becoming a prevalent topic of inequality within our country. A transgender person is someone whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth. As more and more transgender people share their stories in the media, the social problems that arise from these stories are discrimination within their everyday lives. They suffer from scrutiny and judgment from their peers, and thus many hide their gender identity from family and society. This social injustice can be as simple as a glance or staring, or offensive comments and questions to violent hate crimes. Transgender people are prone to violence and harassment, and often not feeling safe in any aspect of society. They are fired from jobs, denied medical insurance, and being murdered left and right solely for being transgender. “A staggering 41% of respondents reported attempting suicide compared to 1.6% of the general population, with rates rising for those who lost a job due to bias (55%), were harassed/bullied in school (51%), had low household income, or were the victim of physical assault (61%) or sexual assault (64%)” (National Center for Transgender Equality). The structure of this paper will consist of adding all the research that was gathered over the semester, news articles and peer

The rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, and queers are often under attack from religious organizations as well as government policy. In the United States the constitution was meant to separate church and state, but in many instances the coexistence between the two greatly affects LGBTQ rights. The discrimination against the LGBTQ community causes many of their rights to be denied.