The Transgender Community

Most don’t explicitly look into the complexity of a transgender person’s life and all the questions or problems one might face: Do I use the men’s or the women’s bathroom? Is it appropriate to use this locker room? Those are only two of the many questions a transgender person might run into on a daily basis because of how others would see the situation, how the people who may have a sneaking suspicion that the woman they saw go into the ladies’ bathroom isn’t actually female by their definition, or how it could also seem strange to see that same person go into the mens’ bathroom. These all lead to dysphoria in any person’s situation in public places due to the fact that many choose to taunt or mock the person; however, with the help of Title IX these questions could start to vanish from the thoughts of many transgender students which Blad exemplifies with a quote in her article:

Recently, the issue of allowing transgender people access to public facilities according to the gender they identify with has caused much debate throughout the United States. The bathroom bill seeks to control access to public facilities of transgender individuals, based on the gender they were assigned at birth. In 2015, bills were passed stating entering a bathroom not assigned to a person at birth was a crime. Surrounded by misconception, the bill does “not legalize harassment, stalking, violence, or sexual assault.” Since the bill arose, there have not been a rise in violence or other incidents in the states protecting the transgender rights (Transgender Equality). The bill simply states if one is living as a woman, to use the women’s restroom,

There is a quote from the Marina and the diamond’s song entitled ‘Sex Yeah’ that goes, “If women were religiously recognized sexually / We wouldn't have to feel the need to show our ass-ets to feel free”. Marina is referencing the societal value of a woman’s sexuality; if women were given recognition for their character over their level of eroticism, most wouldn’t feel the need to flaunt themselves in order to feel the sense of freedom they desire. The casual undermining of women leads to the compulsion for us women to go ‘fine, if that’s what I gotta do to feel respected, that’s what I’ll do’, ultimately disrespecting ourselves. If exhibiting the traits of the average human being wasn’t considered misdemeanor for a girl, a girl wouldn’t feel

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

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.

According to Lopez (2016), minority groups are more likely to report favorable on the issues of transgender people. Some people may be concern with the safety concept accompanying the fact that a biological man who is now a woman uses the female restrooms. The gender neutral public restrooms are a solution to these types of viewpoints because there will be more individualize restrooms with privacy.

Many parents show concern for their children that use public restrooms. Citizens are worried for their children that may be preyed upon by transgender men and women within a public restroom setting. Most males that are against transgenders using public restrooms, are concerned with their wives and daughters that they cannot protect once they have entered the female restroom. In Transgender Students and Bathrooms many issues are mentioned about the problems with having transgender citizens use the restroom of the gender they associate with. “Some communities that are against having transgender students use bathrooms where they feel uncomfortable or unaccepted of transgenderism tend to have tried to persuade schools to have transgender students use the restroom that correspond with their biological

The number of estimated people in who identify as a transgender in United States of America is 700,000, according to 2011 findings from the Williams Institute, the transgender population represents about 0.3% of American adults. Disheartening research from the 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey reveals that 41% of transgender participants (2,644 out of 6, 540) had attempted, at some point, take their own lives. One of the reason why they attempting to suicide is because of discrimination about their gender. People are debating about should transgender individual should have their own bathroom and many people are getting affected by the issue. The use of public restroom by transgender individual has long been a polarizing issue.

Lgbtq people are very likely to experience anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression is common among the lgbtq community, because of social stigmas, considering that people see them as different, despite having a support group, especially if they don’t have any support.

Reiheld argues that transgender persons have a hard time receiving equal care, or any care at all. I agree with Reiheld that transgender patients have difficulty in receiving the proper medical attention that they deserve. However, in this paper I will provide further solutions from Reiheld that decreases discrimination with transgender persons in America. Transgender persons in America should be treated equally in medical settings, and hospital workers should make sure that equality is served. What I believe being treated equally means is having the same rights as any other person. A transgender person, in my eyes, is a person whose self-identity does not conform to the sex their body was born with. Transgender persons in America have a difficult time receiving quality health care, or sometimes do not receive any health care. If hospital employees followed through with additional education and training to accommodate transgenders persons in America, this can ensure that all Americans regardless of sex, sexual orientation/identity, etc. are treated equally in the medical setting. Due to discrimination because of ignorance, and lack of awareness providing alternative

Coming out as a transgender, identifying with a gender expression that differs from the assigned sex, has proven to be quite difficult through the ages. While the acceptance of transgender people has grown significantly higher throughout the years, people’s stance on them are still quite divided, and the uphill battle for transgender rights has proven this. Just giving transgenders the right to simply go to the bathroom they identify with has shown to be controversial according to the TIME cover Battle of the Bathroom. The TIME magazine makes sure to note the problem defiantly “far more than public facilities” (Scherer par. 9). Transgender rights are a problem that Jamison Green, president for World Professional Association for Transgender Health, thoroughly addresses in a report written by Alan Greenblatt for CQ Researcher. Jamison Green’s specific purpose in that report is to justify why transgender people deserve basic human rights like everybody else, as shown in society, through his use of facts, qualifiers, figurative language, counterarguments, and appeals to logic and values.

Across America there are a select group of people that are faced with the challenge of choosing between the labels “Men” and “Women”. These particular labels are what separate who can use what restroom. Some want to use the men’s restroom, but fear there might be consequences that come along with it. Others want to use the women’s restroom, but are worried about possibly being assaulted. One might question why would there be consequences toward a man for using the men’s restroom, and a possible assault toward a woman for using the women’s restroom? This is where the term Transgender comes in. Transgender refers to those “who claim a gender or expression different from the one assigned at their birth”. Transgender individuals can be gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, and a number of other things. The distress of being bothered in the restroom leads many transgender individuals avoiding them altogether. If transgender individuals continue to use the restrooms that match their biological gender and not a form of a gender neutral restroom, some transgender individuals can face the dangers of harassment, consequences, and possible assault.

In this Paper Jody Herman talk about minority stress framework and the data from a survey conducted that explains the experiences that transgender and gender non- conforming have has in public restrooms. Over half of the people that were surveyed reported that they were denied access, verbally

As our world develops gradually, we are to the point in time to see new serious disagreements and formal discussions surface, one of these being the issue of whether transgender individuals should be allowed to use the bathroom of the gender they identify themselves as. While many are at an unpleasant emotion, caused by the belief of the risk of sexual violence in bathrooms, or fail to acknowledge transgender individuals as the gender they identify, there is something to be said about this issue, transgender individuals should be allowed to use the bathroom of their choice.

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