Theory Description And Key Terms

The term transgender is used to define individuals who do not identify with the sex that they were assigned at birth. For example, if a person who is born female decides later on in her life that she would like to identify as a man, that person would identify as a trans-man, and would most-likely use the pronouns “he” or “him” when describing himself.

Scholars have been critical of the medical establishment’s and state’s involvement in constructing and policing of transgender identity. These kinds of pressing issues have occupied the small existing literature. There is not much information and studying what is being done on transgender in traditional areas, family studies research, such as their dating behavior and formation of intimate relationships in adulthood. There is little research on the issues around being parents, their children’s experiences with having transgendered parents, as well as relationships in the family as a whole, and relationships in work and school.

One who claims any gender other than male or female would be considered taboo or highly unusual by our society. Biological sex is often thought to determine one’s gender identity. Though sex and gender align for the mass of our population, there is a minority group that does not feel that they belong to either male or female genders. To understand gender fluidity, one must recognize that sometimes a person’s gender and sex do not align. A person may not feel that their biological sex reflects who they are, they may feel uncomfortable with the expectations and roles placed on them due to their sex. These gender roles are created by social expectations of our western society. Gender roles are merely social constructs, and if one does not want to conform to societies conjectures placed on them due to their biological sex, they should have the freedom to non-conform.

Gender transition: The process in which individuals begin to live and identify with the sex

Kidd and Witten define the term transgender vaguely, stating it “describe[s] people who transcend the conventional boundaries of gender, irrespective of physical status or sexual orientation” (Kidd & Witten, 2007, p. 36). This term is a reference for the ‘other gender’ that is not particularly male or female. Currently, within the American society, there is a growing awareness of individuals who are transgender. Much of this awareness comes from LGBT movements and

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.

We tend to put everyone in one of two categories when in actuality there should be many more because someone's gender identity could differ from their sex, but the common belief is that gender identity pairs in accordance with one's sex.

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.

A review of McKibben, Sarah (January 2016) Charting a Course to Transgender Inclusion, Education Update, volume 58, number 1, pages 2-3,15 reviewed by John A. Kelley. Also found online: http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education-update/jan16/vol58/num01/Charting-a-Course-to-Transgender-Inclusion.aspx

A person who identifies as transgender is one who expresses a gender identity that differs from the one that corresponds with their assigned sex. Gender identity refers to a person’s internal sense of being male, female, or any other gender. Gender expression refers to the way someone communicates their gender identity, whether it’s through the clothing they wear, their hairstyle, or their voice and body characteristics. Although some may not be aware, sex and gender aren’t synonyms. Sex is assigned at birth and refers to a person’s biological status whereas gender is based on socially constructed roles, behaviors and attributes that given societies consider appropriate for men or women. People who fall under the transgender umbrella may identify

Ensuring support to transgender students within the school system is relevant for the US Government. Therefore, the Department of Education has compile examples of policies to support transgender student. In addition, to ensure that transgender students are called or identified by the appropriate name and pronouns; informed school officials determine which name and pronouns a transgender student prefers. Moreover, consistency with a student gender identity is essential; thus, some schools embraced policies to capacitate school faculty and students to adopt the newly name of a transgender student.

The issue of transgender students and their right to public restrooms has recently been brought into the political spotlight. Transgender being defined by the authors of the article Experiences of Transgender-Related Discrimination and Implications for Health: Results from the Virginia Transgender Health Initiative Study as, “…an umbrella term used to de- scribe people whose gender identity or expression does not conform to that typically associated with the sex they were born as or assigned to at birth” (Bradford, Reisner, Honnold, Xavier 1820). It is statistically clear that transgender students are at greater risk of harassment and physical harm than their cisgender peers. Not allowing these students to use the restroom of their gender

Culture and society shape and mould us into who we are in today’s world, and it is apparent that the fluidity of culture and society is held responsible for one’s gender to change over time. In the East, most transgenders in countries such as India and Thailand challenge cultural and social norms to claim alternative gender in this world. In the West, however, most transgenders define themselves as the opposite gender than the one others would consider as matching the one they were born. Looking at the example of a male identifying as a female, Lewins (1995:48) mentioned the tensions intertwined to the culture one was born into to the confusion of one who

An individual can either identify themselves with a subculture or social group which results in them having diverse gender roles.

Transgender students’ rights have significantly improved since the past three decades. According to the University of Massachusetts, American education in the 1970’s dismissed the rising number of transgender individuals as “a rapid [growth][…]of mental illness” (UMass 18). According to an analysis done by Susan Stryker, it was not until the late 1980’s when “The first organized transgender community [was formed]” and even then “transgender individuals and students were officially classified as psychopathic” (Stryker 4). Health and institutions of psychology abroad in America were intent on disavowing transgender individuals and students as mentally ill, and only through small increments was any change proposed.