Trans Health Conference Report

I want to start out by thanking everyone for being here today, it means a lot that we can all show solidarity here at South. We are here to mourn the lives of the people we have lost due to violence against the transgender community. Vigils like these have been held annually in November since 1999, when Gwendolyn Ann Smith held the first vigil to honor Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was murdered in 1998. What started as a small gathering in San Francisco has turned into in event recognized by various organizations all over the world. Today, we are holding the first ever Transgender Day of Remembrance at Glenbrook South. It is so important to remember those who have died because of hatred and prejudice and to stand united against intolerance.

Anne Tagonist’s zine, Unapologetic #3, goes over the trans-misogyny that is prevalent in the feminist and transgender rights movements. The author visited feminist and transgender scenes around the country that have been gaining momentum in recent years. When Anne visited each scene she witnessed rampant trans-misogyny, where trans-women were not accepted because of their inability to pass as female, and unproven theories that trans-women may be violent. These same meetings and organizers were much more accepting of the trans-men who came to the events. Female to male transgendered individuals were accepted because if the did not pass as a man they were still seen as a “dyke”. The example that Anne gives about an organizer banning a trans-woman,

Over the past few years, the issues faced by people who identify as transgender (gender dysphoric) have gained momentum in the media. From Caitlyn Jenner to which bathroom to use, transgender people have made a lot of progress in addressing

Perhaps the most significant contributing cause of the poor quality of healthcare afforded to transgender patients is the fact that the majority of healthcare providers do not know how to treat trans patients. According to a study done by the Royal College of Nursing, it was discovered that “78% [of surveyed nursing staff] had not had training on how to care for transgender people, and only 13% of those surveyed said they had felt prepared to meet the needs of trans patients they had cared for” (Duffy, 2016). Additionally, around four out of five staff had “no training

The transgender population often have complicated medical needs and encounter numerous health disparities including discrimination, lack of access to quality health care and social stigma. Some health disparities include various chronic diseases, cancers, as well as mental health issues (Vanderbilt University, 2017). Transgender individuals are at increased risk of HIV infection with their rates being reported “over four times the national average of HIV infection, with higher rates among transgender people of color (Grant, Mottet, Tanis, 2011).” In addition, they usually do not have health insurance (Makadon, 2017) and have a lower probability of preventative cancer screenings in transgender men (AMSA, 2017).

With the establishment of these gender identity clinics, and the financial backing of philanthropist Reed Erickson, a transsexual man, the health care needs of transsexual people gained increased attention and support. Despite this new attention, the clinics used Benjamin’s model of “true” transsexuals. This differentiation between “true” transsexuals and other gender variants became a serious and highly important diagnostic decision as gender affirming surgeries were irreversible. This resulted in many transsexual individuals to be denied access to hormones and surgery. Specifically, transsexual men encountered difficulties, as transsexuality was primarily seen as a male-to-female only transition. In fact, during the late 1960s the United States leading UCLA Gender Identity Research Clinic debated whether trans men should be considered transsexuals. Many trans men themselves did not label themselves as transsexuals as they only knew about other transsexual women (Meyerowitz, 2002; Beemyn, 2014).

A self-described “bitch on wheels”, Sylvia Rivera was a teenage runaway who became one of the world’s earliest and most passionate advocates for transgender rights. “In many ways,” one writer noted in a Village Voice obituary following her death in 2002, “Sylvia was the Rosa Parks of the modern transgender movement, a term that was not even coined until two decades after Stonewall.”

In her book “Gender Outlaw: On Men, Woman, and the Rest of us,” Kate Bornstein goes over a lot of the major issues regarding gender awareness and identity politics. She talks about the ideas of labeling ones self, understanding gender differences, how people view laws, behaviors, and the medical and scientific privilege that make transitioning challenging for a lot of people. Bornstein touches on many of the issues today that affect trans people. She includes poetry, pictures, quotes, essays, and a play to raise questions and discuss the idea of gender. This is a great book to introduce and discuss the issues that affect the lives of trans people as they navigate and explore the lines that define gender.

MBLGTACC is a three day conference that celebrates identities within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer, intersex, asexual, and aromantic (LGBTQIA+) community. This conference will also explore issues related to oppression related to this community and how to resist that oppression. This conference will enhance my experience as an intern at The Pride Center at SVSU. The Pride Center is an office on campus that aims to provide resources, advocacy, and education related to the LGBTQIA+ community, to the University community as well as the Great Lakes Bay Region.

The reading in this assignment made me understand and appreciate the lives of others. Transgender are just like you and me. They have the same goals and inspirations. However, their hardships are more drastic then normal. I got the chance to be educated on trans 101 with this assignment. I have taken so much away from these readings. It has helped me be more understand of what transgender go through. Having the opportunity to have the two articles side by side to make my notes and analyzing. Finding the connections between the two and disconnect from society to transgender communities.

"Transgender: By the Numbers." Times Union. Times Union, 5 Dec. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2017.

This article hugely impacted me because I realized what it’s like to be outside the box and it gave me a perspective on something, I wasn't against, but didn’t fully understand which fascinated me. My highschool subscribed deeply to the cisgender binary. “There is no such thing as ‘real’ gender-- there is only the gender we experience ourselves and the gender we experience other people to be. ”(Serano). I noticed much like the gender role I had subscribed to, that I am now trying to veer from, the binary creates an even bigger role that people shouldn’t have to subscribe to. Trans people are maligned or misunderstood, systematically pathologized, sensationalized and marginalized (11,Serano) much like I was, inside the box, and no one should have to feel like that. This selection gave me a whole new outlook on life and systematic oppression that the box

The author lists recent protests held by the trans community over a movie that places a cisgender, white, gay male at the center of the revolutionary Stonewall Riots, despite the widespread fact and acknowledgement that trans-women of color were the revolutionaries of the riots. The Stonewall Riots were the pivotal moment in the on-going movement towards equality for the LGBT communities. During the riots that took place in the 60’s, queer men and women worked alongside trans and gender nonconforming people for the purpose of making the LGBT voice heard across not only America, but world. The conjoined efforts of both the trans and gay communities are what have led us to the legalization of gay marriage this past year. Together, both communities have created so much progress. Wouldn’t dividing ourselves into separate communities effectively stop us from continuing this progress towards

In conducting this investigation, the author utilized “a larger ethno- graphic study…of self-identified trans people of color in the USA… (along with) 31 formal interviews, (and) hundreds of hours of informal interviews” (5). The interviewees were 12 trans women and 19 trans men, aging from 21-52, ethnically diverse and all with some “college education” (5). The topics

The film touches upon topics covered in the “Frequently Asked Questions about Transgender People” section of the National Center for Transgender Equality website (Transgender, 2009). The topics that are touched upon include what it means to be transgender, how someone knows they are transgender, the difference between sexual orientation and gender, gender transitioning, and medical