Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Students And Discrimination Among LGBT Youth

Education is an important factor in life in order to thrive, but LGBT students face harassment in school due to their identity. According to a Human Rights report conducted in 2001, two million American students in the LGBT

LGBT children suffer and go through more than what the world wants to see or deal with. LGBT children are bullied and abused by people all over the country because they like the same sex or they want to be a different sex. When LGBT give up a place to stay or food to eat or even their education they are left to fend for themselves. More than half of the homeless LGBT in

Most can have problems finding some where to stay. Because LGBT persons often have great difficulty finding shelters that accept and respect them. Transgender people are often forced to classify themselves as a gender with which they do not identify. These individuals are particularly at physical risk in shelters. This risk comes from a lack of acceptance. Ex. Transgender women (born with male genitalia but identify and live as women) forced to take shelter with heterosexual men are frequently subjected to verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. Transgender individuals are often turned away from shelters and in some cases signs have been posted barring their entrance. (American Journal of Public Health, 2002) In some cases, suicide rates of LGBT people have escaladed in the past few years of feeling neglected. Suicide attempts by LGB youth and questioning youth are 4 to 6 times more likely to result in injury, poisoning, or overdose that requires treatment from a doctor or nurse, compared to their straight peers. (CDC, 2011) The STD (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) is growing among LGBT groups also. It is another problem they are facing. STDs have been increasing among gay and bisexual men, with recent increases in syphilis being documented across the country. In 2012, men who have sex with men (MSM) accounted for 75% of primary and secondary syphilis cases in the United States. MSM often are diagnosed with other STDs, including Chlamydia and gonorrhea infections. (National Center for HIV/AIDS, 2014) And LGBT are also being discriminated against being hired for a job. Employers are not hiring LGBT people because they do not agree with their life choices and will not hire

Most LGBT youth become happy with who they are which gives them room to thrive during their adolescent years. Attending a school that has a safe and comfortable environment for every student is especially important. Positive environments can help all youth achieve good grades and maintain good mental and physical health. However, some youths are more likely than their straight peers to experience bad health and life outcomes. Experiences with violence, compared to other students, come easy to LGBT individuals that can cause increased risks for unfortunate circumstances.‘Violence’ includes behaviors such as teasing, harassment, and physical assault. It is important that students at risk have access to resources and support to deal with any questions or challenges they may have or face as they mature. Surveyed LGBT students reported 10% were threatened or injured, 34% were bullied, and 28% were bullied electronically.

On its web site this week, Target announced, "[W]e welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity. ...Everyone deserves to feel like they belong."

It is shocking of how there is such a lack of understanding about LGBT youth. There are some professionals who don’t understand the difference between lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (Majd, Marksamer & Reyes, 2009). Lesbian is a female with interest in

One of the most serious problems many LGBTQ students face is that they experience torment and alienation not only at school, but at home.

School is thought of as a safe, friendly environment for all to learn and share their ideas, creativity, and opinions. It should be, especially since Americans send their children to school, five days a week, seven hours a day. Unfortunately, not all children feel that their safety is ensured at their schools. Transgender youth feel as if they cannot be their true selves in an environment that’s supposed to be radiating of positivity and support. This is a result of bullying, denial of their gender identity, and being prohibited from using the restroom that matches their identity. Gender identity refers to a person’s inner sense of being male or female, regardless of the gender they were assigned at birth. Gender expression refers to the way a person expresses their gender in ways socially defined as masculine or feminine. Examples of these expressions are: clothing, behavior, hairstyle, voice, or mannerisms. Approximately seventy-five percent of the transgender student population feel unsafe in school. Some end up not even attending school, which results in their GPA plummeting. Because of the feeling in unacceptance and insecurity, their desire to further their education decreases. (Schools). In fact, LGBT students altogether are twice as likely to choose to not further their education than cisgender students (National Center). No one should find their education unimportant

The LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community has faces certain challenges within the heterosexual community, from homeless and ways in approaching accepting their sexuality without landing on the streets. The LGBT face a big discrimination and are if most certainly sometimes if not always dismissed by family, with such rejection many teens are kicked off to the curb and many times face mental and physical stains, which they often struggle with alone. (teens from

Last year, I remember the overwhelming feelings associated with going to college: a renewed sense of freedom, an eagerness to meet new and diverse people, and thirst for the openness of the academic landscape. Specifically, being a gay man who had attended a conservative Catholic high school with an unspoken agreement about remaining closeted, I relished that I could be myself both within the classroom and without. Soon after arriving on campus and moving into the dorms, I searched the online list of clubs for “LGBTQ Support” or any relevant group. Nothing. I decided that during those first weeks of school I would take it upon myself to create some type of community. After numerous emails and meeting various administrators, I was forcefully

Eighty six percent, that is the percent of LGBT youths who report being harassed in school because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity, this is a shocking statistic compared to the twenty seven percent of students who report being harassed in school. This isn’t the only place that members of the LGBT community face. LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and around four percent of the American population is self classified as LGBT. While this may seem like a small percent, this means that nearly 12,156,000 people in the United States are LGBT. The LGBT community faces a large margin of inequality, facing discrimination not only in the workplace, but also in schools and in the healthcare system and also face

Transgender students all across the United States are struggling as they try to fit in at their school. A “Transgender”, or “Trans” individual is someone “whose gender is different from the ones they were know as at birth. They may identify as male or female, or they feel that neither gender fits them” (“What Does Transgender Mean”). As transgender awareness is becoming more known to the public, their issues are becoming more and more obvious. Schools should put more effort into setting rules and adjusting the school environment so these students feel more accepted. With more and more transgender and gender-non conformist students “coming out”, it is becoming increasingly important that schools target their issues feeling accepted in their classrooms. Some believe, however, that this is not necessary and are against supporting transgender teenagers, but that is disrespecting a student’s beliefs and identity. Despite the feelings against transgender rights in a school place, transgender students should be recognized as their identified gender because of the excessive bullying they face, to help keep down transgender suicide rates, and to make bathrooms and locker rooms a more comfortable and safe environment.

Single sex Colleges in the United States are asking one difficult question, should transgender students be allowed to attend their schools despite identifying with another gender or being born the opposite sex? Same sex colleges are arguing among themselves over how same sex colleges, as a whole should treat these students. All female colleges were created in the support of giving education to females who were unwelcomed in higher education. To give the so called, “lesser sex” greater opportunities. Now that the schools that have previously rejected those women are Co-ed we are once again looking at those who are rejected by normal society because of their gender. Students who’s gender doesn’t fit the sex assigned to them at birth or don’t fit into Society’s typical gender binary are being treated with confusion and distrust, colleges like Barnard feel these students should not be allowed in same sex college. These students are reaching out to same sex colleges of their sex or gender because they are searching for acceptance they do not find in Co-ed school systems. These students find themselves often rejected from these schools however because they identify or were born differently from the accepted females. Same sex colleges should look review their admissions policy and foster a greater inclusion.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus has become the emblem to defend the idea that biological sex assignments govern what an individual should and must adhere to. How one should dress, speak, express themselves, etc. Dalton Conley explains that gender “[Is] a collectively defined guidebook that humans use to make distinctions among themselves, to separate one being from another, and to comprehend an otherwise fuzzy mass of individuals.” (279) However, when this “collectively defined guidebook” is mildly altered, many individuals are confused and respond negatively towards these changes. Transgenders are individuals who identify with a gender that does not correspond with their sex, and so embrace the attributes of the particular gender they identify with. However, gender is a social construction that has allowed many to make sense of the world, it has established social norms, and those who follow it have been granted a sense of superiority against the transgender community. Consequently, when someone breaks these gender-based norms they are in many cases treated with no respect and unequally. Discrimination against the transgender community exists in nearly every sector of society, from educational attainment, job attainment, and proper medical attention. Transgenders additionally face difficulties within their families, which are supposed to be the primary source of support. There also continue to be those who are highly opposed to the choices these individuals make,

Many LGBT have to face discrimination while trying to attend and can be such a huge obstacle to try to receive an education when you have to go to a hostile work environment every day. In the article “Like walking through a Hailstorm-discrimination against LGBT Youth in US Schools” states that “A lack of policies and practices that affirm and support LGBT youth-and failure to implement protections that do exist -means that LGBT students nationwide continue to face bullying, exclusion, and discrimination in school, putting them at physical and phycological risk and