Solutions
The system in place in the United States is a deeply flawed one. The gatekeeping, stigma, and accessibility issues each reinforce each other, compounding the overall problem to the point where it makes existing nearly impossible. Other countries across the globe have started to find solutions to these issues through legislation that recognizes an individual's’ right to self determine their gender identity, along with the affordability and the legal protection to fully pursue that identity. I believe the first steps that must be taken to bring the United States into the 21st century is to stop persecution of transgender people. Bathroom laws, like the one in Virginia that was struck down in 2017, place transgender people directly in danger and disallow them from existing in public spaces. It leaves them with absolutely no room to
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This system empowers people across the gender spectrum, allowing for variance of gender identities outside of the gender binary, such as those who identify as genderqueer, genderfluid, or gender non-conforming, to self-identify. Additionally it allows healthcare providers to actually provide care instead of keeping people from care.
Dismantling of the paternal gatekeeping system is necessary to help de-pathologize and destigmatize transgender identities, but official legislation that offers universal protections against discrimination for all gender and sexuality identities is also a critical step in this process, something the US has yet to do. Institutionalized discrimination leads the way for bias motivated violence according to the Anti-Defamation League’s pyramid of hate, which shows the compounding relationship of biases and violence (Anti-Defamation League, 2018). If we do nothing than we are complicit in the violence that
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
It’s not hard to say that America has come so far into society and our freedom. How can our country forget when slavery ended in 1865 and gave women more rights in 1920. However, over time America has ignored the basic rights of transgender people. Transgender people are not any different from African Americans, or women. Why should they be treated any different, they're humans just like everybody else. They deserve the same basic treatment as a human rather than being treated like they're not from this planet. There are transgender people today who are getting harassed and tormented for just going into the bathroom for what they identify as. They should be able to go into a bathroom for which gender they identify as. Rather than making special bathrooms for transgender people that make them stand out and feel like they’re labeling themselves for using.
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,
Not only did the authors believe that opponents are using these claims to support their arguments, they also believed that it placed stereotypes on men or an imagined male, to be threats and women to be weak and in need of protection. Schilt and Westbrook argued that opponents did not take into account that transgender individuals report facing an immense amount of discrimination and are in need of protection as well. They also argued that their opponent’s claims “generate fear and misunderstanding around transgender people along with the suggestion that transgender people are less deserving of protection than cisgender women and children (Bathroom Battlegrounds and Penis Panics, para. 6).” Although they mentioned that they were not suggesting that sexual assault is not a serious issue, they argued that public restrooms rarely have such assaults. In addition, they argued that based on empirical data, transgender people in the Unites States are much more likely to face violence rather than creating it. They also emphasized that their opponents were not able to site these claims of an actual case of bathroom sexual assault, rather that it was just from their deep-rooted cultural fears.
In the last several years the United States of America has shown progression towards equality for LGBT. With whole states being the frontrunners of support for LGBT rights it has become apparent that change is happening. In 2012 gay marriage was legalized in all fifty states, allowing many couples the ability to wed. Close friends of my mom were able to wed because of the law. Not only has there been steps taken for sexuallitys but, also for those who are transgender. In the last couple years the Transgender Community has seen discussion after discussion about the use of bathrooms. It has shown that there’s many who support trans bathroom rights and that the country is willing to move forward. Also on the chopping block of the transgender
This is in direct correlation with the increased probability of mental illnesses in the transgender population. Traditional views certainly do not help as many transgender citizens are told they are “sick” because of their difference with many religious and personal beliefs. A study from Boston published earlier this year in the Journal of Adolescent Health, reported that transsexual youth had two to three times increased risk of psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety disorder, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, self-harm without lethal intent, and both inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment. These statistics show the clear consequences of mental health transgenders are facing if transgender rights continues to be unregulated. It is essential that the federal government steps in to take action in order to make sure things do not continue on this downwards path.
The changing norms of the generation has brought upon commotion between various states because of the presidents judgement. The transgender bathroom policy allows transgender students to use the bathroom they identify as and not by the sex on their birth certificate (Fox News, 2016). The transgender bathroom policy has both successes and failure to ensure safety for transgender students resulting to its change being for not only trans-gender. Gender neutral bathrooms allows safety for those who are not only transgender, but also a part of the LGBTQ community, etc. but it causes a conflict with gender segregation. Adding additional bathrooms to suite other gender preferences costs more money and not everyone is going to accept what they walk into the bathroom and see. The gender neutral bathroom policy should be taken off of hold and be put into action because everything is constantly changing and those who do not identify as the sex they were assigned at birth are at risk for harm.
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.
Humans have established their own rights in society for many, many years now. However, because some humans differ from the norms that are built in society, they are shunned and denied their rights until they conform to society’s norms. There has been numerous groups of people who have been denied their rights in America. African Americans, immigrants, Native Americans, and gays have been isolated simply because that is the way that they were born into this world and others do not find them “normal”. There is another group that has also been mistreated though; people who identify themselves as transgendered. A good portion of society is unknowingly misinformed about these kinds of people.
.3 percent of Americans are Transgender, though there isn't exact we estimate there is about 700,000 Trans people in America. When it comes to representation and protection this community is largely ignored. A common excuse for their exclusion is that they are too much of a minority to
Police profiling and harassing the transgender population not only isolates transgender Americans, but also propels the violence and discrimination against them. The authority, officers and chief of the United States could do the nation an incredible service by opening their minds and modifying biases; sensitivity training would truly do wonders for America and western society as a whole. In order to have trust as a two way street between transgender individuals and police authority “law enforcement agencies should adopt policies that govern interactions with transgender and gender expansive individuals” (A National Crisis: Anti-Transgender Violence, 2015, p.4) this is the only way we can keep up our strides as a country for acceptance and the road to peace on
The governmental perpetuation of the myth that people who do not identify with their assigned gender at birth have a mental illness enforces public misunderstanding, fear, and hate. When government agents prohibit the gathering of information about trans individuals, they close themselves off from understanding the values and motives, of a large portion of the population. The government perpetuating the misconception that trans-gendered individuals are “mentally ill” encourages citizens to fear people who are not like them. Sustaining a culture of ignorance and
No one would have ever predicted that Donald Trump would win the 2016 Presidential Election. No one would have ever believed that a person as racist, sexist, homophobic, and transphobic as Donald Trump would ever be allowed to get as near as he did to the White House—but he did. Now, we all find ourselves justifiably concerned for not only our own well being, but also of the well being of other groups that have been targeted time and time again, not only by Donald Trump himself, but also by the entire Republican platform. While it is well known that some of the groups who have fallen victim of endless discrimination include racial and ethnic minorities via the constant threat of deportation and/or policies that allow for racial profiling, other groups include the LBGTQ community. However, according to the article, “President Trump is a disaster for transgender people” written by Samantha Allen, given the fact that both Trump and his Vice President, Mike Pence, appear to favor the Religious Freedom Act, repealing Obama Care, and allowing HIV preventative inaction, I argue, and with great reason, that those who will be severely targeted and affected by their political and religious stances will be the entire transgender and transsexual community—a fear that I once assumed was a thing of the past.
Nearly 80% of transgender people report that they were harassed while 35% said that they were physically assaulted at school. Transgender people are also frequent targets of hate speech, Hate crime, Bullying, physical and psychological violence, Between 2008 and 2016 there have been over 2,000 reported murders cases in 65 countries across the globe. In the U.S at least 25 transgender people were killed in 2017. 30% of transgender youth reported a history of at least one suicide attempt, and nearly 42% reported that they had attempted self - harm. According to the national center for transgender equality research, transgender people with supportive families are for less likely to
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.