Transgenders

The documentary Dr. Money and the Boy with No Penis depicts the tragic experience of a young boy and the psychologist who attempts to “treat” him after an unfortunate accident. In a time of little knowledge of sexual variation Dr. John Money proposed the theory that a boy could be raised as a girl, but after years of failed attempts this theory would be shattered. This story began when twins Bruce and Bryan went in to the hospital to have a routine circumcision operation at 7 months of age. On the 27th of April 1966 Bruce was the first of the two twins to be operated on, but the procedure would not go as planned. The boy’s parents were soon informed that their son’s penis had been fully burned off in a nontraditional attempt to burn the foreskin away from the penis. In a position of great confusion the Reimers became hopeful in light of such tragedy as they later became aware of the work of Dr. John Money, a man who was becoming a pioneer in the field of sex change surgery. In meeting with this man the Reimers were informed that their baby boy could live a normal life as a girl.

Transgender activist can have several roles according to one’s need that can empower individuals to become free. Liam from Luna, identified as a woman, but was force to suppressed his true identity around his family. Liam was living a double life around his family, during the day he was trying to fit his father’s strict gender ideal of masculinity by trying out sports per his father request and worked repairing computers. In the night he transformed into his true identity as Luna. He achieved temporary happiness and the illusion of being free at night. Although his sister, Regan, supported him emotionally, she rejected the idea of him being transgender. However, everything changed when he encountered Teri Lynn a transgender woman, who became

In the documentary Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She, the prejudices towards transgender and intersex individuals, as well as the fear they experience because of these prejudices, are underlined. A transgender individual is one that identifies with a gender that is not associated with their biological sex. An intersexual individual, however, is one that is born with indefinite sexual anatomical characteristics, making it difficult to identify as a male or female (Croteau & Hoynes, 2013). In addition, this documentary emphasizes the impact of cultural expectations on sexual orientation and gender identification.

Despite on how the country has developed over the years with technological advances and cultural acceptance, lack of acceptance in gender identity is a problem many Americans face. As defined by Oxford Dictionary, Gender is “The state of being male or female” (2016). Although gender is usually separated into being either a man or a woman, it is important to state that gender is socially constructed and can differ between different societies. Gender is used as a mechanism to differentiate a person’s masculinity or femininity using their biological features (Babatunde & Durowaiye, 2015). Sadly, those who do not conform to their designated gender are not typically accepted into society and are out-casted by many, including the individual’s

Who hasn't been told to "just be yourself and people will like you?" It seems like such a simple notion. But what if being yourself could lead to harassment, rejection, isolation, unemployment, homelessness, physical violence, or even death? Not so simple anymore, is it? Sadly, this situation is one that confronts transgendered people worldwide on a daily basis.

In today’s society, a person is able to identify themselves as a boy, a girl or a transgender. Transgender is a delicate subject to some people as it may be accepted by some and abnormal for others. Lisa Fields, a journalist, informed us that nearly 700,000 people are living publicly as transgender in the U.S and many people have many assumptions about what it means to be transgender. The people who identify themselves as transgender say it what is means inside to them is what matters. Additionally, different ways of marriage are introduced into today’s world more than just a man and a wife married together. Gay, lesbian and traditional relationships are all around today having the same issues as the transgender subject. The issue that

Transgender is a term for people whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth. Gender identity refers to a person’s internal sense of being male, female or something else; gender expression refers to the way a person communicates gender identity to others through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, and voice or body characteristics. “Trans” is sometimes used as shorthand

Currently the dispute has given rise to two dichotomous (and therefore co-constitutive) factions within the transgender community: the “true transsexuals” (also known by the sometimes derogative “truscums” or “transmedicalists”) and the queer-theory/social-approach minded “tucutes”. The former ideology understands transgenderism primarily through the transsexual standpoint as pivoting on a profound biological/psychological disorientation that can only be remedied through medical intervention; conversely, the latter claims that given that gender is contingent on exterior social indexes, changeable external influences such as culture, and internal understandings relevant to the individual alone, it can only be described through a framework of liminal

Over the course of this paper, we will take a comprehensive look at information regarding the Transgender community issue in reference to four key sociology concepts. First, we will review information highlighting how transgender people come to the forefront of the public eye as well as the bathroom use uproar sweeping the nation. Next, we will review facts showcasing how transgender people go against the social norm of associating gender with a person’s given birth sex. Thirdly, we will review information showcasing the cultural inconsistencies throughout the nation when it comes to the acceptance of transgender people. Fourthly, material will showcase the actions transgender people must face in several states throughout the nation when they partake in social deviance through body alterations. Next, data highlighting how groups on each side of the issues are struggling to gain social control over the public opinion of the transgender community. Now, the transgender issue in America incubuses a plethora of sociological concepts; however, the four key concepts listed above will allow readers to understand the major issues society has with acceptance of this community.

In the book, The Transgender Phenomenon, a study was conducted of ‘gender blenders’, by Ekins and King in 2006. This combined the ethnomethodological understanding of gender and also the norm of (binary) sex. They demonstrated how medicine has been fundamental for how the sex of individuals is defined.

Sex and gender are both very complex issues. Just as any other issue, transgenderism has many different theories about the cause and why people feel detached from their biological sex. There are possible culture, biological, medical and or psychological theories. “There are a number of theories about why transgender people exist although there is not yet scientific consensus” (National Center for Transgender Equality [NCTE], 2009). Culture plays a really big role in what is acceptable in society and what individuals believe what is normal and what is a true illness. The NCTE (2009) states that cultures have created specific ways for one to live in a role that is different from that

Sometimes it is never really shown until the person dies and they found out he has a female body. Sometimes the transsexuals are bisexual. They can be attracted to women and men or both genders. In some situations, they are confused deciding what they really are. Their mind can be saying they are a women and the body tells them they are a male. The gender reassignment process helps them to accept their new gender role. They have to go through counseling and evaluation to help them. Also some go through surgery’s while some option out of the surgery part. They have to live in a community to see how they fit in with the new gender role. Scientists have yet to discover why someone becomes transsexual. There are many theories to this it can be developed in childhood or maybe at

In Schrock et al. study, it showed that transgender used their body as a “resource for constructing the gender category of woman” and “enable/ limit how they can be culturally perceived.” Overall, the study’s analysis suggests that there is a symbolized method to gender, which understands the body as socially constructed, subjectively experienced, and physically material (Schrock et al).

With gender (woman/man), one disregards the possibility of transgendered individuals. A transgendered individual is one whose gender identity is different from their assigned sex. There are two types of transgender: transmen and transwomen. Transwomen is a term for a female-bodied person who identifies with femininity or womanhood and may or may not have sex reassignment surgery (SRS). Transmen, on the other hand, is a term for a female-bodied person who identifies with masculinity or manhood and may or may not have SRS (keys, 1/13/11). Another disregarded gender identity is transsexuals and transvestites. All these given examples are gender identities that people miss when sticking to just the socially constructed cultural scripts of society.

The search for sex and gender differences has had a long history in mainstream psychology. Sex refers to a person’s biological background which is typically categorised as male, female or intersex based on sex chromosomes, hormones and anatomy. In contrast, gender is termed as a psychological state which involves attitudes, feelings and behaviours associated to a person’s biological sex (APA, 2011). However, it must be noted that individuals can have a gender identity which may not be congruent to their biological sex i.e. transgender identity. Moreover, societies have specific social-historical gender-normative expectations of males and females which include behaviours and traits assigned to the gender role (Helgeson, 2011). Chrisler & Nobel (2002) argue that people rely on gender role and expectations to understand others behaviours, actions and abilities. Psychology has tended to use the terms sex and gender interchangeably to investigate differences between men and women. Despite research finding no psychological differences over 100 years ago (Thorndike, 1914), psychology has continued to search for gender/sex differences. The limited studies which have found relatively small differences between females and males vastly dominates the media and public understandings highlighted by ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus’ (Gray, 1992). In