Opinion: Transgender Equality Now
By Sophia Lavoie
“Imagine…You feel great about yourself, but when you look down, your body is the opposite sex from who you know yourself to be,” said Jamison Green, a transgender activist “Imagine what it would feel like to live with that discrepancy.”
In the wake of Caitlyn Jenner coming out as a transgender woman, an issue long ignored can come to light. Transgender people are widely discriminated against, as well have higher poverty and suicide rates. There is little knowledge or representation of this population, even as other once very taboo topics like gay rights become more accepted.
To be transgender is to identify as a gender other than one’s biological sex. This can be male, female or any other gender that the person feels fits them best. Others define themselves as a gender, or without gender. Many describe being transgender as though they are “trapped in the wrong body” and experience this from childhood.
To combat this disconcerting feeling, people change their names, pick different pronouns to be called by (he, she, or they), get medical treatment/surgery to change their body and dress differently. Every individual is different, so they feel that a combination of those things may suit them best. Regardless of a person’s body, you should refer to the transgendered as the gender they choose, and respect their choice of name/pronouns.
The first medical surgeries for transgender people were performed in the 1920s, but transgender people were recognized by some Native American tribes before 1800. It was referred to as “berdache” and today as “two-spirit” because identifying as another gender than a biological sex is sometimes viewed as having two identities coexisting in one person’s body. Those people had special roles and wore clothes that were from both traditionally male and female roles.
“Two-spirits” also were considered lucky and could have relationships with people of any gender.
In the Civil War, women and transgendered men dressed in soldier’s uniforms to fight, some going on to live as men afterwards. Today, openly transgender people are barred from entering the U.S .military. This is an insult to the estimated over 134,000 transgender veterans as well as those currently in the military who serve at twice the rate of all other people.
Another major issue concerns which bathrooms transgender people can and should use. People need be able to access the bathrooms consistent with their gender, or gender should be removed from the equation, instead showing the options as “restroom with urinal or restroom with stalls” instead of “men or women.”
Despite a recommendation from the White House that requests that employers allow their employees to pick whichever bathroom corresponds with their gender identity, bills from Texas, Kentucky and Florida have been proposed to criminalize such behavior, specifically if a person’s biological sex doesn’t match the restroom sign that they use.
All people deserve the ability to do and be what they feel is right, without discrimination. Our society needs to accept transgender people and treat them as everyone deserves to be treated. This includes allowing them to decide which bathroom they would like to use, giving more protections against discrimination and bringing transgender stories into popular culture.
