Transgender identity and experiences

Discrimination Against Transgendered People

Gender & Sexuality

In many wester societies and cultures, the gender and sexual spectrums are narrow. One can be male or female, not neither, not both, and not something in between. One can be masculine or feminine, not neither, not both, and not something in between. These are typically the mainstream beliefs regarding sexual and gender identity. The fact is, in more countries around the world, people are coming to terms with and gaining awareness about the fact that the gender and sexual spectrums are far more dynamic than we have been taught to believe. There are intersexed people, formally called hermaphrodites, who are born with female and male genitalia. There are transsexuals and homosexuals, and there are transgender people. There are even types of heterosexual people who exist that do not fall within the very narrow acceptable forms of gender and sexual identities. There are many people who fall outside of what is the normative or mainstream gender and sexual identities. Just as people who fall outside of the economic, social, and cultural mainstreams experience prejudice and discrimination, so do the people who fall outside of normal and mainstream sexual and gender identities. The focus of this paper will be regarding some types of sexual and gender discrimination that transgender people face in everyday life, and in specific contexts, such as the workplace and school. The paper argues that sexual and gender discrimination run rampant around the world, and there is a necessity for interventions to diminish the amount and intensity of discrimination transgender people face daily.

The term transgender has, for the most part, been created by and used by the people who make up this category. They have chosen to define themselves and apply it as they see it. This is very powerful, as for example, disabled people did not define themselves as disabled, and the terminology in that community is a very sensitive topic. Transgender means that the how one identifies does match one's assigned sex. One's assigned sex likely comes from one's body parts and society overall. A transgender man may identify as a heterosexual male and have been born with a traditionally female body. This person would like identify as transgender. Transgender people are people who physically and internally fall outside or normative assigned gender and sexual identities.

Sexual identity and gender identity is an important aspect to each person, whether they fall within the normative spectrum of identity or not. Dietert and Dentice comment directly regarding the lifelong, culturally pervasive importance and influence of sexual and gender identities. They compare gender and sexuality to things such as race, in terms of them all being social constructions, and how identification with or displacement outside of such labels inform a person's entire life experience:

…social structures dictate who we are and what roles we are expected to perform... [including] prescribed values, norms, and beliefs guide societal expectations. Arguably, gender identity is one of the most important components of societal formation…The social construction of this normative gender binary arrangement maintains conformity and limits nonbinary gender identities…gender is constructed by and for social interaction, with children learning very early what it means to be either a girl or a boy…gender becomes entrenched in social institutions beginning with the family and extending to schools and the workplace. Binary gender arrangements are reinforced and reconfirmed when individuals engage in activities and behaviors... (2009, 121 -- 122)

Thus, it is easy to see how with sexuality and gender being such sensitive issues, and the tension in trying to identify within a narrow spectrum of acceptable identities, how transgender people could be confused themselves and how others who are not transgender could be confused by the existence of transgender people in their families, classes, jobs, and lives. Unfortunately, people often react with fear and negativity when they come in contact with ideas and people who do not fit their schemas of what is "right" and "normal." This mindset contributes to the constant discrimination that transgender people experience and face as they try to live their lives, just as any other human being.

In the 21st century, one of many hot topics is bullying, particularly bullying that occurs during adolescence. All forms of prejudice and discrimination against people who are different from socially constructed norms is harmful and bad. Discrimination and prejudice that young people experience can be even more painful and deleterious in so far as young people are much more susceptible to the negative psychological and emotional effects of an activity such as bullying. Bullying occurs to all kinds of children and teens, and one would correctly guess that transgender teens receive more than their fair share of discrimination. Anyone who has made it through the normative experience of twelve years of primary and secondary education knows that it is hard to make it through alive because children and teens can be quite cruel. This cruelty polarizes or intensifies with easy, visible targets such as transgender teens. They are often the victims of bullying, with research showing how transgender teens are more likely to commit suicide, have problems with abuse (substance, sexual, etc.), and have long-term psychological and emotional problems. (Almeida et al., 2009)