Are You Trans(gender) Literate?

Before moving to Los Angeles. the only contact I had had with transgenderism was through the media.  I hadn’t known anyone who identified as transgender in Oklahoma.  Like most people, I had mainly paid attention to the “L, G, B,” in LGBT.  But, when I began working in the field of HIV prevention, all that changed.  As part of my training in sexual diversity, I began to learn about transgenderism.  It’s really an amazing and intriguing topic and as Obama signs legislation to add gender identification to the list of discriminations that could cause a hate crime, it is extremely relevant.  Transgender individuals are much more likely to be victims of a violent crime than those who are not.  The Human Rights Campaign offers statistics,

Transgender people are often targeted for hate violence based on their non-conformity with gender norms and/or their perceived sexual orientation. Hate crimes against transgender people tend to be particularly violent. For example, one expert estimates that transgender individuals living in America today have a one in 12 chance of being murdered.  In contrast, the average person has about a one in 18,000 chance of being murdered.

This projected statistic is startling but the beginning of the quote offers the insight, “targeted for hate violence based on their non-conformity with gender norms.”  Transgender individuals are competing against their own biology’s sense of self.  And, some people are so threatened by this thought that they feel it necessary to hurt them.  We gain so much of our identity through our physical appearance.  Am I a man or a woman?  What are my racial features and are they similar to the people around me?  Those who are transgender challenge that these outward appearances correlate with who we are in spirit.  Imagine looking in the mirror and knowing you are not who you see there.   If you do not identify as transgender, imagine still being yourself in every way but having been born with an opposite body.  Would you have been able to stand it?  It’s the topic of several comedic films (Freaky Friday, 13 going on 30, Big, Heaven Can Wait, etc.) but for the trans community, it’s no laughing matter.  But, these films serve as useful examples.  In all of them, the characters are completely confused and frightened by their bodies.  What if that were a day-to-day reality? 

It’s this lack of correlation, between self and body, that leads people to transgenderism, an umbrella term that encompasses anyone “whose gender identity (sense of themselves as male or female) or gender expression differs from that usually associated with their birth sex.”  One expression of transgenderism is becoming transexual, people who “live or wish to live full time as members of the gender opposite to their birth sex. Biological females who wish to live and be recognized as men are called female-to-male (FTM) transsexuals or transsexual men. Biological males who wish to live and be recognized as women are called male-to-female (MTF) transsexuals or transsexual women. Transsexuals usually seek medical interventions, such as hormones and surgery, to make their bodies as congruent as possible with their preferred gender. The process of transitioning from one gender to the other is called sex reassignment or gender reassignment.”  These definitions are from the American Psychological Association, for more information, go here. 

For those who decide to transition to become the other sex, the process can be painful and expensive.  Friends and family who know that person as a prior gender are not always accepting.  In addition, those seeking gender reassignment surgery must have recommendations from therapists and often must spend a certain period of time living as the opposite gender before the operation can be approved.  A friend of my noted the extensive plastic surgeries some one could have, extensively altering their physical appearance without the reccommendation of psycologists.  Why do we have a double standard for gender reassignment surgery? 

Although historically, people who have identified as transgender have been discriminated against and victimized, there is evidence to show that trend is changing.  Just last week, a small step was made.  Let’s hope it’s a bellwether for acceptance and an end to violence.

 Jessee Vasold, who identifies as “gender-queer,” is voted William and Mary’s first-ever transgender homecoming queen, of which there are no rules on gender. On Saturday the college junior took the halftime field as W&M played James Madison.

Related Post: Criminal Hate, News and Analysis from October 28th.