Social Justice Blog: The Transgender Population and Gender Identity

Identity. This word is the basis of our existence. Our identity defines everything from the most minute details of our lives to the more significant choices we make. More specifically, gender identity plays a crucial role in helping us determine who we are. Our identification of ourselves as male, female, transgender, transsexual, undecided, etc provides us with a sense of belonging. A sense of belonging is located in the middle of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It is human nature to desire acceptance and a sense of community, and the sad reality is that transgender and transsexual individuals often lack this. In a society where identifying as one's original sex and as either male or female is championed, those who don't fit these norms are more likely to experience oppression, subjugation, and a lack of belonging.

It has never made sense to me why someone should be treated differently based on their gender identity. I've always felt that this topic is a very personal one where society has no place in getting involved. Why should family, neighbors, employers, or the government have a say in whether someone wants to wear pants or a skirt to work? Or whether someone wants male or female body parts? I can't imagine how it would feel to have outsiders constantly pass judgment on my lifestyle. I realize that gender identity is one area where I'm definitely privileged. I'm physically and emotionally a female and I take joy in wearing make-up, heels, and dresses. I love jewelery, the color pink, and muscular men. I'm privileged because what I like happens to fall under what society considers "acceptable" for me.

That being said, I have no qualms whatsoever with someone who may have been born a woman but believes they should be a man (or vice versa). Just because I enjoy wearing feminine clothes and I exhibit certain feminine behaviors doesn't mean all other women should have to. If there are other women out there who want to get a sex change and live as men, they should have every right to. The same of course applies to men who want to become women. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and I don't see why they wouldn't apply in these situations. If undergoing a gender-transformation brings someone happiness, it doesn't make sense to me why they should be forced into a lifestyle that doesn't work for them. If someone is a good, compassionate, and decent human being, that's what truly counts. As Martin Luther King Jr. emphasized, it is important to judge someone by the content of their character.

I found Adams's Chapeter 88: Transgender Liberation to be very interesting. I emphathize greatly with the transgender community located near the Compton Cafeteria and I can understand why many of them felt immense resentment toward the police officers. It made me feel queasy to read about how transgender women were treated when arrested on suspicion of prostitution. It makes me sick to think about how they were objectified, driven around in squad cars for hours, strip-searched, and forced to perform oral sex. It was heart-wrenching to read about how they were often locked in men's jails and consequently were put at a greater risk for sexual assault, rape, and murder.

On a positive note, I'm glad that the Compton Cafeteria Riot of 1966 brought awareness to the plight of transgender people. While the riot didn't eliminate their oppresion overnight, it did make San Franciscans think about how to improve their treatment of these individuals. Adams eloquently describes the shift in attitude when he says "---to begin treating them, in fact, as citizens with legitimate needs instead of simply as a problem to get rid of" (Adams, 435). While I have experienced discrimination as a woman of color, there is no way my experiences of oppression can equate to those who identify as transgender. The dissonance between one's gender at birth and psychological gender must be difficult enough to deal with; I can't imagine how it must feel to deal with immense oppression on top of that.

I've noticed that transgender identities are stigmatized throughout many different countries. My mom has told me about "hijras," the Hindi word for transsexuals. Like transsexuals in the United States, transsexuals in India live on the fringes of society. People treat them as outcasts and feel immensely threatened by them. They are often involved in prostitution since they struggle to find respectable employment. They are also more prone to assault and rape than many other people. An example of their ostracism is in the Indian myth that they are cursed. It is said in India that if hijras ask for money and you don't give it to them, they can curse your family. For this reason, people are very quick to empty out their wallets when hijras come begging for money. It's sad that this is one of the ways that transsexuals in India make a living--through other people's fear of them.

Indonesia is another country where transgender people face immense discrimination. President Obama's former nanny, Evie, described her experience as a transsexual in Indonesia in an article last month http://news.yahoo.com/ap-exclusive-obamas-transgender-ex-nanny-outcast-070907242.html. Although she never wore women's clothes in front of him, she lived a considerable part of her life as a woman. The turning point came when she found one of her other transgender friends beaten to death. After considering the harrasment and possible threat to her life in a conservative Islamic country, Evie reverted back to presenting herself as a man. In the Yahoo article she shares experiences she's had running away from cops with batons and struggling to find work. Nevertheless, in spite of the oppression and discrimination she has endured, Evie proudly declares, "Now when people call me scum, I just say 'but I was the nanny for the President of the United States!'"

The transgender population is often overlooked or looked upon as undesirable in our society. Since we pride ourselves on being a nation that values equality, it is vital that we consider the needs and struggles of these individuals. At the end of the day, they are also human beings. A significant reason for the prevalence of transphobia in our nation is the manner in which we are socialized. Society attempts to inculcate a fear of this population within us at a young age, and the first thing we can do to alter this pattern is to educate others. If we inform others about the struggles of transgender people and make it known that they are citizens and not "scum," we can make a huge impact. A shift in attitude is the most important step that we, as a society, can take in order to achieve equality for all people.