Did you know that:
· The F.B.I. released hate crime statistics for 2016 and highlighted the ongoing epidemic of anti-transgender violence in the U.S.
· In 2016, advocates tracked 23 deaths of transgender people in the United States.
· One in every 137 teenagers in the United States identifies as transgender.
In our schools, transgender students don’t feel safe. As reported by the Williams Institute,
· 75% of transgender students felt unsafe at school because of their gender expression.
· 70% of transgender students said they avoided bathrooms because they felt uncomfortable.
· 60% of transgender students had been required to use a bathroom or locker room that did not match the gender they live every day.
States don’t protect them because:
· Only 13 states and D.C. have education on discrimination laws explicitly protecting transgender students.
· The U.S. Dept. of Education recently withdrew guidance to states on how to support number of trans students under Title IX of Federal Civil Rights Act. Title IX ensures that all students can attend school safely regardless of their race or ethnicity, national origin, religion or sex.
Although the first transgender woman Danica Roem elected to the House of Delegates in Virginia beat a man Robert Marshall (R) who held the office for twenty-four years, her victory doesn’t mean the rest of the country will embrace transsexuals. Roem centered her campaign around issues that mattered to all people: commuter traffic, importance of teacher pay, Medicaid expansion, while her opponent focused on her gender identity.
It seems as if the U.S. as well as the rest of the world don’t understand transgender people and get terms mixed up that would have enlightened them. For example, gender identity is separate from sexual orientation. Gender is a function of culture and about self-expression. Sexuality is whom you are attracted to. There are transgender women that are attracted to cisgender (same gender) women.
“People argue that trans women are not genetically female despite the fact that we can’t readily ascertain anybody’s sex chromosomes,” says author of Whipping Girl, Julia Serano
Here are Some Perceptions of Transgenders:: Which Ones do you think are True? From Vox.com
· There is something wrong with transsexual people.
· Transgender people are confused or tricking others.
· Sexual orientation is linked to gender identity.
· Letting trans people use the bathroom or locker room matching their gender identity is dangerous.
· Transitioning is as simple as surgery.
· All trans people medically transition.
· Transgender-inclusive health care is expensive.
· Children aren’t old enough to know their gender identity.
· Transgender people are mentally ill.
· Transgender people make up a third gender.
· Drag queens and kings are transgender.
None are true. The transgender community is diverse and has been around a long time. Cross-dressers are not necessarily the same as trans genders. One important distinction that trans genders have is that their gender identities definitely vary from the labels that were given to them as babies. This statement is true.
When Your Child Is Gay: What You Need To Know
For more detailed advice, see book, co-authored with a mother of a gay son and a psychiatrist, Jonathan L. Tobkes, M.D.
