Transgender inequality
Transgender inequality is the unequal protection received by transgender people in work, school, and society in general. Transgender people regularly face transphobic harassment. Ultimately, one of the largest reasons that transgender people face inequality is due to a lack of public understanding of transgender people.[1]
Anti-transgender stigma leads to employment discrimination, exclusion from healthcare, and increased risks of poverty and homelessness, which in turn correspond to greater risks of fatal violence.[2] Abuse and murder of transgender people is pervasive;[3][4] in November 2021, "2021 was the deadliest year...of anti-transgender violence in the United States."[5] Those who have died as a result of transphobia are commonly remembered on Transgender Day of Remembrance.[6][7][8]
Transgender and transgender inequality definitions[edit]
Common misconceptions[edit]
A common misconception is that a transgender person is therefore gay. However, being transgender focuses on gender identity and not sexual orientation. A transgender person may identify with any sexual orientation. Another important misconception is that individuals who crossdress are transgender. However, many crossdressers are comfortable with their assigned sex at birth.[9] Even though individuals who participate in crossdressing are officially under the Transgender Umbrella, most do not identify as transgender.
The status of transgender identity as a mental disorder[10] is widely disputed.[11] Many transgender people experience gender dysphoria, which is a disconnect between one's assigned gender at birth and the gender which the individual identifies with.[12]
Transgender people and unequal treatment in the LGBT community[edit]
Beginning in the 1990s, lesbian and gay activist organizations added transgender people to their cause because at that time transgender people faced many of the same prejudices. During this time the gay and lesbian community frequently referred to their organizations as defending the interests of and "serving the needs of all gay Americans". Due to this description many Americans associated the term transgender with being gay.[63]
Some members of the LGBT community are uncomfortable with transgender individuals and their issues. In Kristen Schilt's Just One of the Guys: Transgender Men and the Persistence of Gender Inequality?, she interviews transgender men who have encountered tokenism while working in LGBT organizations. In other words, because LGBT communities include the "T", they need a transgender representative as part of the organization. Schilt says that many transgender people encountered being the only one responsible for knowing anything about being transgender. When anyone within the LGBT organizations had questions about transgender issues they were always referred to the token transgender representative.[64] The unequal treatment of transgender individuals may be because not all transgender individuals are gay. Schilt also concluded that some gay transgender people were treated poorly by cisgender gay individuals because they were thought to have made the choice to be gay. Therefore, the gay community's display of transphobia and heterosexism creates inequality.[65][66]
According to Tyler Curry, the senior editor of HIV Equal Online and an award-winning LGBT columnist, "As we continue to progress in the fight for equal rights, it has become apparent that the "T" in LGBT is being neglected as gay men and women continue to take precedence. By being part of the same-sex acronym, trans individuals are rarely recognized as a unique group that requires its own specific agenda to obtain equality. Instead, they are often considered an obscure and misunderstood subgroup of the gay community." Many individuals in the LBG community do not identity with transgender people, and believe that gay rights and transgender rights should be separated. This view stems from many reasons, including the difference between sexual identity and gender identity, and whether each is considered a "choice" or not.[67]
Gay rights advocate John Aravosis said, "But when [the gay community is] asked—well, told—to put our civil rights on hold, possibly for the next two decades, until America catches up on its support for trans rights, a lot of gay people don't feel sufficiently vested in trans rights, sufficiently vested in the T being affixed to the LGB, to agree to such a huge sacrifice for people they barely know."[68]