Discrimination Against Transgender Women

In the land of the free, not everyone is as free and equal as we would like to believe. Members of the LGBTQ community have been oppressed and discriminated against for decades, and transgender people know this all too well. The barriers of equality that transgender people face make it difficult for them to have equal opportunities throughout their lives. Some of these barriers include discrimination while seeking employment, the lack of support from community members and legislative representatives, and hate crimes that threaten the safety of members of the transgender community. One particularly alarming barrier that has been a recent topic of discussion in the media is transgender bathrooms. Spade explained the barriers that people face in regards to bathrooms, employment, and the law by stating that “denying a trans person access to a bathroom that comports with their gender identity at work is not interpreted as a violation of the law” (Spade, 2011, pp. 83). Discrimination against transgender people makes it difficult for them to be active members in our society, and we must continue to
Additionally, transmisogyny, which is the “discrimination or prejudice against transgender women” (Transmisogyny), further limits acceptance by creating stereotypes and stigmas about the transgender community. Serano discussed this in her work by explaining the ways that transmisogyny has limited the opportunities for equality in the transgender community (Serano, 2013). The misconceptions that transphobia and transmisogyny have created makes it an even more difficult battle for transgender people to achieve equality in the United States of America. However, education and better efforts throughout our country can help members of the transgender community to feel equal in a society that has previously been unaccepting of