Transgender Equality Research Paper
Running head: EMPOWERING AND EDUCATING ABOUT THE TRANSGENDER
Empowering and Educating about the Transgender
Sodality through Social Media and Laws
Abstract
For many years, the transgender community has been constantly ridiculed by society because of the negative impact that media and laws have placed upon them. As a result, suicide rate, drug abuse, and suicide have been on the rise. By informing and educating our society, we can all help reduce the high risks and open the door for new laws to accommodate the transgender sodality.Empowering and Educating about the Transgender Sodality through Social Media and Laws
The issue of being transgender has portrayed negatively by social media and the surrounding communities. As a result, the suicide rate has increased and drug abuse (prescribed medicines) has been abused by people of the transgender community. The media have encouraged negative stereotype from those of the transgender society. Many, who fight with dilemma of identity, have to take risk to abuse hormone pills. Those who suffer from gender identity crisis find it hard to transition. If everyone as a whole lay a foundation for support and acceptance of transgender people throughout our media and laws, by educating others, our nation can reduce the risks of suicide, health issues, and strengthen civil rights for transgender sodality. …show more content…
What does Transgender Mean?
Transgender is defined as an umbrella term used to describe people whose gender identity (sense of them as a male or female) or gender expression differs from that usually associated with their birth sex. Broadly speaking, anyone whose identity, appearance, or behavior falls outside of conventional gender norms can be described as transgender. However, not everyone whose appearance or behavior is gender-atypical will identify as a transgender person, some transgender people, and transsexuals in
particular.
Suicide Effecting Transgender
Many transgender are a high risk factor for suicide. A staggering 41 % of transgender people in the United States have attempted to commit suicide (Clara Moskowitz, 19 November 2010). They are more prone to bullying, rejection, and misunderstanding. Those who tend to suffer from verbal, mental, and/or physical harassment, isolation, and depression, usually find it hard to cope with stabilization within their own home, at work, and social environments. It’s a known fact that most transgender are abused or rejected at home, according to Joanne Herman, Transgender advocate and author of “Transgender Explained for Those Who Are Not.”
Transgender Health Concerns
In addition to their higher risk of suicide, transgender people face steeper odds for other health issues. For example, the recent survey found that 2.64 % of transgender people are infected with HIV — that's more than four times the national average rate of 0.6 % in the general population. And 25 % of the survey respondents reported misusing drugs or alcohol specifically to cope with the discrimination they face due to their gender identity (Clara Moskowitz, 19 November 2010). A 2003 study by Ilan H. Meyer of Columbia University, found that lesbian, gay and bisexual people have a higher prevalence of mental disorders than heterosexuals identity (Clara Moskowitz, 19 November 2010). The author explains this prevalence in terms of minority stress, writing in the journal Psychological Bulletin that "stigma, prejudice, and discrimination create a hostile and stressful social environment that causes mental health problems." Though transgender people weren't included in the study, these same stressors apply, experts say.
Developing New Civil Rights
Transgender right laws have never really become the public main point of discussion. The people of the transgender society are now finally stepping out of their boundaries to make legislative laws which give them refuge. With people standing as a whole for equal rights, it has opened the doorway for jurisdiction – including states, counties, and cities – to create laws which protect against discrimination towards transgender people. Developing new laws and exploring new ways to cope with transgender and the LGBT community through the media, helps break down barriers of conformity roles in families.
Effects of the Media
Partially the media is to blame for the negative influence in the home. Couple years ago before the acceptance of transgender, society ridiculed the gay community, especially those who struggled with gender identity. For example, a respondent explained that his family struggled to understand that he is transsexual, not a transvestite, because “the only thing they see on television is bad transvestites. “ Another said that she felt the media focus on `sex change’ is problematic. It led to her friends thinking she wanted to become somebody else when all she wants is to confirm her existing identity (Jennie Kermode & Trans Media Watch, 2010).
Even the gay community fights with traditional roles. Tyra Banks recorded a sitcom on April 27th, 2009, about a social experiment exploring the LGBT community by forming a hierarchy called the “Gay Kingdom”, where they are subjected to judge themselves by laws, roles, and open discussion. They struggled with words such as “straight,” which is an eyebrow raiser in the LGBT community, which was used by an identified “lipstick lesbian.” On the LGBT behalf, most understand the word straight as having no attraction to the opposite sex. But in the “straight lesbians” defense, she stated that she can flirt with both male and female but still go home with a woman. In the conclusion of voting, one member was ruled out of the Gay Kingdom. The bisexual male was outvoted and banned. The other members of the Gay Kingdom perceived him as giving hope to the straight society. Hope that there is a possibility that even a gay and/or lesbian person can turn heterosexual.
Empowering and Educating about the Transgender
Sodality through Social Media and Laws
Abstract
For many years, the transgender community has been constantly ridiculed by society because of the negative impact that media and laws have placed upon them. As a result, suicide rate, drug abuse, and suicide have been on the rise. By informing and educating our society, we can all help reduce the high risks and open the door for new laws to accommodate the transgender sodality.Empowering and Educating about the Transgender Sodality through Social Media and Laws
The issue of being transgender has portrayed negatively by social media and the surrounding communities. As a result, the suicide rate has increased and drug abuse (prescribed medicines) has been abused by people of the transgender community. The media have encouraged negative stereotype from those of the transgender society. Many, who fight with dilemma of identity, have to take risk to abuse hormone pills. Those who suffer from gender identity crisis find it hard to transition. If everyone as a whole lay a foundation for support and acceptance of transgender people throughout our media and laws, by educating others, our nation can reduce the risks of suicide, health issues, and strengthen civil rights for transgender sodality. …show more content…
What does Transgender Mean?
Transgender is defined as an umbrella term used to describe people whose gender identity (sense of them as a male or female) or gender expression differs from that usually associated with their birth sex. Broadly speaking, anyone whose identity, appearance, or behavior falls outside of conventional gender norms can be described as transgender. However, not everyone whose appearance or behavior is gender-atypical will identify as a transgender person, some transgender people, and transsexuals in
particular.
Suicide Effecting Transgender
Many transgender are a high risk factor for suicide. A staggering 41 % of transgender people in the United States have attempted to commit suicide (Clara Moskowitz, 19 November 2010). They are more prone to bullying, rejection, and misunderstanding. Those who tend to suffer from verbal, mental, and/or physical harassment, isolation, and depression, usually find it hard to cope with stabilization within their own home, at work, and social environments. It’s a known fact that most transgender are abused or rejected at home, according to Joanne Herman, Transgender advocate and author of “Transgender Explained for Those Who Are Not.”
Transgender Health Concerns
In addition to their higher risk of suicide, transgender people face steeper odds for other health issues. For example, the recent survey found that 2.64 % of transgender people are infected with HIV — that's more than four times the national average rate of 0.6 % in the general population. And 25 % of the survey respondents reported misusing drugs or alcohol specifically to cope with the discrimination they face due to their gender identity (Clara Moskowitz, 19 November 2010). A 2003 study by Ilan H. Meyer of Columbia University, found that lesbian, gay and bisexual people have a higher prevalence of mental disorders than heterosexuals identity (Clara Moskowitz, 19 November 2010). The author explains this prevalence in terms of minority stress, writing in the journal Psychological Bulletin that "stigma, prejudice, and discrimination create a hostile and stressful social environment that causes mental health problems." Though transgender people weren't included in the study, these same stressors apply, experts say.
Developing New Civil Rights
Transgender right laws have never really become the public main point of discussion. The people of the transgender society are now finally stepping out of their boundaries to make legislative laws which give them refuge. With people standing as a whole for equal rights, it has opened the doorway for jurisdiction – including states, counties, and cities – to create laws which protect against discrimination towards transgender people. Developing new laws and exploring new ways to cope with transgender and the LGBT community through the media, helps break down barriers of conformity roles in families.
Effects of the Media
Partially the media is to blame for the negative influence in the home. Couple years ago before the acceptance of transgender, society ridiculed the gay community, especially those who struggled with gender identity. For example, a respondent explained that his family struggled to understand that he is transsexual, not a transvestite, because “the only thing they see on television is bad transvestites. “ Another said that she felt the media focus on `sex change’ is problematic. It led to her friends thinking she wanted to become somebody else when all she wants is to confirm her existing identity (Jennie Kermode & Trans Media Watch, 2010).
Even the gay community fights with traditional roles. Tyra Banks recorded a sitcom on April 27th, 2009, about a social experiment exploring the LGBT community by forming a hierarchy called the “Gay Kingdom”, where they are subjected to judge themselves by laws, roles, and open discussion. They struggled with words such as “straight,” which is an eyebrow raiser in the LGBT community, which was used by an identified “lipstick lesbian.” On the LGBT behalf, most understand the word straight as having no attraction to the opposite sex. But in the “straight lesbians” defense, she stated that she can flirt with both male and female but still go home with a woman. In the conclusion of voting, one member was ruled out of the Gay Kingdom. The bisexual male was outvoted and banned. The other members of the Gay Kingdom perceived him as giving hope to the straight society. Hope that there is a possibility that even a gay and/or lesbian person can turn heterosexual.