Through the use of The Gender Book, I decided to focus my attention on if my gender was under the transgender spectrum. Due to being born a female, my transition would be from female to male. While considering how my life would be different, I realized how much my privilege as cisgender showed.
The first thought I had was the fact that when an individual is transgender they usually pick up on this difference in their sex and gender fairly early. I thought about how challenging that alone would be. For an individual to be forced to dress a certain way, play with certain toys and in some cases be judged for playing mainly with the opposite sex while growing up. These thoughts made me think of David from As Nature Made Him, I thought of David
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I would personally probably transition when I was an adult. I don’t think I would be strong enough to handle the backlash and intense bullying while in school or even college. I considered the perks of transitioning at an older age, such as hopefully being able to afford it and possibly forming a better group of supporters at an older age than what I may have had in high school. I did consider the struggles my parents would have with this transition, my mother would be absolutely heartbroken, she would no longer have the daughter she thought she had all along and I know from conversations with my father that he would never be able to understand it and would always think it was a phase. I believe my mother would purchase every parenting book that discussed a child being transgender, just like the many parent guide books we have been assigned to read chapters from throughout this semester along with the pamphlets we had assigned to read such as the APA Transgender pamphlet.
Once I would decide to transition I contemplated all the other struggles that would follow, regardless of age. I thought about how my possible employment would be impacted, from readings and statistics, the class has learned through the U.S. Transgender Survey that trans individuals have a 15% unemployment rate. I thought about how likely I would be to have a job once I transitioned or told my boss I was transgender. I thought about the young woman in the video in the lecture that Joe lead. The woman in the video discussed how her boss let her go because she was “changing before their
The definition of gender has become way more revolutionary and expressive compared to the twentieth century. Gender used to be similar to sex where someone would be identified as a male or female based on their biological genitals however, this day in age it is way more complex. Someone can be born a male but mentally they feel like a male. In “Sisterhood is complicated” Ruth Padawer explains the journey of different transgender males and the obstacles they face while attending Wellesley college. Wellesley is a women’s college that has been around for a very long time and is in the process of the battling the conflict of whether they should admit transgender students. Ariel Levy author of “Female Chauvinist Pigs” tackles the stereotypes and
Many transgender people lived in dysfunctional families when they were young. The support becomes vital for the wellbeing of kids. In her book Redefining Realness by Janet Mock, recaps the importance of support from Michelle his cousin, who kept in secrets of gender dysphoria of Charles (Keisha) by saying “‘Pinkie –swear you won’t tell your mom’…She’d keep the secret my secret because I was her favorite cousin” (Mook 76). Michelle, kept Keisha’s secret by allowing her to use her swimming clothes. Michelle shows the importance of support from relatives. This is a fundamental factor that might help with the development of her gender identity. Many transgender people may feel a relief at the time to disclose their identity. When transition is in progress the support from friends and families becomes important because, many transgender people might suffer if they lack support. Many transgender people seem depressed because they are rejected by society. Janet Mock, relates how Wendi, support Charles, by making him feel comfortable, saying “Wendi and I grew inseparable trough middle school, a bond that would link us for the rest of our lives. Through association, my class –mates learned that I was like Wendi-who hadn’t yet adopted any labels to describe her shifting self” (Mook 107). In most cases transgender people’s acquaintances can be referred as transgender people just by friendship. The association makes transgender people to gain confidence about their gender identity. The support from groups or friends makes transgender people feel that they are accepted and not alone. Support from friends might urge transgender people to come out the “closet” and reveal their gender identity to gain respect among society. The support from friends is important, but family support seems to be the most important. When families do not support transgender people it causes a hostile environment that may suppress
Puberty is a difficult time for any child, but for transgender teens, it can be the difference between becoming who they want to be or remaining in the wrong body. In June of this year, PBS Frontline released a documentary, entitled Growing Up Trans, which chronicled the lives of eight transgender and nonbinary children, from the ages of 9 to 19, as they navigated through the process of transitioning to their prefered genders. Some of the kids took hormone blockers to slow down their puberty, others were going through puberty at the time and wanted to transition before it was complete, and one had already gone through puberty and was still taking hormones to transition. The controversy revolving around the documentary focused on whether or
Walking down the street, Skylar seems like an ordinary man going about his daily business, but looks can be deceiving. Skylar was originally born as a female, and feeling he was supposed to be a male, started transitioning to male at the age of 16. “He’d just been burdened with a body that needed medical and surgical adjustments so that it could reflect the gender he knew himself to be,” writes Margaret Talbot (2013). Skylar’s family was very accepting, as they had already expected this from the time he was quite young. They gave Skylar time to think over whether he really wanted to transition or not, and when he decided he did, they were extremely happy for him and helped him through the transition. Skylar’s testimony shows the positive influence that having a transsexual family member can have on a family. Having a transsexual person in a family will positively influence that family and educate them on more conservative issues dealing with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community.
After reading Allison Baker's " Better Be Ready 'Bout Half Past Eight" it made me realize that discovering one's self is a situation our world is going through right now. In her short story one of Allison Baker's main characters, Zach tells his best friend of thirty-eight years that he is going to have a sex change. Zach tells Byron that he feels trapped in the wrong body and that he is going to become a woman. Byron is shocked about what he is hearing and can't seem to deal with the news. He's known Zach for some time now and he didn't pick up any of the signs about Zach's sexuality. Through the rest of the story you see Byron coping with the news. He talks to his baby boy about the situation and tells him that he will grow up to a man. He also starts to think about his own sexuality and even goes as far as applying makeup to his face. Byron watches the transformation of his best friend Zach into a woman named Zoe. As the story comes to an end Byron, his wife Emily, and their son Toby are at Zoe's shower. Byron squeezes Zoe's hand and I think, right then and there, he finally comes to terms with Zach's decision and is happy for his friend. As his friend walks away, he says that his son Toby Glass could grow up to be anything.
Living life as a transgendered person is not easy. There are very few times when someone comes out as transgender and their lives are still relatively easy to manage. There are a copious...
Imagine that you had a job where you had to dress, look, and act a certain way but you didn 't like it and had no choice but to remain that way or your boss would get mad and fire you. It is obvious that one would not be happy being like this because it is not who one is but one is scared to go against it because one is afraid to face the consequences. This is about the same thing that transgender individual 's experience where they have not been allowed to become like the opposite sex because society does not allow it. Every individual is different and therefore not everyone will want to accept the sex that they were born with primarily because they feel that it is not the real them. These individuals cannot burst their bubble and demonstrate who they truly are because society is watching their every move and just waiting for the perfect opportunity to come out and punish them. This is supposed to be a free country and because it is the twenty-first century, people should to learn to live with change. I have learned that gender identity is the
Transgender Today Nowadays, there are lot of unexpected changes coming in our lives every day which are challenging to our society. Gender issues are one of the hot topics among new changes. Transsexuality is a critical part of this gender issue. After reading the article “Night to his day” by Judith Lorber, I found a clarification regarding the social construction of gender. While looking for some facts about transgender, I have also found a lot of articles with different points of views from researchers, scientists and individuals who have transformed from their origin to transgender men/women.
Introduction Ethical Problem Should transgender children, under 18 years of age, be able to access gender dysphoria treatment, such as psychological evaluations, hormone replacement therapy, and sex reassignment surgery without the consent of their guardians? This ethical problem is complex, because it deals with the oppression of not only the transgender community, but the oppression of children as well. Addressing this problem is difficult because it begs the question: do children have the right to decide their own medical treatment before they are legally adults, or should the responsibility fall solely on the parents? Additionally, this problem poses issues because it asks people to see underage people as rational beings, which is a belief
Social Construction of Gender is a process, stratification system and structure. The day to day interactions emphasize gender as opposites. Take for instance, conversations, formalities of daily life, sayings, and so on. The social construction of gender is created through social interaction – through the things we do and say with other people. This means that gender it is not a fixed or inherent fact, but instead it varies across time and place.
Before the sex change, these people are unhappy, uncomfortable in their own skin, prone to suicide. These transgendered people are the ones who cannot or do not have a say in their choices about their bodies because someone else is making that decision for them. And their mini-solutions can barely get them through the day, let alone get through the day without being bullied. These transgendered people are just like you and me.
Gender Theory in Everyday Life”, the various definitions of “trans” depict that it is not possible to place one’s gender into only two categories. In the definitions of “trans”, transformation or transitioning is a common theme. Transforming into their true self or transitioning from one gender to the other. In the third definition, transgendered individuals are seen as transcending gender, thus making gender non-existent; not only to them, but when they view other individuals (Kessler and McKenna 1-2). The individuals in “When Girls Will Be Boys”, had to create a safe space, and find allies that would provide them with resources to help them in their progression as a trans individual. Trans people truly want to be integrated into society, but they are cognisant of the social standards in place that make them othered (Quart 49-50). In the instance of the varied definition of trans and the experiences of people in “When Girls Will Be Boys”, they are all going against the social norms and actively fighting to create a seat at the table. They refuse to to fit in the status quo of accepting that there are only two genders, and one must stay in either category. Instead, they challenge that thinking by being themself, thus having a hand in creating the new norm. These individuals are not passively combating the misconceptions, miseducation, and misinformation. They are actively creating a space for others and themself to grow in self and in
In contemporary society, many social issues involving gender still prevail today and influence many of our everyday life choices, from what one wears, the jobs one pursues or how one may think. In this essay, the issues being discussed involve the importance associated with gender, essentialism and deviance around gender inequality.
The relationship between sex and gender can be argued in many different lights. All of which complicated lights. Each individual beholds a sexual identity and a gender identity, with the argument of perceiving these identities however way they wish to perceive them. However, the impact of gender on our identities and on our bodies and how they play out is often taken for granted in various ways. Gender issues continue to be a hugely important topic within contemporary modern society. I intend to help the reader understand that femininities and masculinities is a social constructed concept and whether the binary categories of “male” and “female” are adequate concepts for understanding and organising contemporary social life with discussing the experiences of individuals and groups who have resisted these labels and forged new identities.
Works Cited “The meaning of gender” by Jacquelyn B. James, retrieved on June, 04,2003 from http://www.radcliffe.edu/quarterly/199804/meanings_gender.html “Transexuality.a small prime for the confused but sympathetic person” by Janis Cortese, retrieved on June 04, 2003 from http://www.io.com/wwwave/sxlty.cgi Transgender Inclusion–The Widening Field by Jack Drescher, MD, retrieved