Hate violence is a predominant issue against transgender women who wish for acceptance from society. Individuals believe they have the right to perform violence against these transgender women because of who they are. For example, in the novel Stone Butch Blues, Jess Goldberg is physically a women but prefers to live life as a male. Since Jess chooses to live life as a male, or butch, she is frequently a target of policeman and other individuals because of her identity. The society views Jess as a criminal because during the 1960’s homosexuality was illegal and it was considered a mental disorder. Apparently, our society has made much more progress today against transgender women, but they still face a multitude of hate violence. A major example …show more content…
of such hate was demonstrated on April 19, 2009, when Angie Zapata was beaten to death with a fire extinguisher because of her sexuality. Hate violence against transgender women should discontinue because of targeting, sexual assaults and brutality. Transgender women are frequently targeted by society where as targeting remains active and it should discontinue. Growing up in the 1960’s, hate violence against transgender was and remains a major issue. In the novel Stone Butch Blues, Jess is a target by society where she could not fit in because of her sexual orientation. In the beginning of the novel, Jess is picked on by students, teachers and her parents. Jess came to the conclusion that running away from home is the best way to avoid negativity and move on with her life as a butch women. Jess begins working at a bar in Buffalo where she is welcomed as a family and she is able to express her gender identity without being picked on. Since it was the 1960’s, lesbian bars were dangerous and it was not a safe place for Jess or butches. The police man would frequently raid the bar and arrest Jess and other butches dressed in male clothing. Until now, transgender women have free access where policeman don’t target but violence against these women is still active. Transgender women are often picked on by individuals where as these individuals don’t accept the way they are so they do unpleasant and dirty work to them. Unfairly, transgender women are continuously targeted by society and it should discontinue. Transgender women are sexually assaulted by society because of their gender identity and it should cease.
Gender identity plays a huge role during the 1960’s where cops would put hands on these certain women and were forced to do unnecessary things. A prime example that would lead policeman to do unnecessary things to butches is presented in the novel Stone Butch Blues. In the novel Stone Butch Blues, there is a scene where policeman grab Jess by the collar and drag Jess several feet away to a steel toilet, and was declared to “Either eat me or eat my shit.” (Feinberg 62). This scene illustrates how policemen intentionally force Jess to do something inconvenient where as policeman enjoyed to see her suffer. Not to mention, in the novel Stone Butch Blues, Jess is raped by several football players. “Bobby unlaced his uniform and jammed his penis into my vagina. The pain traveled up to my belly, scaring the hell out of me.” (Feinberg 41) This scene proves how the football players force Jess to do something without her consent. Also, another major example is when Jess “caught a glimpse” of a cop car approaching and barge in the club. (Feinberg 56) A cop shouted at Ed, “You think you’re a guy, huh? You think you can take it like a guy? We’ll see. What’s these? he said. He yanked her shirt and pulled her binder down around her waist. He grabbed her breast so hard she
gasped.” (Feinberg 56) During the 1960’s, butches had no right to defend themselves from cops because butches were referred as criminals with no option. In modern times transgender are sexually abused or assaulted at some point in their lives. In Jane 3, 2015, Breaking News stated “some reports estimate that transgender survivors may experience rates of sexual assault up to 66 percent, often coupled with physical assaults or abuse.” Transgender women are sexually assaulted by humanity because of the way they are and it should dismiss. Transgender women experience high levels of brutality because of their gender identity and it should end. They are either beaten or murdered. In the novel Stone Butch Blues, there is a scene where Mona is beaten by policemen because she’s a butch and its Jess’s first time in jail. “About an hour later the cops brought Mona back. My heart broke when I saw her. Two cops were dragging her; she could barely stand. Her hair was wet and stuck to her face. Her make up smeared. There was blood running down the back of her seamless stockings. They threw her into the cell next to mine. She stayed where she fell.” (Feinberg 35) While sitting in the cell, Mona says “It changes you” which best describes how policeman violently treat butches. (Feinberg 35) In modern society, transgender individuals are experiencing death among the community. For example, on April 19, 2009, Angie Zapata, a biological boy, who wanted to become a member of the “Americas Next Top Model” was beaten to death. According the Los Angeles Times, “Zapata met Andrade, a 32-year-old convicted felon, on a social networking website in July, according to an arrest affidavit. On July 16, they went on a date, and Andrade said Zapata performed oral sex on him but would not permit him to touch her. Andrade said he became suspicious about Zapata's gender and grabbed her crotch. Enraged, he said, he beat her with a fire extinguisher.” This is a perfect example how society treat transgender women because of their gender identity. Transgender women often experience high levels of brutality because of their gender identity and it should end.
Charley Goddard when into the war when he was fifteen years old he when into the war only to be a man. He was not thinking of what he would have to live on, the conditions he had to live under. He was not thinking that he would have to see the things that he had seen, doing the things that he had to do to stay alive. When Charley entered the war he wasn’t scared mostly because the didn’t do much. When the war really started to “kick up” or become more intense he started to get scared, he almost threw up half of the time. He didn’t think he would have to walk and take cover from dead men- dead friends. When Charley was out of the war he was twenty one. He was walking with a cane and is complaining that he was too old. When Charley said he was too old he wasn't talking about his age he was talking about the things he had seen.
In certain countries such as the U.S, people discriminate against others to a certain extent based off their gender, race, and sexuality. Butler states that “to be a body is to be given over to others even as a body is “one own,” which we must claim right of autonomy” (242). Gays and Lesbians have to be exposed to the world because some of them try to hide their identity of who they truly are because they are afraid of how others are going to look at them. There are some who just let their sexuality out in the open because they feel comfortable with whom they are as human beings and they don’t feel any different than the next person. The gender or sexuality of a human being doesn’t matter because our bodies’ will never be autonomous because it is affected by others around us. This is where humans are vulnerability to violence and aggression. In countries across the globe, violence and attack are drawn towards tran...
Many parts of history show that the 1950’s was a time of great turbulence and unrest in both politics and social life. All this unrest was caused by major historical events, including the Red Scare/McCarthyism and the Cold War. However, although many aspects of life in the 50’s were in such disarray, gender roles were not one of those aspects. In fact, there was a very narrow, strict idea of what it meant to be a male and a female during this time. The following discusses what was considered proper gender roles in the 1950’s and how these roles vary compared to the gender roles portrayed in the 1955 movie, Rebel Without a Cause.
Today, especially with the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality, it is easy to believe that the fight for queer rights is something of the past, something that America as a whole moved beyond because we have achieved these rights. For example, the conclusion to Stonewall Uprising creates a sort of historical separation that allows anyone and everyone to believe that the United States and all the people within it have moved past homophobia, transphobia, and queerphobia. However, this is absolutely not a reality for many queer and trans people today, especially poor and/or incarcerated queer and trans people of color. The conclusion to Sarah Lamble’s “Retelling Racialized Violence, Remaking White Innocence” brings to light the issues affecting
For example, “Transgender face huge mostly unaddressed discrimination in education, employment, healthcare, and public benefit”. Transgender children end up in foster care or homeless. They can’t go to adult homeless shelter because they get turned down due to their identity. Youth face harassment and violence in schools that leads them to dropping out and difficult for them to pursue higher education because how society reacts around them. They face discrimination in work places because of their transition. It’s difficult for them to reach out for resources because they face discrimination or there’s not enough resources to help them find someone who will. Secondly, “During the Stonewall rebellion, sexual and gender outsiders were tired of being abused by cops, arrested for cross-dressing, beaten, raped for going to clubs/bar.” People of color and gendered outsiders were tired of being targets. They didn’t want cops to be abusing their powers and wanted legal protections. Transgender people faced discrimination where it makes it harder for them to get jobs, welfare, SSI, disability, etc. This relates back to the long battle for same sex marriage where recently it’s legal in the
However, depending on their environment or the quality of one’s relationship to another person; the individual’s sexuality can be discussed with those closest to them. When their sexual orientation is revealed or “outed”, the individual has both opportunities such as accepted by families and peer groups and problems such as dealing with homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in their homes, schools and the communities in the presence of others and their opinions; making them feel let down, abandoned and dejected. According to Kathryn Dindia’s article “Going Into and Coming Out of the Closet: The Dialectics of Stigma and Disclosure” those who identify as bisexual, lesbian, gay or transgender are subject to stigma of AIDS or mental illness because “...the stigma is difficult or impossible to conceal, whether to reveal or conceal is an issue for the discreditable…”(85). Stating the individuals who came out as the “discreditable”, as have noted when the individual decided to reveal their sexual orientation they have ordeals such stereotypes, hatred, microaggressions and stigma. The chapter speaks into social sense unlike the next reading “Out of the Closets and Into the Courts”, Ellen Andersen narrates coming out in a more legal manner. During the Counterculture Movement and the 1970’s, Andersen pointed out and stressed “...gay men and lesbians needed legal representation…”(17) as well as protection by law enforcement, although earlier said the Stone wall Riots was provoked by acts of police brutality and the court system. Especially in American society, the book additionally states that the Gay Rights
Transgendered people in America have made many great strides since the 1990s. They have encountered violence, lack of health care, and the loss of homes, jobs, family and friends. There have been many phases of the struggle of being transgendered in America over the years. The current phase we must be in now is equal rights. There are many variations of discrimination against the transgendered community. In our society we simply do not like what we do not understand. It is easier to discriminate than to try and understand. We are all created different and we should appreciate our differences. The change must come by addressing the views of the public. There is much justification in the unequal rights of transgendered peoples. The Human Rights Campaign has been started to achieve equal rights for all Americans including the LGBQ community. A serious injustice is in the world of sports. Professional sports are one of societies major traditions totally based on rules and regulations that are meant to preserve the integrality of the games, but may not be inclusive to all its players.
The eye opening article utilized for this analysis is titled, “Trans Women at Smith: The Complexities of Checking ‘Female’” ,written by contributing writer, Sarah Fraas on August 24, 2014 (pg 683-685). Fraas starts off by introducing the audience with a school that accepts trans women, Mills College, and talks about how glorious this decision is. The author then begins to talk about other schools not as accepting as Mills, especially Smiths College. She spews many facts and analysis on the issues trans women face today throughout the article including how transgender women are not gaining enough support to succeed, most transgendered women are neglected in school, and the fact that many have been accused of being a woman for the “wrong” reason. She also mindfully includes the image of a woman of color holding up a sign saying, “Support your sisters, not just your CIS-ters!”. The author utilizes this image to show people that we are all one whether we
Grant, Jaime M., Lisa A. Mottet, Justin Tanis, Jack Harrison, Jody L. Herman, and Mara Keisling. Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey.Washington: National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 2011. 158-59.
The acceptance of “abnormal” sexualities has been a prolonged, controversial battle. The segregation is excruciating and the prejudice remarks are so spiteful that some people never truly recover. Homosexuals have been left suffering for ages. Life, for most homosexuals during the first half of the twentieth century, was mostly one of hiding: having to constantly hide their true feelings and tastes. Instead of restaurants and movies, they had to sit quiet in the dark and meet each other in concealed places such as bars. Homosexuals were those with “mental and psychic abnormalities” and were the victim of medical prejudice, police harassment, and church condemnation (Jagose 24). The minuscule mention or assumption of one’s homosexuality could easily lead to the loss of family, livelihood, and sometimes even their lives. It was only after the Stonewall riots and the organization of gay/lesbian groups that times for homosexuals started to look brighter.
An abundance of transgenders are finally identifying as their true gender in our generation. In fact, in the United States alone, there are 700,000 transgenders (Gates 2011). However, our generation isn’t welcoming these true identities, but shaming them. Though, it is incredible that slowly the idea of transgenders is becoming more acceptable, the amount of hate and harassment these human beings receive is unacceptable. Human beings, that is what they are, right? This leads to the next question. Why is our generation shaming something we are? Human beings, right? As we are all human beings, we shouldn’t be treating transgenders as if they are a different species. Many argue that these individuals
In the 1950s, the stereotypical female was expected to fill a role that was awfully repressive and constrictive. Many standards were placed on women
Injustice at Every Turn: A Report from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. Rep. National Center for Transgender Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 2011. Web. The Web. The Web.
Between the 1950s and 1960s homosexuals had been frequently harassed and ridiculed by many people, including the police (Ojeda, 12). Homosexuals began to fight back after the civil rights and anti-war movements by asking those who were stil...
Transgender people have been around for centuries, yet they still face problems in the eyes of education, medicine, and law; even, with biological evidence of transgenderism being a natural state. People in these professional fields have the influential advantage over the minds of society and help change discrimination and institutional services through making it more comfortable for transmen and transwomen to go through life.