The news article I studied is from March 12th 2014 and found in the Fashion and Style section of The New York Times. Its title is “In their Own Terms- the growing transgender presence in Pop culture.” This article outlines the culture surrounding transgender and transgender situations in the United States, whilst following the lives and transformations of some known citizens of pop culture.
Transgender is defined by Wikipedia as, “the state of one's gender identity (self-identification as woman, man, neither or both) or gender expression not matching one's assigned sex.” The article explains how a transgender individual may define themselves as having the characteristics that are normally associated with a particular gender but will choose to identify elsewhere on the gender continuum. It use’s the love story of Rhys Ernst and Zackary Drucker as an example. It took five years for Zackary to transition from male to female and Rhys from female to male. But both truly believe that they were born the wrong gender, and choose to correct this wrong with hormone treatments, surgery and personality changes that to the more tradition eye may seem absurd and abnormal. This is one of the main reason such transgender couples are talking about their transformations. To beach this gap between transgender’s and the rest of the population. It is believed that by educating society, we are more likely to accept something than if we do not fully understand the parameters that surround such an issue.
Furthermore, the article clarifies that many transgender people experience a stage of identity development that aids in helping them better understanding their own self-image reflection, and expression. More specifically, they reach out to professional...
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...imed to discuss and highlight issues surrounding the acceptance of Transgender people in the United States. It used pop culture celebrities to make the point that everyday people of whom we idolize are among this group and should be respected and accepted into normal, everyday U.S. culture.
To conclude, I chose this article as I found the discussion point interesting and wanted to bring to more people’s attention some of the underlying discrimination that is embedded in U.S. culture. Although transgender people are in the minority, they are no less than myself. I believe strongly that they deserve the same rights and opportunities that are presented to me daily. This article is relevant to the issues of Cultural Anthropology as it addresses questions surrounding gender stereotypes, gender discrimination, gender performance as well as relationship ties and kinship.
Andrews begins his narrative by comparing the outlooks upon being transgender to a more normal stance or as his girlfriend (who is bisexual) put it “‘Why can’t you just be gay?’” “‘Why can’t you be normal?’” Being transgender was still a fairly new concept at the time whereas being gay or bisexual was more widely accepted. He affirms the outlook upon being transgender by means of a quote from his current girlfriend “‘Why do you have to mess with this whole transgender thing?’” He
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
The medicalization of transgender tendencies, under what was Gender Identity Disorder, was demoralizing to all transgender people. This resulted in a form of structured and institutionalized inequality that made an entire group of people internalize their problems, making them question not only their own identity, but also their sanity. Therefore, the removal of this disorder from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 2013 and the newest editions was important in that it shows society’s recognition and acceptance of the transgender
Barbie is tall, thin, has large hips and a large chest; she is beautiful, blonde, and she loves to shop; overall, Barbie is the feminine ideal. As researchers Jacqueline Urla and Alan Swedlund acknowledge, “little girls learn, among other things, about the crucial importance of their appearance to their personal happiness and to their ability to gain in favor with their friends” (1995:281). Gender roles are both centered around behavior as well as around bodies; this poses huge problems for transgender people, as well as explanations for transphobia; society has, for so long, accepted gender and sex to be synonymous. Because of this, a person whose gender is female and whose body is (rhetorically) male is a frightening and concerning deviant to most people’s understanding of the way in which gender exists. Everything that has to do with ideals for bodies leads to problems for transgender people; whether it is, as Urla and Swedlund also commented, that “...woman’s body was understood through the lens of her reproductive functions” (1995:287), or the general idea of “norms” for body proportions. When considering women’s bodies’ main purpose to be that of reproduction, it is apparent why the concept of transgender people may be concerning; transgender women -- that is, people, assigned male at birth but who live as women -- are women whose bodies cannot reproduce in the way that women are expected to; transgender men -- people assigned female at birth but who live as men -- may still have bodies which are viewed as useful mainly for their reproductive capabilities, but which they do not intend to acknowledge or use as such. When things stray so drastically from a norm which has long been accepted with minimal thought, onlookers panic that other norms will start to change as well. Straying from this norm also
Mental health professional have tried to correct their ‘‘gender identity disorder’’ with brutal aversion therapies. Tran’s youth who came out often faced crises throughout their family and social systems. Once out, developing a sense of realness about their new gender became extremely important. An urgent need develops ‘‘to match one’s exterior with one’s interior’’ In ad...
Transgender is an umbrella term, meaning an individual’s gender-identity does not align with their assigned sex at birth. Although transgender is a protected class in eighteen states, these individuals still face discrimination within the country and around the world (“Non-Discrimination Laws”). Transgender is not a lifestyle, no one chooses to live their life constantly being discriminated against. Transgender issues should be more educated on and their lives should be more protected.
In society, people have an issue with things that are different. Individuals want to know who a person is and what they are all about. When human beings cannot figure out what a person is they become confused and often times angry. If a person does not fit into any gender category that someone is familiar with that person becomes an outcast. Being a part of a group is essential in society and those who do not are made to commit societal suicide. If a person is not part of society it is extremely difficult for that person to be able reap the important benefits of society. These individuals are forced to belong to a group that shares the same experiences and lifestyle choices. In this essay, I will be discussing this idea in the form of a documentary called Southern Comfort. It is based on transgendered living in a rural area in Georgia. I will discuss summary, main points, and the importance of cohesion of gender.
The depiction of transgender women characters in mainstream television has been offensive, insulting and derogatory. An article from GLADD called “Victims or Villains: Examining Ten Years of Transgender Images on Television”, examines 102 episodes and storylines on mainstream television that contained transgender characters since 2002. Of these, more than half were characterized as containing negative representations of transgender. In 2007 only 1% of television series had a recurring transgender character, which has slowly increased to 4% in 2013.
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...
In today's world there are many different sexual identities a person can adhere to, instead of just being heterosexual or homosexual. What a sexual identity is, is how one refers to think of oneself in terms of whom one is romantically or sexually attracted to. A type of sexual identity is when a person both male or female feel like they are inside the wrong body and they wish to have a sex change. Individuals who identify themselves as transgender aren’t usually adults, in some cases it is children who go through the stages of feeling out of place with there bodies and wish to change it. Some people in today's society would find it very odd that children would wish to be in a different body, in order to understand why this is happening you would have to know what exactly is transgender and transsexual, what causes transgenderism, and the early signs of transgenderism. This phenomenon has been around for a very long time and due to the fact that there is a large misunderstanding there is much confusion when faced with it. In order for one to understand how children become transgender or transsexual one must know what transgender and transsexual mean, what causes transgenderism, and the early signs of it and be mentally prepared for what is to come. Most of the responsibility in understanding transgender children falls on the parents of transgender children.
Imagine going through life believing that you were born into the wrong body. This is how a transgender feels as they go through life. A transgender is a person who whose self-identity does not conform unambiguously to male or female sex. This topic is very controversial due to many arguments about the differences between the male and female physique. The natural biological differences between males and a females play a huge role in this controversy.
Before taking a look at the current even analyzed in this paper a few terms and definitions need to be addressed. “Transgender is an umbrella term used to describe those whose gender identity, expression, or behavior differs from their assigned sex at birth or is outside the two gender categories” (Chambliss, 2015). It is important to note that transgender also includes other categories such as “transsexual, cross-dresser, androgynous, genderqueer, bigender, third gender, and gender nonconforming” (Chambliss, 2015). Transsexual generally refers to those who have gone through hormone therapy and surgery to change their gender. This is about their gender identity not their sexual orientation. Public education and awareness on this topic will most assuredly rise in light of the Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner transformation.
In the United states during the 1920’s, or roaring twenties, through the 30’s was a time of vast African American musical and artistical expression. This movement called “The Harlem Renaissance” gave way to new ideas about homosexuality and transgenders. This movement was also, “Marked by the attitude that homosexuality was a personal matter”(Gibson 52). In other words, they thought that being gay, lesbian, or transgender was a personal choice and should not be against the law. Although a lot of attention was being given to gays and lesbians during this time, not much was written about transgenders until later on in
The saying ‘music is universal’ speaks true when we discuss how many people, including transgender people, connect with music and use it as an emotional outlet (Nichols, 269). Music and the composing of one’s own songs can allow for one to express feelings and create an identity for themselves through their music (Nichols, 262-279 and Drake, 1-31). YouTube is an innovative way to support their desire to create their own music and be seen and heard in a genuine and respectful way (Horak, 572- 585). Music is a beneficial factor in helping one find community and self-expression (Nichols, 262). As a result, more transgender people need to be seen as public figures in order to create tolerance and a more welcoming society (Mclntyre, 19-32).
It focus on the on experience of the 20 participant that happened to their lives while in the workplace. Bender-baird have done well made questions for 20 participants to have a comparable result like “what does employment discrimination look like for transgender people?” and what would policies and looks like on transgender people?. Bender-Baird attempts to explicity elaborate the success stories of the participants but discriminations still occurs and the most obvious form that happens among her participants is in the form of Harrasment. Under this chapter Bender-Baird discussed about Termination, unemployment and underemployment among transgender people. The lack of federal laws protecting her participants before makes them vulnerable in discrimination. Like, the example she gave at the first part of the book and stories of her participant that presented on this chapter. The data Bender-Baird presented on this chapter are well organized and gave an insight about the biases even with the limitation of data can gathered. The particular concerns of participants on this book are also the same problems on many study that have been conducted in regards of transgender discrimination in the work place and daily living. The particular concerns are the dress code on workplace, using bathrooms and identity documents. The author gives important of having a holistic approach trough out