Running head: TRANSGENDER RIGHTS 1

Transgender Rights
Izabell Jones
Sterling High School
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Abstract

Transgenders deserve rights, and equality. They are heavily discriminated against almost

everywhere they go. They are so heavily microscoped, and judged that they start to develop

depression, and even commit suicide. They actually take their own life because of how society

tears them down. Doctors won’t see a trans patient sometimes just because they don’t agree with

it. Religious people shove their beliefs down trans people's throats, contradicting themselves, and

what they stand for by disrupting peace in someone else’s life. People are really treacherous vile

creatures when they can’t keep opinions to themselves. Transgenders know that they are in the

wrong body from when they are young or realize it in adulthood, they naturally feel out of place

in their own skin. They didn’t choose this it’s just what naturally is right for them. They deserve

all the equality that everyone else receives.

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Transgender Rights

Final Outline

Topic: Transgender Equality & Rights

Thesis: Transgenders should have equal rights, they are heavily discriminated over, & they face

multiple hardships everyday.

I.Transgenders have faced discrimination all throughout history. Trans individuals get denied

basic rights that other people receive just because they are trans. In most environments such as

work, school, and sometimes prison trans people face various forms of abuse. Depression and

suicide rates are very high because of society. Transphobia is a myth. People uses transphobia to

mask their cruel intentions, which do not justify on their actions. Time is a big factor when it

comes to trans individuals finding out who they are. They have to take a lot in before they finally

are sure on if they want to accept it or hide it from themselves forever. Trans people are part of

what makeup humanity as a whole so they deserve the same rights everyone else get.

II.Trans-rights equal human rights

A.Transgender people are discriminated against in the workplace & schools.

1.Results of recent tests show that more than 402 transgenders have

experience physical or psychological abuse at their workplace. This information shows

that they can’t even be comfortable in a place they have to go everyday to make a living.
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2. School is supposed to be a safe place for people of all variety to go,but it’s turning into

a place kids dread to go. Kids at school get bullied severely which causes them to become

suicidal. The suicide rates in transgenders is very high.

B. Depression is very high in trans individuals.

1. When transphobic people express themselves abusively weather it’s

physical or mental it depresses transgender people.

2.Transgender people despite what you think also have feelings, &

shouldn’t be made to feel worthless. Depression correlates with exposure to

transphobia.

C.Transphobia doesn’t really exist.

1.To have a phobia means to be scared of something like spiders or snakes

being scared of someone being themselves just because you don’t believe in it is

silly.

2.Nobody is terrified of gender-conformation, people just use transphobia

as a blanket to cover up their cruel words & actions. Which does not justify their

actions.

III.Transgender people don’t choose how they feel.

A.Transgender people naturally feel like they are in the wrong body.

1.Transgender people can discover that they are transgender at any age. A lot of

the time they just naturally feel like they are in the wrong body.
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2.Transgender people don’t just wake up one day & think “Oh ya know what I

wanna be a transgender today.” They don’t choose it they just naturally feel that they don’t in to

the body they were given.

B. For transgenders, recognizing who they are takes a lot of reflection.

1.Trans people risk social stigma, discrimination, & harassment when they decide

to tell people who they are. Despite the risks living a life that feels truly authentic can be truly

liberating.

2. Transgender people when deciding if they wanna come out have to consider

that not all their loved ones will love them the same, & that thought is very detrimental to them

because they have to decide between their happiness or their loved ones.

C.It could take quite some time or no time at all for trans people to realize who they are.

1.Some people can follow their awareness to them being trans to early childhood

that they just knew.

2.For others it could take years to know who they are, & why they felt as if they

have never fit in, & why they didn’t feel comfortable in their own skin.

IV. Transgenders are sometimes denied health care, face employment discrimination along with

other forms of bias.

A. The percentage of trans people who face employment discrimination is fairly large.

1.A sample study shows that out of 402 people 37% have faced employment

discrimination.
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2.Those 37% were nearly 5 times more likely to experience some sort of violence

than those who haven’t experienced this sort of discrimination.

B. Trans people have been denied health care.

1. A lot of healthcare providers have denied transgenders healthcare due to their

own bias.

2. Finding a doctor that won’t look at them in disgust, & like they are an actual

human being is hard.

C. People believe that there isn’t enough social space for transgender people.

1.Gender theorists believe that people shut trans people out because there isn’t

enough social room for them.

2.There is a lot of close minded religious people who are terribly rude to the trans

community.

V. In conclusion Transgender aren’t getting the respect they deserve. They go through

continuous forms of abuse. They are faced with “transphobic” people who constantly make them

feel like they are worthless. Transgender people are humans just like everyone else they need and

deserve all aspects of respect that everyone else receives. They are denied health care which is a

major issue, because serious injury or even death could occur during that time of neglect by a

doctor. Trans people are taking their own life because of how they are viewed upon society. For

one human to push another fellow human to take their own life is repulsive. What is happening

needs more attention drawn to it all the facts are at our fingertips we just need to take advantage

of it.
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Transgenders have faced discrimination all throughout history. Trans individuals get

denied basic rights that other people receive just because they are trans. In most environments

such as work, school, and sometimes prison trans people face various forms of abuse. Depression

and suicide rates are very high in transgenders because of society. Transphobia is a myth. People

use transphobia to mask their cruel intentions, which does not justify their actions. Time is a big

factor when it comes to trans individuals finding out who they are. They have to take a lot in

before they finally are sure on if they want to accept it or hide it from themselves forever. Trans

people are part of what makeup humanity as a whole so they deserve the same rights everyone

else gets.

Trans-rights are the equivalent of human rights.

Transgender people face discrimination in the workplace, schools, and prison. According

to Journal of Sex Research (2014), “results of many studies have shown that more than 402 trans

individuals have experienced physical or psychological abuse in their workplace.”

(Carrera-Fernández, M. V., Lameiras-Fernández, M., Rodríguez-Castro, Y., & Vallejo-Medina,

2014, p.6) Going to a place that you have to be almost everyday to make a living or get an

education, and feeling like you can’t be truly comfortable because of how you're treated is just a

terrible thing. Action needs to be taken, policies need to be changed. According to this case study

done by Case, K. A., Kanenberg, H., 'Arch' Erich, S., & Tittsworth, J. (2012), “This case study

focuses on policy change efforts to challenging gender-conforming privilege and gain

protections for transgender individuals”(p.68). The fact that they use a college campus as an

example is great way to show a foundation of old policies that need to be broken​. ​It is

gratifyingly inhuman to destroy someone based on how they live their life if they’re not hurting
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anybody. School is supposed to be safe environment for people of variety to go, but it’s turning

into a place students dread to go to. People who aren’t popular, or fit the “social norms” hate

going to school because people there treat them like a science experiment and pick them apart

with words. Bullying increases suicidal thoughts. The suicide rates in transgenders are very high.

According to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (2016) “30 percent of transgender

youth report a history of at least one suicide attempt, and nearly 42 percent report a history of

self injury such as cutting.” (Claire M. Peterson, Abbigail Matthews, Emily Copps-Smith, and

Lee Ann Conard, 2016, p.1) Also according to Perez Brummer, A., Hatzenbuehler, M. L.,

Oldenburg, C. E., and Bockting, W. (2015), “This study assessed individual (ie, internalized

transphobia) and structural forms of stigma as risk factors for suicide attempts among

transgender adults” This quote can draw attention to the fact that trans people are out there taking

their own lives, because they are harshly judged for being themselves. Depression is also very

high in transgender individuals. When transphobic people express themselves abusively weather

it’s physical or mental it depresses the people they take it out on. According to Nemoto, T.,

Bödeker, B., & Iwamoto, M. (2011), “A multiple regression analysis showed that depression was

signicantly correlated with needs for, activities of, and satisfaction with social support;

transphobia; suicidal ideation.” This is explaining how suicidal thoughts, and depression come

along with judgement a lot of trans people receive.​ ​Depression correlates with exposure to

transphobia. Transphobia doesn’t really exist, to have phobia means to be scared of something

like spiders or snakes. Being scared of someone just for being themselves is absolutely ignorant.

No one is terrified of gender-conformation. People are just using transphobia as a blanket to

cover up their cruel words and actions. In prison it is very traumatic for transgender individuals.
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According to Legitimating Transphobia (2013), “People have been injured, and almost even

killed due to them be a transgender.” (Erni, J.N., 2013, p.27) Prison is already a terrifying place

but imagine going in being something most people consider abnormal.

Trans people realizing who they are takes time.

They don’t just wake up one day and say “Hey I want to be a different gender today.”

They naturally feel like they are in the wrong body. A lot of people think that trans people decide

to become trans for attention, but that is not the case. Transgender people can discover that they

are in the wrong body at any age. A lot of the time they just naturally feel like they are

uncomfortable in their body. For transgenders recognizing who they are takes a lot of reflection.

Trans people risk social stigma, discrimination, & harassment when they decide to tell people

their aspirations. Despite the risks living a life that feels wholeheartedly authentic can be truly

liberating. When deciding when they wanna come out trans people have to consider that not all

their family will love them the same, and that thought is very detrimental to them because they

have to decide between their happiness or their loved ones happiness. It could take quite some

time or no time at all for trans people to realize what is going on with them. It is a huge

psychological process for transgenders to imagine their life comfortable in their own skin but

society not comfortable with it. According to Laura Arrowsmith (2017),

​Gender identity — that internal sense of knowing oneself to be a man, woman or other

— is understood to typically be fully developed by around the age of 4, sometimes

earlier. Gender identity is unchanging and unchangeable, hard-wired into our brains. All

of us inherently know our gender identity: It is not a conscious decision, but rather one
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aspect of everything that makes each of us an individual. Transgender people are simply

born with a gender identity that does not match their body. (p.1)

Some people can trace their awareness to them being trans to early childhood to where they just

knew. For others it takes them years to figure it all out, and why they felt as if they never fit in,

or felt comfortable in their own skin.

Transgenders are sometimes denied health care, face employment discrimination,

along with other forms of bias.

According to Bradford, J., Reisner, S. L., Honnold, J. A., & Xavier, J. (2013), “A

sample study shows that out of 402 people 37% have face employment discrimination. Those

37% were nearly 5 times more likely to experience some sort of violence then those who haven’t

been in those type of situations.” ( Bradford, J., Reisner, S. L., Honnold, J. A., & Xavier, J.

(2013), p.103) Doctors refusing to see trans patience can have dire consequence. A Doctor’s job

is to make sure that you are healthy. They need to separate their personal opinion from work.

Something that the trans patient thinks is minor could be a much bigger issue. They work so hard

to be comfortable in their own skin so to degrade them and take a piece of their self esteem away

is just awful. Finding a doctor that won’t look at them in disgust, and like they’re an actual

person is hard. According to the National LGBTQ Task Force (2018), “​Transgender and gender

non-conforming people face rampant discrimination in health care settings, are regularly denied

needed care, and experience a range of health risks because they are transgender or gender

non-conforming, according to a report of more than 6,450 transgender and gender

non-conforming people.” (National LGBTQ Task Force, 2018, p.1) ​ Transgenders are denied
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multiple things just because of bias against them. People believe that there isn’t enough social

space for transgender individuals. Gender theorists believe that people push trans people out

because there isn’t enough social room for them. It's not just that there “isn’t enough social room

for them” it’s also because of religious values many people hold. Highly religious people try to

tell trans people that they are going eternal damnation just because of the simple fact that they

are a transgender individual. According to Alicia Jordan (2017) “Trans people fall outside of the

rigid and tidy little world that conservative Christians have built for themselves.” (Alicia Jordan,

2017, p.1) In the bible it says only God can judge you but apparently religious people seem to

disregard that when it comes to tearing down trans people with their opinions.

In conclusion Transgenders aren’t getting the respect they deserve. They go through

continuous forms of abuse. They are faced with “transphobic” people who constantly make them

feel like they are worthless. Transgender people are humans just like everyone else they need and

deserve all aspects of respect that everyone else receives. They are denied health care which is a

major issue, because serious injury or even death could occur during that time of neglect by a

doctor. Trans people are taking their own life because of how they are viewed upon society. For

one human to push another fellow human to take their own life is repulsive. What is happening

needs more attention drawn to it all the facts, and way to help are at our fingertips we just need

to take advantage of it.

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References

Carrera-Fernández, M. V., Lameiras-Fernández, M., Rodríguez-Castro, Y., & Vallejo-Medina, P.

(2014). Spanish Adolescents’ Attitudes toward Transpeople: Proposal and Validation of a

Short Form of the Genderism and Transphobia Scale. ​Journal Of Sex Research​, ​51​(6), 654.

Case, K. A., Kanenberg, H., 'Arch' Erich, S., & Tittsworth, J. (2012). Transgender Inclusion in

University Nondiscrimination Statements: Challenging Gender-Conforming Privilege

through Student Activism. ​Journal Of Social Issues​, ​68​(1), 145-161.

Erni, J. N. (2013). LEGITIMATING TRANSPHOBIA. ​Cultural Studies​, ​27​(1), 136-159.

Nemoto, T., Bödeker, B., & Iwamoto, M. (2011). Social Support, Exposure to Violence and

Transphobia, and Correlates of Depression Among Male-to-Female Transgender Women

With a History of Sex Work. ​American Journal Of Public Health​, ​101​(10), 1980.

Perez-Brumer, A., Hatzenbuehler, M. L., Oldenburg, C. E., & Bockting, W. (2015). Individual-

and Structural-Level Risk Factors for Suicide Attempts Among Transgender Adults.

Behavioral Medicine​, ​41​(3), 164-171.

(Claire M. Peterson, Abbigail Matthews, Emily Copps-Smith, and Lee Ann Conard, 2016, p.1)

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (2016)

Laura Arrowsmith (2017),

Bradford, J., Reisner, S. L., Honnold, J. A., & Xavier, J. (2013), ( Bradford, J., Reisner, S. L.,

Honnold, J. A., & Xavier, J. (2013), p.103)

National LGBTQ Task Force (2018),​(National LGBTQ Task Force, 2018, p.1)

Alicia Jordan, 2017, (p.1) https://classroom.google.com/c/NTU3MDA3NTcwM1pa

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Annotated Bibliography

García, J. P. (2016). Transgender inequality. ​Salem Press Encyclopedia​,

Katyal, S. K. (2017). The Numerus Clausus of Sex. ​University Of Chicago Law Review​, ​84​(1),

389-494.

Leavitt, L. (2016). Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Civil Rights: A Public Policy

Agenda for Uniting a Divided America. ​Public Integrity​, ​18​(4), 441-444.

(Laura Ungar, 2015, p.1)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/08/16/transgender-individuals-face-high-rates

--suicide-attempts/31626633/
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