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Identity
Photo Credit: Teresa Karolina from RICO RICO on XConfessions
Transgender is an umbrella term describing people who identify with a gender different from the one assigned to them at birth. This is often confused with people who are non-binary, which is an umbrella term for people who feel their gender identity exists or cannot be described by either male or female identity. Transgender, along with non-binary people, have existed everywhere and in every culture. In many cultures, transgender people have been considered “sacred” and revered for their proximity to the divine. Although some may view transgender people as new they have existed since the beginning of time. For example, in Ancient Mesopotamia dating around 5000 to 3000 B.C., the most highly venerated deity, Inanna, and her cult members and priests were known for blurring the lines of the gender binary. This map presents the hundreds of cultures throughout time that have acknowledged, celebrated, and integrated more than two genders into their respective societies. However, European colonization led to the imposition of the gender binary onto the rest of the world and it has since become the standard for gender identity today. Transgender peoples’ histories have long been silenced, but it is necessary to acknowledge their existence throughout time.
Many people, especially young people, turn to porn for sexual education to learn about the human body, sex, and sexuality. However, societal stereotypes on transgender people can lead to them being sexualized and fetishized in porn, giving an inaccurate representation of the community. Not only is it inaccurate, it can be harmful and dangerous. Most porn producers are not members of the trans community, nor the wider queer community; therefore, they are more likely to create content that misrepresents. Their content can promote derogatory terms and is typically catered towards cisgender, heterosexual people. Although not all porn that features transgender individuals is misrepresentative, too much of the time it centers on the humiliation and belittlement of transgender people.
These videos focus on the “punishing” of transgender people and include painful sexual practices along with derogatory, offensive terms. This teaches the audience that it is sexually acceptable to treat people, specifically transgender people, in a harmful way. In porn, marginalized individuals tend to be portrayed in ways that objectify and fetishize them rather than as real people who deserve love, respect, and care. When people support and watch these harmful productions, pornographers continue to create hurtful content as they gain profit. It is necessary to boycott these companies, productions, and producers, and look for inclusive, representative, and ethical porn.
Due to an exclusive, binary driven standard for gender identity, transgender people have a long history of discrimination. Discrimination is seen at every corner of society for transgender people and can range from systemic discrimination to microaggressions. Many places do not use gender diverse language and this form of discrimination is practically invisible to people who are unaffected by this lack of inclusivity, or rather people who subscribe to the gender binary. Trans people are often socially marginalized as they are bullied at school, face rejection by family, and can be denied employment opportunities. This climate of stigma, marginalization, and prejudice is often created by the nation state as many official documents do not match trans people’s names or gender identities. This is a form of human violation as people should have access to legal gender recognition and leads to the endangerment of trans people. By fostering this very limited view of gender, people can act out violently against people who express it differently than what some have been raised and taught to believe is ‘right’. There is an incredible risk of violence, especially for transgender people of color, and people from other already marginalized communities and backgrounds.
Discrimination in employment, a lack of relationship recognition and insurance coverage are things transgender people face on a regular basis. Consequently, they are less likely to be able to afford healthcare than their straight and cisgender neighbors. Apart from the lack of access due to issues of cost, transgender people face rampant discrimination as they have been denied care and experience a set of health issues that most healthcare providers are not educated on. According to The National Transgender Discrimination Survey: Report on Health and Health Care, a 2015 report of more than 6,450 transgender and gender non-conforming people, found several key findings on trans health disparities. Some of these include:
Not only does the report reveal disparities in receiving healthcare, it also reveals further implications on the mental health of transgender people. Due to the discrimination and harassment the transgender community faces, they are more prone to turn to substances, attempt or commit suicide, or suffer from poor mental health. Additionally, the report does not account for the experiences of transgender people of color, but these barriers to care and health disparities are even greater for them. The transgender community is more in danger in situations like poverty, war, natural disasters, as medicine and hormone treatments become harder to obtain.
“Health systems are built around a set of assumptions about health and illness, disability, and cure, who is and isn’t deserving of care and who does and does not have a ‘good’ body” (Sharman 2021). In other words, the meaning of health is culturally, socially, and even politically constructed; therefore, one individual’s experience in the healthcare system can differ widely from another person’s. The healthcare system was not created with transgender people in mind; therefore, it is necessary to question its history and implications for trans health and start to imagine the care we want to see.
The report mentioned above includes several public policy recommendations such as:
Although our healthcare system is failing transgender people tremendously, there are organizations that offer support and assistance to the LGBTQ+ community. It is important to highlight them and their work:
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