~by Bryan Helmus
Transgender individuals, whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth, deserve the same fundamental rights and respect as everyone else.
Significantly, the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association hold that gender is expressed on a wide spectrum, not a binary structure consisting only of males and females. But none of us need a medical or psychiatric organization to tell us this is true. All we need to do is look to our own life experiences. For example, I know of a woman who, 50 years after the fact, will brag that not only did she play football with the boys as a seventh and eighth grader, but that she could – and did – physically beat up every boy in her class when the proper occasion arose. Looking back, this woman understands that she was a tomboy.
Interestingly, as a society, we seem to be less accepting of boys and men who act on a more effeminate side of the gender spectrum. Sometimes these males play with dolls or dress up in clothing stereotypically worn by girls and women. While we could use the neutral and corollary term tomgirl to describe these boys, I have never heard that term used, but I have heard many derogatory terms used which I will not dignify by naming. No doubt, each of us has known boys and men who are more effeminate in their manner than the stereotypical male.
Another location on the wide expression of gender is our neighbors who are gay or lesbian. Over time, with much persistence and hard work, our gay and lesbian friends and neighbors have gained a large level of acceptance by a great percentage of Americans. Without doubt, there is still more to be done on this civil rights front, but the point of this column is that each of us most likely know gay and lesbian people who express themselves differently than stereo-typical males and females on the wide spectrum of human gender.
For those who want to understand our transgender neighbors, a good place to start is to understand that the categories of sex and gender are not the same thing. In short, sex relates to biology, while gender relates to how a person experiences the sexual characteristics with which they were born. While the vast majority of humans are mostly comfortable with the sexual characteristics with which they were born, this is not true for all people.
Here’s a thought experiment: Imagine you experience a deep level of discomfort with the genitalia with which you were born; that instead of helping you navigate in society and culture, these physical organs cause you great despair and psychological distress. If this thought experiment helps you start to understand the struggles of transgender people, congratulations! For myself, I needed to listen to transgender people tell their stories to understand. At the least, what transgender people need is our commitment that trans people are entitled to all the same human and civil rights to which you and every other person is entitled.
Most likely, you will not be surprised to learn that transgender people often face discrimination in housing, employment, healthcare, and public accommodations. Likewise, they are disproportionately targeted for violence and harassment. In 2023, the violence against transgender people became so great that an organization, called “The Human Rights Campaign,” that has worked for more than 40 years towards safety and well being for members of our transgender community, declared a National State of Emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans. You can read their report online, “The Epidemic of Violence Against the Transgender and Gender-Expansive Community.”
In addition to freedom from discrimination, transgender people need access to gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy and surgery, medically necessary for some transgender individuals. Importantly, transgender people should have the right to legally change their name and gender on official documents, reflecting their true identity. Denying this right invalidates their existence and creates practical difficulties in daily life. For a transgender person, claiming and using a self-chosen name that matches the gender they experience is like a new birth. You show deep caring and respect for a transgender person by addressing them with this name.
If like me, you have a person in your family or circle of friends who is transgender, then supporting this fellow human who you love so much is not only a matter of basic human rights, it is also a deeply personal issue – a matter of human dignity and equality. If you don’t have a dearly loved transgender person in your family or circle of friends, imagine that you do. How would you like society to treat this person?
