Transgendered Today

1. Transgendered Today Presented by: Alissa Brower AzitaMamdouhi Sarah Parshall Alyssa Rosen April 21, 2013

2. Sex versus Gender • Sex: referring to “biologically based distinctions between the sexes” • Gender: “the social construction of differences between women and men”

3. Biological/Social constructs • “people commonly believe sex differences to be far greater than they actually are”- nurtured gender expression • Sex accounted for no more than 4% of the variance in verbal, quantitative and visual-spatial ability

4. Problems with Gender • Inequality of treatment between men and women; supposed differences used as means of treating women as inferior • Difficulties in identifying self within a binary structure

5. Defining Transgender • “Trans” meaning “across”- “across gender” as literal definition • Gender Expression as a means for expressing gender identity • Individuals who identify with another gender than the sex assigned at birth • MTF: Male-to-Female • FTM: Female-to-Male

6. Psychological Approach to Transgendered persons • DSM-V reclassified Gender Identity Disorder (GID) as Gender Dysphoria, now no longer classified as a mental illness (2010) • Controversy: the usefulness of GID classification for legal cases

7. Transitioning • Hormone therapy • Surgery terminology: “sex-change” to “sex reassignment” to “sex affirmation” • Retraining, redecorating the body • “Coming out” to family and friends • Between 2-5% of people are transgendered

8. Demographics

9. Transgender: Early History • Greek goddess Venus Castina • Assyrian king; Sardanapalus • Gregory of Tours • Pelagia (1200s) • Chevalier d’Eon (1728-1810) • The term homosexual prosed by Kertbeny in 1869 regarded as third sex. • Gender inversion • Confusion with terms

10. Transgender: History • Early 1900s: Magnus Hirschfield • German Physician pivotal to the study of sexuality and gender • Coined the term “Transsexual” as an individual who has a strong desire to change sexual morphology • Dora Richter: male-to-female genital transformation surgery in 1931.

11. Transgender: History • 1920s: a pivotal decade in women’s rights; the social dynamics of Jazz decade • Transgender, gay, lesbian distinction in the 1920s.

12. Transgender: History • Harry Benjamin: 1950s leading medical authority on transsexuality • Christine Jorgensen • Made GRS widely known • Virginia Price • Foundation for Personality Expression • Medicine (double edged sword) • Government Harassment/Legal Issues

13. Intersectionality Theory “To understand the historical conditions for contemporary transgender activism, we thus have to take into account race, class, culture, sexuality, and sexism, and we have to develop an understanding of the ways that U.S. society has fostered conditions of inequality and injustice for people who aren’t white, male, heterosexual, and middle class—in addition to understanding the difficulties particularly associated with engaging in transgender practices.” (Stryker, 2008, p. 36)

14. Policies of Protection • National Level • State Level • Local Level

15. National Level • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 • Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin • April 2012 – U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled “intentional discrimination against a transgender individual because that person is transgender is, by definition ‘based on … sex’ and such discrimination … violates Title VII.” (Transgender Law Center)

16. National Level (cont’d) • Matthew Shepard & James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 • Federal criminal law which criminalizes willfully causing bodily injury (or attempting to do so with fire, firearm, or other dangerous weapon) when:(1) the crime was committed because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin of any person or (2) the crime was committed because of the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person and the crime affected interstate or foreign commerce or occurred within federal special maritime and territorial jurisdiction.

17. State and Local Protection • 13 states (California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington) and the District of Columbia • Over 100 cities and counties

18. State Level • Disability Law - New Jersey Law Against Discrimination • Gender dysphoria as mental psychological or developmental disability • Equal Rights Law – Massachusetts Transgender Equal Rights Law • Prohibits discrimination against Transgender persons • Hate crime defined as any crime motivated by one’s gender identity

19. Local Level • Human Resources Management • Develop gender neutral dress codes • Sensitivity to bathroom usages • Respecting changes in identity • Providing health benefits

20. Absence of Protection • Public school policies • Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act – “Places of public accommodation may not deny any person participation, entry, or services based upon the person’s sexual orientation or transgender status.” • Voter ID

21. TransgenderedCases & Incidences

22. Transgendered Childhood: Jazz

23. Gender-Based Violence • Violence that is directed against a person on the basis of gender. • Includes: Violence towards those who are non-gender conforming

24. 50 Under 30: Gender War on America’s Youth Race

25. Victims of GBV • Most victims are biologically male • Black and Latino • Transgressing boundaries in some kind of way. • Almost all killed by males about their own age.

26. Why Does this Occur? • Wider Gender Culture • Rewards Hyper-masculinity, loathes “sissies” • “Boy code” - Gender expression to toughen up young boys and enforces femininity in young girls

27. Case 1: Tyra Hunter (1970-1995) • African-American pre-operative Transexual MTF • Died in a car accident due to medical malpractice

28. Case 2: Gwen Araujo (1985-2002) • Latina MTF Teen • Stopped attending school • Sexual relations with two boys at a party • Brutally beaten to death on October 3, 2002.

29. Case 3: Sakia Gunn (1987-2003) • African-American Lesbian • Embraced masculine gender presentation • Gunn and two friends were approached by two black males. • Killed on May 11, 2003.

30. Case 4: Allison Decatrel (1982 -1999) • African-American girl • Trick-or-treating with friends • Fatally killed by a car

31. Similarities of GBV Victims • Most victims are • of color, • poor, • Transgender or Gay, • biologically male but not presenting masculinely, • ignored by the media,

32. Similarities of GBV Assailants • All assailants are male, most attack biologically-male peers of their own age. • Most assailants • use extreme violence, • live in major cities, • are not investigated as hate crimes, • go free.

33. What can we do? • Educate children, parents, teachers, law enforcement, the workforce, and media about Gender Identity and Expression(i.e. speaking engagements, dialogue). • Establish laws that account for and treat Transgendered people equal in all aspects of life.

34. What can we do? • Report cases and incidences to the media. • Respond firmly to intolerance against gender non-conformity • Redefine or broaden the definitions of manhood/masculinity and womanhood/femininity.

35. What can we do? • Create programs that support and encourage transgender youth to receive an education. • TV shows that “normalize” gender non-conformity.

36. References • ABCNews. (2013, Jan 19). Transgendered at 11: Listening to Jazz. Retrieved April 6, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJw3s85EcxM • Bennett-Smith, Meredith. (April 2013). Ally Robledo, Transgender Woman, Cited For Trespassing After Using Girl's Bathroom In Idaho. Huffington Post. Obtained from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/15/ally-robledo-transgender-trespassing-grils-bathroom-idaho_n_3086988.html#slide=875155 • Beredjick, Camille. (July 2012). DSM-V To Rename Gender Identity Disorder 'Gender Dysphoria‘. The Advocate. Obtained from http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2012/07/23/dsm-replaces-gender-identity-disorder-gender-dysphoria • Bettcher, T. M. (2007). Evil deceivers and make-believers: On transphobic violence and the politics of illusion.Hypatia, 22(3), 43-65. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/233230091?accountid=14541 • Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. Colorado Civil Rights Division, Department of Regulatory Agencies. Retrieved from http://www.transgenderlaw.org/ndlaws/ColoradoFAQ.pdf • DuLong, J. (2003, Oct 14). A movement grows in newark. The Advocate, , 22-22. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/215738151?accountid=14541 • GenderPAC. (2006). 50 under 30: Masculinity and the war on America’s youth—A human rights report. Retrieved August 10, 2007, from http://www.gpac.org/50under30/50u30.pdf • Heath, R. A. (2006). The Praeger Handbook of Transsexuality. Westport: Praeger Publishers. • http://www.transgenderlaw.org/resources/transfactsheet.pdf • Guerrero, S. (2010, Oct 13). Mother of slain teen gwenaraujo addresses LGBT youth suicide. Windy City Times. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/811316044?accountid=14541

37. References • Lamble, S. (2008). Retelling racialized violence, remaking white innocence: The politics of interlocking oppressions in transgender day of remembrance. Sexuality Research & Social Policy, 5(1), 24-42. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/srsp.2008.5.1.24 • Matthew Shepard & James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009. The United States Department of Justice. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/crm/matthewshepard.php. • Mooney, Margaret. (1990). Sex and Gender: What do we know? Sociological Forum, vol. 5, no. 1 (Mar), pp. 95-120 • Risman, Barbara J. (2004). Gender as a Social Structure: Theory Wrestling with Activism. Gender and Society, vol. 18, no.4 (Aug), pp.429-450.. • Rothaus, Steve (2012). EEOC: Transgender Workers Protected by Title VII, the Federal Law That Covers Sex Discrimination | Steve Rothaus' Gay South Florida. Miami Herald. Retrieved from http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2012/04/eeoc-transgender-workers-protected-by-title-vii-the-federal-law-that-covers-sex-discrimination.html • Santorella, N. (2011). Massachusetts Legislature Passes Transgender Equal Rights Bill; Important Work Remains. GLAAD. Retrieved from http://www.glaad.org/blog/massachusetts-legislature-passes-transgender-equal-rights-bill-important-work-remains • Schrock, Douglas, Lori Reid and Emily M. Boyd. (2005). Transsexuals’ Embodiment of Womanhood. Gender and Society, vol. 19, no.3, (Jun), pp. 317-335. • Stricker, S. (2008). Transgender History. Berkeley: Seal Press. • Swanton, M. (2012). Transgender employees protected under title VII. Inside Counsel. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1022685423?accountid=14541 • Trotter, R. (2010). Transgender discrimination and the law. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 3(2), 55-60. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/196353665?accountid=14541

38. Thank you!Questions?