Transgender Issues: Social

Transgendered people are very misunderstood outside of the LGBTQ community. The ignorance of the general public interferes with their ability to live a normal life.

After reading about different types of attitudes and the reasoning behind them, I feel as if my opinion of the Transgender Issue is both cognitive and affective. Equality is something I strive for at many different levels. I think it is wrong the way the transgendered are treated. My family always taught me to be accepting of others, no matter how different they are. Just because someone identifies as the opposite sex and you identify as your “assigned” one doesn’t mean they are wrong. Other influences that have informed this view include clubs like GSA (gay straight alliance), Queer Action, etc. I have many friends that are transgendered, whether they are transitioning now or have already transitioned. I have seen the awkwardness in public with restrooms, or service. I was born female and am pretty comfortable with that. I still get called sir from time to time because I have short hair and don’t dress as women “should”. I’ve experienced it at work when a ftm (female to male) comes in and asks to use the restroom. They are locked and I have to let them in. Do I unlock the women’s or the men’s restroom? I let them walk ahead and decide for me. I did a project last semester for one of my photography classes based on gender and how people can identify out of the norm. I spoke to as many people as I could about what they thought gender was and how it affected how they appeared. America's Next Top Model had a transgendered woman on their show. People were amazed at how beautiful she was because they knew that she actually still had male genitals. I don't understand why people can't just accept people as who they are and just leave it at that.

The issue is that people are ignorant. If they arent part of the LGBTQ community then they have whatever perceptions they learned about transgendered people. I Most people are not educated on the issue and refer to people who are transitioning or transitioned as Drag Queens/Kings or crossdressers. They are not putting on a show. They feel as if their biologically assigned gender is not one that fits and decide to appear as the one they feel more like. This does not mean they are freaks. I think its interesting that people construct stereotypes like metrosexual and tomboy but find it out of the question to appear as the opposite sex let alone have reassignment surgery.