Importance of knowing/understanding Transgender as a Topic
The term transgender or Trans is used to refer to individuals whose current gender identity is different from what they were thought to be at the time of their birth (Whittle et al., 2016). It is important to understand or know about this topic because it will allow other people to respect and treat transgender individuals as they would treat any other individual. This knowledge will ensure that they understand the importance of using respectful terminologies when referring to transgender people (Whittle et al., 2016). Some ways of showing this kind of respect include calling them by their preferred names and not the old ones as well as employing the use of pronouns that are in line with their current gender identity. Understanding this topic would also enable other people to politely ask the pronouns transgender individuals want to be used on them just in case they are not sure. Additionally, it provides the opportunity for different people such as community members, students, and educators to improve the visibility of transgender people. This will also increase awareness about transgender and gender nonconforming individuals’ experience (Whittle et al., 2016).
Things I Didn’t Know About This Topic
The three things I did not know about this topic are the many misconceptions and stereotypes that most of us hold about the transgender community, it takes a lot of self-reflection to make a decision to undergo gender transition, and that identity is one’s own internal knowledge of their gender (Khan et al., 2016). There are many misconceptions about the transgender community, and all this have very important implications (Khan et al., 2016). Transgender individuals risk a lot once they reach at the final decision to undergo gender transition. They risk harassment, discrimination, and social stigma but still, they are well aware that being open about their genders is life-saving and life-affirming for them (Khan et al., 2016). About one’s identity, one’s knowledge that they are female, female, or another gender is very important. Gender expression can be observed on how individuals present themselves on the outside through behavior, body features, voice, hairstyle, body characteristics, voice, and clothing. The period when an individual starts to live as per their gender identity rather than previously thought is known as gender transition (Khan et al., 2016).
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Most Important Thing I Think Others Should Know
Other people in our society need to know that the transgender community is part of our society and discriminating or stigmatizing them is not acceptable. This is because stigma and description make it difficult for them to live and interact with other people freely (Schuster, Reisner & Onorato, 2016) . In some places, misinformation and harsh words and actions have become all too common. This allows everyone to acquire and learn about them and their lives. Consequently, everyone will be in a position to familiarize with this topic and learning the different ways in which similar or different (Schuster, Reisner & Onorato, 2016) . Ideally, this may assist to confidently and effectively especially when confronted with ignorance or bias as well as when offering support or extending friendship to our transgender brothers or sisters. It also enriches their knowledge as it expands their world by assisting them to better understand the beautiful and diverse aspects of human beings (Schuster, Reisner & Onorato, 2016) . This promotes diversity and inclusivity which ensures people nurture compassion and learns for personal growth (Schuster, Reisner & Onorato, 2016) .
One Change/Improvement I Would Want To See
One change/improvement that I would want to see as it relates to this subject/topic is that as a society we develop ways to tackle the challenges facing transgender community which include lack of legal protection (Khan et al., 2016). My suggestion for implementing it is that the transgender individuals are included under the existing non-discrimination protections because as it is now, gender identity is not included (Khan et al., 2016). Legislations or laws need to be passed and adopted with the sole goal of protecting gender identity. These laws should be designed specifically to protect the transgender community against discrimination and social stigma by replacing or not passing and adopting the legislation such as those which prohibit or deny transgender people the freedom to access public facilities such as bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity (Schuster, Reisner & Onorato, 2016). These laws should also be designed such that they prohibit the creation of exemptions or beliefs that would otherwise give room for discrimination of transgender people based on religious beliefs (Khan et al., 2016).
References
Winter, S., Diamond, M., Green, J., Karasic, D., Reed, T., Whittle, S., & Wylie, K. (2016). Transgender people: health at the margins of society. The Lancet, 388(10042), 390-400.
Wylie, K., Knudson, G., Khan, S. I., Bonierbale, M., Watanyusakul, S., & Baral, S. (2016). Serving transgender people: clinical care considerations and service delivery models in transgender health. The Lancet, 388(10042), 401-411.
Schuster, M. A., Reisner, S. L., & Onorato, S. E. (2016). Beyond bathrooms—meeting the health needs of transgender people. New England Journal of Medicine , 375 (2), -103101.
