Transgender prejudice

Transgender prejudice occurs when transgender people are not treated equally in classrooms, workplaces, or other public places. Transgender people are often mistaken for gay or lesbian people, according to popular belief. This misunderstanding is one of the reasons that contribute to transgender people being discriminated against in society. Being transgender is all about gender identity and has little to do with a person's sexual orientation. Gender dysphoria is a disorder in which people lose touch with the sex assigned to them at birth. The theory uses psychosocial approaches to examine the nature of transgender individuals and argue against their discriminations in the society. The functional analysis applies the laws of operant conditioning to look at human behavior in a quest to determine the reason or purpose linked to a certain behavior. With this understanding, the discrimination behavior subjected to transgender members of the society

The backgrounds of Transgender

Transgender individuals have been facing discrimination in the society from as early as 1800. The discriminatory behavior has been guessed to stem form the terms used in the description of these individuals. There is evidence to show the presence and recognition of transgender as the third gender in c=some Native American tribes. The settlement of Europeans in America marked the onset transgender discrimination when they berdaches. The term ‘berdache,’ was used to mean a man trying to pass as a woman. Women who showed masculine characteristics were given the derogatory term passing women by these new settlers. There were times in the United States when transgender people were observed as having committed crimes through their behaviors of appearing to be passing women. The increase discrimination towards transgender community forced individuals to seek medical surgery to the genders in which reflected their inner feelings.

The 1950s marked the onset of transgender organizations and publications which sought to fight against their discrimination. These organizations started pushing for the considering of transgender people in institutions and public facilities. Another major historic presentation of transgender discrimination was observed in 1966 when the court ruled against the pleas of a transgender individual who sought to change their initial names to suit the gender that they acquired after surgery. Although much have been done to reduce transgender discrimination in various countries of the world, it is still observed that much still needs to be done, since transgender discrimination exists at the moment. Transgender discriminations in the contemporary times are seen in the areas discussed below.

Transgender discrimination in schools has been a major problem. Most of the school is not ready to accept the presence of the transgender student in their institutions, and for this reason, little or no facilities have been allocated for the transgender students. By remaining adamant over the needs of transgender students, school and learning intuitions are promoting discrimination toward this group. Falling not in the male or the female sections, transgender students need their washrooms and toilets. A lot of effort has been placed on this matter by human rights associations to see that transgender discrimination in schools is reduced. Another factor that explains transgender discrimination in schools is the insults and negative comments made by teachers and fellow students regarding the character of transgender students. It is prejudicial and cruel for anyone to comment negatively on somebody else’s natural behavior. Transgender and functional analysis theory explain that transgender individuals find themselves feeling detached from the gender they are assigned at birth naturally because of a psychological disorder.

The deduction system is further displaying the transgender discrimination by not designing curriculum materials in a manner that will favor transgender learners. There are certain activities that would call for involvement all the genders, and the consideration of those students whose gender alienation is not clear. Having a place for the transgender students in all the learning activities, allocation of resources and school facilities can work as a strategy to eliminate discrimination in learning institutions. The type of discrimination that college students, one the other hand, face the dilemma of having to choose between two genders that they do not conform to. Most of the college admission forms do not indicate gender non-conformity as one of the gender options.

Employment and workplace environment is the other part whereby transgender discrimination has thrived. Transgender or gender non-conforming individuals are often discriminated against during employee recruitment. Most of the employers are against employing these individuals because the fear the perceptions those clients might have (Hart, 2014). The perception given to the transgender individuals by the general public is what has driven this discrimination during employment. The other form of transgender discrimination present within the workplace is the lack specific facilities for transgender individuals. They also lack the necessary representation in trade unions and companies. Employee representation regarding gender is often found to consider the male and female genders. A majority of the corporate institutions discriminate the transgender community regarding representation with only a few considering the existence and contributions to corporate activities.

Sociological Framework

To be able to effectively tackle the issue of transgender discrimination, here one needs to look at the matter from a sociological perspective. The issue has a sociological basis ad applying the theories of sociology helps in getting a deeper look into the causes of transgender discrimination. Functional analysis is a theory that looks into behavior (Durkheim, 2014). Applying this theory in a quest to solve the discrimination lies within analyzing the behavior of the society, the resilient pressure to conform and to have others conforming, and the sociological factors explaining the life of a transgender person. The majority of members of the community think that it against the norm not to conform as either a man or woman. This is issues has caused the observed resistance in accepting that transgender individuals are compelled by fundamental factors to drift from the gender assigned to them at birth.

Sociological theories including the functional analysis theory and the transgender theory have a way of fostering the society’s understanding of the transgender issues, and in turn, accepting them as they are. Taking a sociological perspective as a substitute to the legal approach of the matter and be more productive than the former option. Analyzing the psychological and societal factors that detach an individual from the genders assigned to them.

Theoretical framework

Transgender discrimination can as well be analyzed using the one or more of the sociological theories. Functional analysis best looks into the matter by seeking to explain the psychological factors that affect behavior. Transgender individuals are often biologically functional in the gender they are assigned at birth, but the psychological disorder leads to them to carry the feelings and traits of the opposite gender. This, therefore, helps in the understanding of the fact that transgender individuals are neither gay nor lesbian. This understanding, derived from the transgender and the functional analysis theories of sociology helps in reducing the impact of transgender discrimination. The misconception of looking at transgender people as either being gay or lesbian is well tackled by the functional analysis theory when it examines the reasons that lead one to detach from the gender they are assigned. The community can be educated and informed on the differences between sexuality and gender identity. Functional analysis offers different explanations for sexuality and gender identity

Conclusion

In conclusion, one can still argue that transgender discrimination is still a rampant thing in the society. Transgender individuals, despite the efforts of the groups rallying for their rights, are still being oppressed and denied necessities by their gender identity. This is issues s most rampant with institutions, workplaces, and public places. The problem of transgender discrimination exists because of the people’s social orientation, and the only solution to the issue is by tackling from the sociological perspective. The sociological theirs have proved effective in the endeavor of understanding the transgender issues and, sensitizing the public against any stigmatization of the group.











References

Hart, L. (2014). With inadequate protection under the law, transgender students fight to access restrooms in public schools based on their gender identity. N. Ky. L. Rev., 41, 315.

Bradford, J., Reisner, S. L., Honnold, J. A., & Xavier, J. (2013). Experiences of transgender-related discrimination and implications for health: results from the Virginia Transgender Health Initiative Study. American Journal of Public Health, 103(10), 1820-1829.

Durkheim, E. (2014). The rules of sociological method: and selected texts on sociology and its method. Simon and Schuster.

Henslin, J. M., Possamai, A. M., Possamai-Inesedy, A. L., Marjoribanks, T., & Elder, K. (2015). Sociology: A down to earth approach. Pearson Higher Education AU.