Trans people are born with this condition, and it's something we deal with and struggle with every day. We're good people who, just like everyone else, are simply trying to make our way through life and carve out our own piece of happiness; we just happen to be dealing with an excruciating set of circumstances in the process.
Now why I'm writing today is to say that things don't have to be so bleak for people like myself. There IS a way for things to get better for trans people.
The first thing that could make it better is eliminating the fear of the disproportionate amount of physical violence that is needlessly levied against us. 61% of trans people were the victims of physical assault and 64% were the victims of sexual assault—all simply for choosing to accept, deal with, and express publicly a condition that we were born with and attempt to cope with every day.
There's also the matter of employment. 97% of trans people have experienced some form of workplace discrimination, and the trans unemployment rate is TWICE what the national average is, with this number being even higher for trans people of color. In 34 states it is completely and totally legal to fire someone because they are trans and that person would have absolutely no legal recourse.
Now some may say here, "What's the big deal? It's not that serious, because it's not like it's a life-threatening condition or anything." Well, these people would be wrong.
Being trans doesn't kill in the way that something as insidious and awful as cancer and a myriad of other diseases do, but 41% of trans people attempt suicide. 41%! (Compare that to 1.6% for all Americans.) And this 41% only takes into account the cases that are actually reported. Additionally, this doesn't address the more quiet ways to commit suicide. Over a quarter of trans people have misused drugs or alcohol (national averages are 7.3% for alcohol and 1.7% for prescription drugs), while over 30% smoke cigarettes (almost 10% higher than the national average). These numbers are so high for a reason. They are so high because trans people are dealing with something that causes severe and relentless mental anguish. So being trans doesn't kill by attacking and destroying someone's body; it kills by ravaging a person’s thoughts, emotions, and psyche.
And while people with other life-threatening conditions most often get care and compassion, trans people get treated with misunderstanding and sometimes revulsion. 19% of trans people were refused healthcare, 28% were harassed in medical settings, and 2% were the victims of violence in doctor's offices.
So, to put it lightly, people are SUFFERING because of this situation. BUT some of this suffering COULD be alleviated by making the road for trans people easier—by NOT treating us as pariahs, by fighting the violence perpetrated against us, by allowing us to go to work safely without fear of discrimination or the threat of losing our jobs, and by giving us access to healthcare and include in that healthcare the coverage for procedures and processes that will help us to safely deal with our congenital condition.
I'm very happy to say that there has been SOME progress. The Matthew Shepard Act expanded the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. Now some may question the effectiveness of this and other hate-crime legislation, but hey, it's a start. If it gets even one person to not attack another due to the fear of the severity of the penalty, then the law is working.
Legislation like the Student Non-Discrimination Act and the Safe Schools Improvement Act have been introduced in Congress, and the website stopbullying.gov has been founded—all of these are designed to help provide an environment where ALL students can feel safe to learn without fear of harassment. This is pertinent to what I'm saying here because, according to a 2009 GLSEN survey, nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students experienced harassment at school in the past year and nearly two-thirds felt unsafe.
There is also a proposed bill in Congress called the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (or ENDA) that would protect LGBT people from discrimination in the workplace. This essentially extends to LGBT people across the country the employment protections already in place to cover discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, age, and other classes.
Personally I have been watching the progression of the ENDA through the years because this obviously concerns me a great deal. As someone who is "out" to almost everyone in my life, I still had to be ultra-careful about letting anyone in my workplace know anything about a situation that I have been contending with for decades. This was to the point of basically having to hide who I am to almost everyone I worked with, to the degree of taking up a very vague Facebook moniker so that acquaintances in work couldn't find me online. This is because something as innocuous as my Facebook profile could possibly have been the source of me getting fired or discriminated against in work, and if that did happen, there really wouldn't have been a blessed thing that I could have done about it, because trans people have ZERO protection where I worked.
But then there's this bill, and it would cover the WHOLE COUNTRY. No LGBT person would ever have to live with these kinds of fears, or, at the very least, they would be greatly lessened.
The kicker here, and the greater point of this post, is that most Democrats in Congress support the ENDA, and President Obama has also ardently backed it. Most (if not all) Congressional Republicans, on the other hand, would not vote for it, which is why this bill hasn't even gotten to the floor since the mid-term elections of 2010 when the GOP gained control of the House of Representatives.
SO... how could I ever possibly be expected to vote for people who would rather me and others like me live in fear? How could I ever vote for people who would never give me a second thought? How could I vote for people who think me sick and perverted? How could I vote for people who say that I shouldn't be allowed to have a job like a teacher because children should never be exposed to people like me? (Some—possibly a great many—also say and think these things about the gay population in case you were wondering.)
I will tell you FLAT OUT, if you vote for pretty much any Republican at the national level, you are voting for the continuance of these attitudes. You are voting for me and for the entire LGBT population to continue to suffer. If the Republicans have control over Congress, and especially the presidency, there is NO. WAY. that life will get better for me, people like me, or anyone else in the LGBT spectrum until they no longer have that control or there's a massive sea change in their entire party's platform.
Now everyone should vote with their hearts and vote for what they personally believe is right, BUT if you are voting Republican in this election, are the reasons why you're doing it strong enough and valid enough to counter the fact that me and people like me will continue to suffer?
In contrast to the Republican viewpoint, Vice President Biden called transgender discrimination the "civil rights issue of our time" at a recent campaign event in Florida. Both he and President Obama have embraced forward thinking ideas about LGBT people such as endorsing gay marriage—the first time in history that this has ever happened from either a sitting president or vice president. So, there are people like this who are open-minded and concerned about the welfare of millions of Americans, and there are those on the other side of the aisle who are so adamantly against this idea that they want to pass a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT to BAN gay marriage, which, by the by, would also effectively negate the marriages that have already been performed in an ever-growing number of states. Many, including Governor Romney, even balk at the idea of full civil unions for gay couples.
Additionally, there are many Republicans who don't want gay and lesbian couples to be able to adopt children, thereby depriving children in need a loving set of parents just because it offends them in some way. I honestly don't know how ANYONE could be in favor of that. It boggles my mind to a ridiculous degree.
And if you say that politicians are all talk, don't get anything done, and no matter what party gets power things will stay the same for LGBT people, I will say that during President Obama's first term: the Matthew Shepard Act got passed, Don't Ask Don't Tell got repealed granting LGB members of the armed forces the ability to proudly serve their country without fear of dismissal, benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees were extended... twice, federal employees could no longer be discriminated against on the basis of gender identity (protecting trans people for the first time), the passport process was made much easier for trans people helping to ensure that those like myself can do something as mundane as travel safely, and the list goes on and on.
With this established record on making the lives of LGBT people easier, if President Obama was given four more years and the Congress tilted in the Democrats' favor, I can only see this kind of progress growing exponentially in the future. ENDA will get passed, acceptance of LGBT people will continue to grow, and people like myself who are struggling like hell with this tormenting condition may even one day get coverage for the health care we desperately need. Things will get easier for millions of people, maybe even enough to stop over 40% of trans people from trying to end their very lives because the pain and the suffering is that great.
Though if this new extremist Republican party gains control of the government and they continue to be fueled by ignorance and hatred, it seems for certain that not only will there be NO progress for LGBT people, but things may indeed go backwards and millions of people who are already marginalized, like myself and many, many others like me, will continue to hurt.
So... what will you do now? The decision rests in your hands. Please vote and vote with where your heart leads you, no matter where that happens to be.
All the best to you all... always.
There is also a proposed bill in Congress called the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (or ENDA) that would protect LGBT people from discrimination in the workplace. This essentially extends to LGBT people across the country the employment protections already in place to cover discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, age, and other classes.
Personally I have been watching the progression of the ENDA through the years because this obviously concerns me a great deal. As someone who is "out" to almost everyone in my life, I still had to be ultra-careful about letting anyone in my workplace know anything about a situation that I have been contending with for decades. This was to the point of basically having to hide who I am to almost everyone I worked with, to the degree of taking up a very vague Facebook moniker so that acquaintances in work couldn't find me online. This is because something as innocuous as my Facebook profile could possibly have been the source of me getting fired or discriminated against in work, and if that did happen, there really wouldn't have been a blessed thing that I could have done about it, because trans people have ZERO protection where I worked.
But then there's this bill, and it would cover the WHOLE COUNTRY. No LGBT person would ever have to live with these kinds of fears, or, at the very least, they would be greatly lessened.
The kicker here, and the greater point of this post, is that most Democrats in Congress support the ENDA, and President Obama has also ardently backed it. Most (if not all) Congressional Republicans, on the other hand, would not vote for it, which is why this bill hasn't even gotten to the floor since the mid-term elections of 2010 when the GOP gained control of the House of Representatives.
SO... how could I ever possibly be expected to vote for people who would rather me and others like me live in fear? How could I ever vote for people who would never give me a second thought? How could I vote for people who think me sick and perverted? How could I vote for people who say that I shouldn't be allowed to have a job like a teacher because children should never be exposed to people like me? (Some—possibly a great many—also say and think these things about the gay population in case you were wondering.)
I will tell you FLAT OUT, if you vote for pretty much any Republican at the national level, you are voting for the continuance of these attitudes. You are voting for me and for the entire LGBT population to continue to suffer. If the Republicans have control over Congress, and especially the presidency, there is NO. WAY. that life will get better for me, people like me, or anyone else in the LGBT spectrum until they no longer have that control or there's a massive sea change in their entire party's platform.
Now everyone should vote with their hearts and vote for what they personally believe is right, BUT if you are voting Republican in this election, are the reasons why you're doing it strong enough and valid enough to counter the fact that me and people like me will continue to suffer?
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| This really says it all. |
Additionally, there are many Republicans who don't want gay and lesbian couples to be able to adopt children, thereby depriving children in need a loving set of parents just because it offends them in some way. I honestly don't know how ANYONE could be in favor of that. It boggles my mind to a ridiculous degree.
And if you say that politicians are all talk, don't get anything done, and no matter what party gets power things will stay the same for LGBT people, I will say that during President Obama's first term: the Matthew Shepard Act got passed, Don't Ask Don't Tell got repealed granting LGB members of the armed forces the ability to proudly serve their country without fear of dismissal, benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees were extended... twice, federal employees could no longer be discriminated against on the basis of gender identity (protecting trans people for the first time), the passport process was made much easier for trans people helping to ensure that those like myself can do something as mundane as travel safely, and the list goes on and on.
With this established record on making the lives of LGBT people easier, if President Obama was given four more years and the Congress tilted in the Democrats' favor, I can only see this kind of progress growing exponentially in the future. ENDA will get passed, acceptance of LGBT people will continue to grow, and people like myself who are struggling like hell with this tormenting condition may even one day get coverage for the health care we desperately need. Things will get easier for millions of people, maybe even enough to stop over 40% of trans people from trying to end their very lives because the pain and the suffering is that great.
Though if this new extremist Republican party gains control of the government and they continue to be fueled by ignorance and hatred, it seems for certain that not only will there be NO progress for LGBT people, but things may indeed go backwards and millions of people who are already marginalized, like myself and many, many others like me, will continue to hurt.
So... what will you do now? The decision rests in your hands. Please vote and vote with where your heart leads you, no matter where that happens to be.
All the best to you all... always.
Sources
- 2009 National Transgender Discrimination Survey
- Center for American Progress
- National Transgender Discrimination Survey Report on Health and Health Care
- Center for American Progress
- National Transgender Discrimination Survey Report on Health and Health Care
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