Stop Transphobia

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Introduction

I was inpsired by another lensmaster who has taken some of her time to set up a lens to raise awareness of an issue facing vulnerable people. In future I may set up more, but for my first I have chosen to highlight the issue of transphobia and the discrimination faced by trans people.

Stop Transphobia - latest news

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Does transphobia matter?

Life for trans people can be hard enough anyway. Statistics show:

1) In the USA trans people are 17x more likely than the national average to be murdered

2) According to statistics, 1/3 of transsexual people in the Western world will commit suicide and 50% will have attempted suicide at least once before their 20th birthday.

3) Transgender people may find medical care withdrawn simply because they are transgendered, for example 24 year old Tyra Hunter who was involved in road accident. Paramedics in Canada, on discovering her history, stop administering medical assistance and Ms Hunter died as a result of her injuries.

4) In some countries, transgender people have no legal rights and can face systemic abuse and even execution simply because of who they are.

The statistics and personal stories are shocking. Each year, the trans community remembers those who have fallen in the Transgender Day of Remembrance on 21st November.

What is transphobia?

Simply put, transphobia is discriminating against transgendered people or, in the case of those transsexual people who undergo a gender transition, refusing to acknowledge them in their acquired gender. If someone wouldn't accept somebody as your dentist, chef, cleaner, teacher of your children or anything else simply because the individual is transsexual, then that is transphobia.

You may wish to listen to this address (audio track) by Prof Stephen Whittle who considers "Transphobia - what is it, and what is its impact".

Signs of transphobia

These are ways to spot transhobia, help me rank them. What are the surest signs that an individual or organisation is being transphobic?

Lack of meaningful discussion in educational and workplace settings

Suprressing discussion and the circulation of educ more...1 point

Anxiety over not being able to tell if a person is male or female

In the Trans America, when the son says he hadn't more...1 point

Being unwilling to date a trans person

It's all very well saying one supports trans equal more...1 point

Keeping Trans people "out of sight"

Often organisations are reluctant to have trans pe more...1 point

Denial of transphobia

Denying that transphobia or discrimination against more...0 points

Inability to distinguish between homosexuality and transsexualism

Some commentators talk of trans people as though t more...0 points

Making trans people of trans issues the subject of jokes

Just as jokes can be racist or homophobic, they ca more...0 points

Refusal to accept trans people as one%u2019s own teacher, doctor, politician, dentist

For me this is a big one as it directly affects an more...0 points

0 points

Where can I find out more?

Press for Change
Press for Change is a political lobbying and educational organisation, which campaigns to achieve equal civil rights and liberties for all trans people in the United Kingdom, through legislation and social change.
Action Against Homophobia and Transphobia
This is the official site for Buckinghamshire's Action Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Here you can learn more about homophobia and transphobia, discover why transphobic attackes should be reported to the police and how to do so.

Gender Identity Disorder

Transsexualism is a genuine medical condition, Gender Identity Disorder (GID), listed in the Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association. It is also sometimes known as gender dysphoria.

Books on Amazon

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Make a donation to the AIDS Research Alliance

Squidoo don't list a trans charity and I would encourage any reader who is interested to find a local charity or initiative which they can support; for those who are visiting and want to do something now, I have added the link to an AIDS charity from the Suidoo list. Many trans people live in marginal conditions and are more likely than most groups to be homeless. While AIDS isn't a particular problem across the trans community as a whole, it can be in some sections of the community.

AIDS Research Alliance of America (ARA) tackles HIV on many fronts. The organization is pioneering a revolutionary business model for conducting medical research in the United States, influencing the direction of HIV research along the way.

UN, December 10, 2009

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