Transgender Rights

Q and A with Paisley Currah, Richard M. Juang, and Shannon Price Minter

Table of Contents
Book Information

$19.95 Paper
ISBN 0-8166-4312-1

$60.00 Cloth
ISBN 0-8166-4311-3

1. What is the definition of transgender?

“Transgender” is a term used to describe anyone whose identity or appearance differs from stereotypical expectations of how men and women should look or act. This includes transsexual people who change their bodies to match their psychological identification with the other gender. It also includes a much larger group of people who do not necessarily undergo any medical treatment, but who don't conform to the idea that men have to be stereotypically “masculine” and women have to be stereotypically “feminine.”

2. How does gender identity play a role in psychological health?

Everyone has a gender identity. Gender is a fundamental aspect of human identity. It is a deeply rooted element of how we see ourselves and how others see us. People should be able to express the gender that feels right to them and not be forced to conform to other people's expectations, in the same way that we don't try to force people to be straight. Transgender people are deeply harmed by efforts to change or hide their true gender.

3. How does being classified as transgender overcome other stigmatizing labels like transvestite, gender dysphoria and gender identity disorder?

"Transgender" is a grassroots term, not one created by medical experts. It was created and embraced by transgender people to name themselves. The term “transgender” brings people together for a common goal of fighting gender discrimination. At the same time, there may be contexts in which using medical terms makes sense—for example, when accessing medical care or in some legal contexts. Medical terminology is not necessarily stigmatizing, but it is not sufficient to capture the political and social dimensions of the transgender movement.

4. What are the major benchmarks in the transgender movement?

1953 Christine Jorgensen makes international news as one of the first people to undergo sex-reassignment surgery

1960 Transgender pioneer Virginia Prince publishes first issue of Transvestia, one of the first transgender magazines

1966 Drag queens fight back against police harassment at Compton’s Cafeteria in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco

1966 Dr. Harry Benjamin publishes the Transsexual Phenomenon, one of the first medical texts to recognize the existence of transsexual people

1969 Drag queens, butch lesbians, and gay and bisexual people fight back against police harassment at the Stonewall Inn in New York City

1975 Minneapolis passes first local anti-discrimination law protecting transgender people

1984 The International Foundation for Gender Education is founded and begins publishing Tapestry (now Transgender Tapestry Journal)

1986 FTM International, an organization for the female-to-male community, is founded

1991 Transgender attorney Phyllis Randolph Frye founds the International Conference on Transgender Law & Employment Policy (ICTLEP), one of the first legal organizations for transgender people in the world

1991 ICTLEP adopts the International Bill of Gender Rights

1991 Minnesota passes the first statewide law prohibiting discrimination against transgender people

1991 Brandon Teena, a female-bodied person living as a man, is raped and murdered by two men in Falls City, Nebraska

1993 Cheryl Chase founds Intersex Society of North America

1994 The San Francisco Human Rights Commission conducts historic public hearing on discrimination against transgender people in employment, housing, health care, education and public accommodations

1999 Brandon’s life and death are depicted in the Academy-award winning film Boys Don’t Cry

2000 The Transgender Law and Policy Institute is formed.

2001 San Francisco become first municipality to provide equal health benefits to transgender city employees

2002 The brutal murder of transgender teenager Gwen Araujo in California galvanizes national attention on the problem of hate violence against transgender people

2002 The Transgender Law Center, the first statewide legal organization for transgender people, opens its doors in San Francisco

2002 The Sylvia Rivera Law Project, another legal organization for transgender people, is founded in New York City.

2003 The National Center for Transgender Equality is founded in Washington, D.C.

2005 California enacts first statewide law prohibiting discrimination against transgender people by insurance companies and health care service plans.

5. When does the history of the transgender movement begin?

People who live as the other gender have been part of every society. In the U.S., however, transgender people did not emerge as a self-identified social and political group until the 1980s and 90s.

6. What struggles do transgender people face when they transition from one sex to another?

People who transition from one sex to another face serious challenges. In most jurisdictions, they can be fired from their jobs, rejected by family members and spouses, and lose custody of their children if they separate from a spouse or partner. Transgender people are often denied medical care or mistreated by health care providers who are biased or who don't understand transgender issues. People who transition are also often refused housing and public services because of bigotry and fear. Transgender youth are at increased risk of harassment and violence. Because of their heightened risk of employment discrimination, people who transition are disproportionately vulnerable to poverty, and are more likely to commit survival crimes that may lead to incarceration.

7. What is the difference between being discrimination based on sexual orientation and discrimination based on gender identity?

Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is about mistreating a person based on irrational fears and false beliefs about lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. For example, a teacher who comes out as lesbian, gay, or bisexual may be fired because school officials wrongly believe that a gay teacher will cause students to ”become gay." In contrast, discrimination on the basis of gender identity involves mistreatment because a person has undergone sex-reassignment or in some other way does not conform to gender stereotypes. For example, a prejudiced employer may fire an employee who discloses that he or she is transsexual and intends to undergo sex-reassignment based on irrational fears and stereotypes about transsexual people. Or an employer may harass or may permit other employees to harass a male employee who has stereotypically “feminine” characteristics, such as a soft voice or a small frame.

8. Why do the transgender and gay/lesbian/bisexual communities sometimes fight each other, even as they both struggle for equal rights?

Gay, lesbian and bisexual people sometimes fear that transgender people will be seen by the broader public as "too strange" and thus will make it more difficult for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to be accepted. Some gay, lesbian, and bisexual people also overlook the fact that a transgender person may also identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. But in recent years, every major GLB group has changed its mission statement to include transgender people, indicating a growing acceptance of transgender people in a common GLBT civil rights movement.

9. What is the difference between being transgender and gay?

Sexual orientation and gender identity are related but distinct aspects of human identity. Being transgender is entirely a matter of one’s internal gender identity or outward gender expression (that is, who you are), whereas being lesbian, gay, or bisexual is about whether a person is attracted to men, women, or both (that is, who you love). Everyone has both a sexual orientation and a gender identity—so a transgender person may be heterosexual, lesbian, gay or bisexual.

10. What is the gender spectrum?

Some people think of gender as a range of expressions, going from the very feminine to the very masculine; in the middle of the spectrum is androgyny—a balance or equal mixing of femininity and masculinity. A transgender person may fit anywhere on this spectrum. A transgender person is not any more likely to be androgynous—or to conform or not to conform to gender stereotypes—than a person who is not transgender.

11. Why is there discrimination towards transgender individuals?

Discrimination against transgender people is rooted in fear of difference, ignorance about who transgender people really are, and sexist stereotypes. This discrimination is exacerbated by negative portrayals of transgender people in the media, for example, in movies such as Psycho or Silence of the Lambs, which portray transgender people as sexual deviants and serial killers. Many transgender people face other sources of discrimination as well, such as poverty, racism, sexism, and discrimination against people with disabilities.

12. How do the courts determine the legal sex of a transgender person?

In the United States, there is no single uniform standard that applies in every state. Even within a state, there may be different legal standards for determining a person’s legal sex in different contexts. For example, a person’s legal gender may be male for some purposes and female for others. A person may be male on some pieces of government-issued identification but female on others. This uncertainty and lack of consistency causes frequent problems for many transgender people.

13. What is the significance of the case of Minor XX by the Colombian Supreme Court to the Transgender movement?

This groundbreaking decision, authored by the highest court in Colombia, marked the first time that a court anywhere in the world clearly and unequivocally held that intersex children have a right to self-determination. “Intersex” is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not fit the typical definitions of female or male. Intersex people are not the same as transgender people, although the two communities have a shared interest in protecting bodily autonomy. The Court held that neither doctors nor parents can authorize surgery to alter the genitals of an intersex child because only the child, when he or she reaches the age of maturity, can determine the child’s psychological gender and thus can make a decision about whether to alter his or her body. This decision recognizes that bodily autonomy—having control and rights over your own body—is a fundamental human right that must be protected for everyone.

14. How does the Transgender community fight discrimination today?

The transgender community is fighting for dignity, survival, and inclusion in many different ways. Some transgender people work to pass anti-discrimination legislation and policies and to establish legal protections in the courts. Others work to create community-based resources for transgender-friendly health care, social services, and direct legal services. Some organize and empower other transgender people to advocate for themselves. Some work with corporations, government agencies, and health care professionals to foster understanding of transgender people and issues. Others work to promote positive images and representations of transgender people in the media. Still others create music, performances, literature and other modes of art that express the diversity and vibrancy of transgender identity.

15. How is the San Francisco TCHP survey an achievement for the Transgender community?

The Transgender Community Health Project survey was one of the first collaborative projects between transgender people and public health agencies. In addition to providing a model of community inclusion and participation, the survey provided important evidence of the high incidence of HIV infection in the transgender community. The survey also documented other serious problems facing the community—such as poverty, violence, and discrimination. While many of these problems were already known to community members, the resulting report was one of the first to document these issues, allowing community groups and funders to better understand the challenges that transgender people and their families face.

16. How is the Gender Identity Disorder (GID) diagnosis perceived in the transgender movement? (Good, Bad, Necessary?)

Transgender people have differing views about the diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder. Some people see it as a positive recognition of a serious health condition and thus as a way to gain access to critically needed medical treatment for transsexual persons. Others see it as a source of stigma that implies being transgender is abnormal or pathological. Still others would like to see this diagnosis eliminated, but only when there is some other means for transgender people to gain access to medical treatment, such as recognition of transgender identity as an innate neurobiological condition. There is no simple answer to the question of whether the existence of “gender identity disorder” is good or bad.

17. How is the transgender movement connected to the gay rights movement?

Both are human rights movements seeking to allow people to express an essential aspect of their humanity without being subjected to violence or discrimination. Also, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and discrimination on the basis of gender or expression often overlap. For example, hate violence is often directed at people both because of their sexual orientation and how they express their gender identity. In the United States, transgender people and lesbian, gay and bisexual people have united to form a broader movement for LGBT rights. In some other countries, transgender people have developed a more independent movement.

18. Why is transgender considered to be an “umbrella” term?

"Transgender" is an umbrella term because it encompasses a wide range of people with more specific identities—such as transsexual people, cross-dressers, drag queens, drag kings, masculine women, and feminine men. In the broadest sense, the term “transgender” includes all people who fall outside of gender stereotypes, such as women who are labeled too aggressive or feminine-acting men.

19. Are there places where a transgender person is legally recognized as the gender they choose?

Yes, there are many states within the United States and many countries that permit a transgender person to legally change his or her sex after undergoing irreversible medical treatment.

20. How many transgender people live within the United States?

There are no hard data on this topic, but the American Psychological Association notes that date from European countries with access to total population statistics suggest that roughly 1 per 30,000 adults transition from male-to-female and 1 per 100,000 adults transition from female-to-male. Over time, however, the gap between these two groups appears to be closing as more female-bodied people seek out treatment for sex-reassignment. In addition, these numbers include only people who seek out medical treatment. There are many more people who cannot afford to access medical care, who live as the other gender without any medical treatment, or who are gender non-conforming but do not wish to be the other gender.

Paisley Currah is associate professor of political science at Brooklyn College, executive director of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, and a founding board member of the Transgender Law and Policy Institute.

Richard M. Juang co-chairs the National Center for Transgender Equality Advisory Board.

Shannon Price Minter is legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and a founding board member of the Transgender Law and Policy Institute.



Q and A with Paisley Currah, Richard M. Juang, and Shannon Price Minter Table of Contents Book Information		$19.95 Paper ISBN 0-8166-4312-1 $60.00 Cloth ISBN 0-8166-4311-3
1. What is the definition of transgender? “Transgender” is a term used to describe anyone whose identity or appearance differs from stereotypical expectations of how men and women should look or act. This includes transsexual people who change their bodies to match their psychological identification with the other gender. It also includes a much larger group of people who do not necessarily undergo any medical treatment, but who don't conform to the idea that men have to be stereotypically “masculine” and women have to be stereotypically “feminine.” 2. How does gender identity play a role in psychological health? Everyone has a gender identity. Gender is a fundamental aspect of human identity. It is a deeply rooted element of how we see ourselves and how others see us. People should be able to express the gender that feels right to them and not be forced to conform to other people's expectations, in the same way that we don't try to force people to be straight. Transgender people are deeply harmed by efforts to change or hide their true gender. 3. How does being classified as transgender overcome other stigmatizing labels like transvestite, gender dysphoria and *gender identity disorder? "Transgender" is a grassroots term, not one created by medical experts. It was created and embraced by transgender people to name themselves. The term “transgender” brings people together for a common goal of fighting gender discrimination. At the same time, there may be contexts in which using medical terms makes sense—for example, when accessing medical care or in some legal contexts. Medical terminology is not necessarily stigmatizing, but it is not sufficient to capture the political and social dimensions of the transgender movement. 4. What are the major benchmarks in the transgender movement?* 1953 Christine Jorgensen makes international news as one of the first people to undergo sex-reassignment surgery 1960 Transgender pioneer Virginia Prince publishes first issue of Transvestia, one of the first transgender magazines 1966 Drag queens fight back against police harassment at Compton’s Cafeteria in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco 1966 Dr. Harry Benjamin publishes the Transsexual Phenomenon, one of the first medical texts to recognize the existence of transsexual people 1969 Drag queens, butch lesbians, and gay and bisexual people fight back against police harassment at the Stonewall Inn in New York City 1975 Minneapolis passes first local anti-discrimination law protecting transgender people 1984 The International Foundation for Gender Education is founded and begins publishing Tapestry (now Transgender Tapestry Journal) 1986 FTM International, an organization for the female-to-male community, is founded 1991 Transgender attorney Phyllis Randolph Frye founds the International Conference on Transgender Law & Employment Policy (ICTLEP), one of the first legal organizations for transgender people in the world 1991 ICTLEP adopts the International Bill of Gender Rights 1991 Minnesota passes the first statewide law prohibiting discrimination against transgender people 1991 Brandon Teena, a female-bodied person living as a man, is raped and murdered by two men in Falls City, Nebraska 1993 Cheryl Chase founds Intersex Society of North America 1994 The San Francisco Human Rights Commission conducts historic public hearing on discrimination against transgender people in employment, housing, health care, education and public accommodations 1999 Brandon’s life and death are depicted in the Academy-award winning film Boys Don’t Cry 2000 The Transgender Law and Policy Institute is formed. 2001 San Francisco become first municipality to provide equal health benefits to transgender city employees 2002 The brutal murder of transgender teenager Gwen Araujo in California galvanizes national attention on the problem of hate violence against transgender people 2002 The Transgender Law Center, the first statewide legal organization for transgender people, opens its doors in San Francisco 2002 The Sylvia Rivera Law Project, another legal organization for transgender people, is founded in New York City. 2003 The National Center for Transgender Equality is founded in Washington, D.C. 2005 California enacts first statewide law prohibiting discrimination against transgender people by insurance companies and health care service plans. 5. When does the history of the transgender movement begin? People who live as the other gender have been part of every society. In the U.S., however, transgender people did not emerge as a self-identified social and political group until the 1980s and 90s. 6. What struggles do transgender people face when they transition from one sex to another? People who transition from one sex to another face serious challenges. In most jurisdictions, they can be fired from their jobs, rejected by family members and spouses, and lose custody of their children if they separate from a spouse or partner. Transgender people are often denied medical care or mistreated by health care providers who are biased or who don't understand transgender issues. People who transition are also often refused housing and public services because of bigotry and fear. Transgender youth are at increased risk of harassment and violence. Because of their heightened risk of employment discrimination, people who transition are disproportionately vulnerable to poverty, and are more likely to commit survival crimes that may lead to incarceration. 7. What is the difference between being discrimination based on sexual orientation and discrimination based on gender identity? Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is about mistreating a person based on irrational fears and false beliefs about lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. For example, a teacher who comes out as lesbian, gay, or bisexual may be fired because school officials wrongly believe that a gay teacher will cause students to ”become gay." In contrast, discrimination on the basis of gender identity involves mistreatment because a person has undergone sex-reassignment or in some other way does not conform to gender stereotypes. For example, a prejudiced employer may fire an employee who discloses that he or she is transsexual and intends to undergo sex-reassignment based on irrational fears and stereotypes about transsexual people. Or an employer may harass or may permit other employees to harass a male employee who has stereotypically “feminine” characteristics, such as a soft voice or a small frame. 8. Why do the transgender and gay/lesbian/bisexual communities sometimes fight each other, even as they both struggle for equal rights? Gay, lesbian and bisexual people sometimes fear that transgender people will be seen by the broader public as "too strange" and thus will make it more difficult for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to be accepted. Some gay, lesbian, and bisexual people also overlook the fact that a transgender person may also identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. But in recent years, every major GLB group has changed its mission statement to include transgender people, indicating a growing acceptance of transgender people in a common GLBT civil rights movement. 9. What is the difference between being transgender and gay? Sexual orientation and gender identity are related but distinct aspects of human identity. Being transgender is entirely a matter of one’s internal gender identity or outward gender expression (that is, who you are), whereas being lesbian, gay, or bisexual is about whether a person is attracted to men, women, or both (that is, who you love). Everyone has both a sexual orientation and a gender identity—so a transgender person may be heterosexual, lesbian, gay or bisexual. 10. What is the gender spectrum? Some people think of gender as a range of expressions, going from the very feminine to the very masculine; in the middle of the spectrum is androgyny—a balance or equal mixing of femininity and masculinity. A transgender person may fit anywhere on this spectrum. A transgender person is not any more likely to be androgynous—or to conform or not to conform to gender stereotypes—than a person who is not transgender. 11. Why is there discrimination towards transgender individuals? Discrimination against transgender people is rooted in fear of difference, ignorance about who transgender people really are, and sexist stereotypes. This discrimination is exacerbated by negative portrayals of transgender people in the media, for example, in movies such as Psycho or Silence of the Lambs, which portray transgender people as sexual deviants and serial killers. Many transgender people face other sources of discrimination as well, such as poverty, racism, sexism, and discrimination against people with disabilities. 12. How do the courts determine the legal sex of a transgender person? In the United States, there is no single uniform standard that applies in every state. Even within a state, there may be different legal standards for determining a person’s legal sex in different contexts. For example, a person’s legal gender may be male for some purposes and female for others. A person may be male on some pieces of government-issued identification but female on others. This uncertainty and lack of consistency causes frequent problems for many transgender people. 13. What is the significance of the case of Minor XX by the Colombian Supreme Court to the Transgender movement? This groundbreaking decision, authored by the highest court in Colombia, marked the first time that a court anywhere in the world clearly and unequivocally held that intersex children have a right to self-determination. “Intersex” is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not fit the typical definitions of female or male. Intersex people are not the same as transgender people, although the two communities have a shared interest in protecting bodily autonomy. The Court held that neither doctors nor parents can authorize surgery to alter the genitals of an intersex child because only the child, when he or she reaches the age of maturity, can determine the child’s psychological gender and thus can make a decision about whether to alter his or her body. This decision recognizes that bodily autonomy—having control and rights over your own body—is a fundamental human right that must be protected for everyone. 14. How does the Transgender community fight discrimination today? The transgender community is fighting for dignity, survival, and inclusion in many different ways. Some transgender people work to pass anti-discrimination legislation and policies and to establish legal protections in the courts. Others work to create community-based resources for transgender-friendly health care, social services, and direct legal services. Some organize and empower other transgender people to advocate for themselves. Some work with corporations, government agencies, and health care professionals to foster understanding of transgender people and issues. Others work to promote positive images and representations of transgender people in the media. Still others create music, performances, literature and other modes of art that express the diversity and vibrancy of transgender identity. 15. How is the San Francisco TCHP survey an achievement for the Transgender community? The Transgender Community Health Project survey was one of the first collaborative projects between transgender people and public health agencies. In addition to providing a model of community inclusion and participation, the survey provided important evidence of the high incidence of HIV infection in the transgender community. The survey also documented other serious problems facing the community—such as poverty, violence, and discrimination. While many of these problems were already known to community members, the resulting report was one of the first to document these issues, allowing community groups and funders to better understand the challenges that transgender people and their families face. 16. How is the Gender Identity Disorder (GID) diagnosis perceived in the transgender movement? (Good, Bad, Necessary?) Transgender people have differing views about the diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder. Some people see it as a positive recognition of a serious health condition and thus as a way to gain access to critically needed medical treatment for transsexual persons. Others see it as a source of stigma that implies being transgender is abnormal or pathological. Still others would like to see this diagnosis eliminated, but only when there is some other means for transgender people to gain access to medical treatment, such as recognition of transgender identity as an innate neurobiological condition. There is no simple answer to the question of whether the existence of “gender identity disorder” is good or bad. 17. How is the transgender movement connected to the gay rights movement? Both are human rights movements seeking to allow people to express an essential aspect of their humanity without being subjected to violence or discrimination. Also, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and discrimination on the basis of gender or expression often overlap. For example, hate violence is often directed at people both because of their sexual orientation and how they express their gender identity. In the United States, transgender people and lesbian, gay and bisexual people have united to form a broader movement for LGBT rights. In some other countries, transgender people have developed a more independent movement. 18. Why is transgender considered to be an “umbrella” term? "Transgender" is an umbrella term because it encompasses a wide range of people with more specific identities—such as transsexual people, cross-dressers, drag queens, drag kings, masculine women, and feminine men. In the broadest sense, the term “transgender” includes all people who fall outside of gender stereotypes, such as women who are labeled too aggressive or feminine-acting men. 19. Are there places where a transgender person is legally recognized as the gender they choose? Yes, there are many states within the United States and many countries that permit a transgender person to legally change his or her sex after undergoing irreversible medical treatment. 20. How many transgender people live within the United States? There are no hard data on this topic, but the American Psychological Association notes that date from European countries with access to total population statistics suggest that roughly 1 per 30,000 adults transition from male-to-female and 1 per 100,000 adults transition from female-to-male. Over time, however, the gap between these two groups appears to be closing as more female-bodied people seek out treatment for sex-reassignment. In addition, these numbers include only people who seek out medical treatment. There are many more people who cannot afford to access medical care, who live as the other gender without any medical treatment, or who are gender non-conforming but do not wish to be the other gender. Paisley Currah is associate professor of political science at Brooklyn College, executive director of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, and a founding board member of the Transgender Law and Policy Institute. Richard M. Juang co-chairs the National Center for Transgender Equality Advisory Board. Shannon Price Minter is legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and a founding board member of the Transgender Law and Policy Institute.