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Transgender Issues

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Due, in part, to representation in media and pop culture, visibility of the transgender (trans) community has been steadily increasing over the last decade (Roberts & Fantz, 2014). Until recently, transgender-related issues have often been loosely addressed under the umbrella of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues. Upon isolating investigation to the T (trans) portion of the population, research has shown that the transgender community faces stigma and discrimination at alarming rates across numerous areas of life (Cruz, 2014; Grant, Mottet, & Tanis, 2011).
This population is met with systemic discrimination in women’s shelters that refuse to help male-to-female transsexuals (MTFs), attaining surgery because many states …show more content…
For example, although the terms are often used interchangeably there is a difference between gender and sex. “Sex refers to natal sex (i.e., male, female, intersex); gender refers to the psychological, social, and cultural aspects of maleness and femaleness” (Alegria, 2011, p. 177). Gender identity describes someone’s internal sense of being male, female, or something else; while gender expression refers to how someone conveys his or her gender to the outside world, such as through clothing, behaviors, and appearance (Spicer, 2010, p. …show more content…
Individuals who identify as female-to male (FTM) transsexuals, male-to-female (MTF) transsexuals, intersex, genderqueer, drag queens, and agender people would all fall under the transgender umbrella. “Moreover, transgenderism may indicate gender identity that does not fall neatly into one category. For example, the gender identity of a transgender person may be bi-gender” (Alegria, 2011, p. 176). Some of these folks will have had surgeries or hormone therapies, others will be working towards those interventions, and others may not be interested in altering their physical appearance at all. Conversely, cisgender refers to individuals whose gender identity is aligned with their assigned sex at

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