The Future of Gender Inequality

The process of creating equality for all in any area of society tends to be a slow process. This is no different for finding equality for all genders present in society today. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (LGB) rights are becoming more prominent in the media and in legislation, although the T of LGBT is often times left out.  However, there are many areas in which transgender issues need to be addressed including laws and policy, the workplace, and school. Although before society can look at solving gender inequality, there needs to be a fundamental understanding of what transgender is and the multiple identities included within that term. The first step in improving the future of gender inequality is educating society on the transgender community.  Some organizations that help educate people on transgender issues are the Transgender Law Center, Human Rights Campaign, and National Center for Transgender Equality. Locally there are many organizations that are dedicated to educating the public on transgender issues and these organizations include the Sacramento State PRIDE Center, the Gay and Lesbian Center, and the Gender Health Center.  After some basic knowledge is given to society then the next step can be taken to creating a more gender equal environment across the nation.

One of the most important things that needs to be done for transgender rights and equality is to improve legislation and discrimination laws.  Today, many transgender-identified individuals are still harassed within the workplace even though in several states it is illegal to discriminate based on ones gender identity. A national survey of 6,450 transgender people reported that 97% of those surveyed experienced on the job harassment (Harmon, 2009). This statistic makes it awfully clear that almost every transgender individual has been harassed in the workplace. On the other hand, there are several laws and bills being set in motion to better gender inequality. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is a proposed bill in the United State Congress that would prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It was started in 1994 and, finally, in 2007 gender identity was added to the bill, but the bill has still yet to be passed. In 34 states it is still legal to fire someone solely for being transgender ("Pass enda now!," 2011). There is a long way to go but bills like ENDA would immensely help to improve equality for all genders. Other important bills are the Student Non-Discrimination Act and the Safe Schools Improvement Act in which President Obama has endorsed. Both of these acts will help improve equality and create safe school environments for transgender youth ("Ncte welcomes obama," 2011). Bills are a great way to pave the way for the future of gender equality.

Media also plays a significant role in the future of gender equality. Often time’s transgender individuals are not portrayed in a positive light in the media. This does not help society understand what the transgender community really is and that it consists of people just like everyone else. Instead individuals in the transgender community are often referred to as transvestites and are involved in some bad activity whether it is pornography, prostitution, or being mentally unstable. The media needs to begin to portray transgender individuals in a positive light and in the correct manner. In a study done, 78% of the respondents said that they felt as though the media portrayals of the transgender community were either inaccurate or highly inaccurate (Trans Media Watch, 2010). The media still struggles to show an accurate visual representation of what the transgender community looks like. I believe this is because we, as a society, still do not understand what the transgender community is.  There is clearly a “need to further emphasize the ways that various forms of alterity are imagined in a shifting media landscape” (Aslinger, 2009).

The future of gender inequality will definitely improve over time. Within the last couple years the transgender community has come more into light and therefore more people are learning about it. Given the amount of organizations fighting for transgender equality, there will continue to be improvements in the amount of rights and equality given to those individuals. Looking back at history, a timeline shows how long it took for women to get where they are now and I think that the third gender will be just the same. It will take a lot of time before all genders are seen as equal, but it is possible!

References

Aslinger, B. (2009). Creating a Network for Queer Audiences at Logo TV. Popular Communication, 7(2), 107-121.

Harmon, A. (2009). THE GENDER IDENTITY DIVIDE. Advocate, (1033/1034), 50.

Ncte welcomes obama administration's endorsement of safe schools bills. (2011). Retrieved from http://transequality.org/news.html

Pass enda now!. (2011). Retrieved from http://sites.hrc.org/sites/passendanow/index.asp

Trans Media Watch. (2010, April). How transgender people experience the media. Retrieved from http://www.transmediawatch.org/Documents/How Transgender People Experience the Media.pdf

Discrimination towards the "other" gender

Let’s examine the ways in which “other” genders are not treated the same way. For the purpose of this posting, let’s call the “other” gender; transgender. This could include any non-conforming gender whether that is cross-dressing or going through medical means to transition. In today’s world it’s not always the case that an individual will fit into the gender binary.

We all know as college students we often fall in to a routine of attending class, walking to and from classes, and socializing on campus in between classes.  During this routine there are multiple times in a day when your gender is addressed. Students attend class and professors call names and identify students as male or female based on presentation. Professors may even do exercises in class where he/she separates students into two groups, men and women. Either walking to class or socializing on campus, friends, acquaintances, or strangers identify students based on their perceived gender through physical appearance. How could these events throughout a student’s day cause problems and inequalities for those who fall into the third gender? Imagine sitting down in your desk on the first day of class and your gender identity is male but you are biologically female and have trouble presenting physically as male. Your professor identifies you by your biological (female) name and therefore the class views you as a female. Knowing that you have to sit in this class for the rest of the summer, you feel the need to inform the class and the professor that you prefer masculine pronouns and prefer a different (male) name. Look at this picture; do any other students have to announce to the whole class that they identify as something different than is perceived. Classes cause a lot of problems for individuals who are transgender and don’t fit the gender norms. One of the best ways for college universities to improve gender equality is to include gender identity in their policies. More than twenty colleges and college systems have added protection of “gender identity or expression” to their nondiscrimination policies (Beemyn, Curtis, Davis & Tubbs, 2005)

Sports are another area in which transgender individuals tend to feel as though they are not welcome. If you’re not manly enough or don’t fit into societies idea of what a masculine male is then you’re not welcome to play football or any other male sport; and vice versa. For example, you look at a famous case Renee Richards v United States Tennis Association (USTA), in which Richards (a male to female transsexual) sued to play in the U.S. Open Women’s Division in 1977 without having a sex verification test (Griffin). Does every other tennis player, or athlete, have to go through a sex verification test? In this case, just because Richards didn’t fit into the norm of a biological female she was almost not allowed to play tennis. The New York court found that USTA was in violation of the state Human Rights Law (Griffin). Those who are transgender receive discrimination and unfair treatment just because they don’t fit into the gender binary. “Gender non-conforming people are often teased or harassed about their non-conformity.” (Griffin) Individuals should not be banned from playing sports based on physical appearance and the assumed lack of masculinity or femininity.

Professional careers and holding a job also create many problems for the transgender community. Although sixteen states have non-discrimination laws for both sexual orientation and gender identity, transgender individuals still find discrimination in the workplace. A study done in San Francisco found that 54% of the transgender individuals surveyed had experienced discrimination based on their gender identity ((Badgett, Lau, Sears & Ho, 2007). Of the people surveyed, some got fired, denied employment, denied a promotion, or were verbally harassed. Discrimination is not only a problem in California but all over the country. Even though many states have non-discrimination laws individuals are harassed and discriminated against without it being blunt, which makes it harder to prove the acts were specifically related to ones gender identity/presentation. Again, we see that just because a person does not fit into the norms they are treated as a lesser.

Societal norms have a big role to play in the issue of gender inequality. Society has constructed a gender binary and norms of how individuals should act. During commercials we see women in the kitchen appliances and cleaning supply commercials and we see men in the truck and lawn maintenance commercials. Society teaches us how to act as men and women through media, conversations, education, and culture. I believe that one of the biggest problems causing gender inequality is society. People are taught from a very young age that there are men and there are women and men act a certain way and women act a certain way. The second an individual falls outside of the normal actions of a man or woman he/she is no longer viewed in the same light as those who follow the gender norms. Society needs to break down the gender binary and gender roles that it’s created and allow individuals to act and identify the way that know feels best for them.

References

Badgett, L., Lau, H., Sears, B., & Ho, D. (2007). Bias in the workplace: Consistent evidence of sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. UC Los Angeles: The Williams Institute, Retrieved from http://escholarship.ucop.edu/uc/item/5h3731xr

Beemyn, B., Curtis, B., Davis, M., & Tubbs, N. (2005). Transgender issues on college campuses. Wiley, 2005(11), 49-60. Retrieved from http://gvsu.edu/cms3/assets/3B8FF455-E590-0E6C-3ED0F895A6FBB287/Transgender issues on college campuses-Beemyn-New Directions ch 5.pdf

Griffin, P. (n.d.). Inclusion of transgender athletes on sports teams. Retrieved from http://www.transgenderlaw.org/resources/Griffinarticle.pdf

The Real Gender

           Often time’s sex and gender get lumped into the same category. But what really is the difference between the two? As an educator and advocate on campus I often ask students what they think the difference is between sex and gender. Most students tend to gravitate towards defining sex and almost always start by saying intercourse. This is a step in the right direction although not entire correct. “Sex identifies men and women based on biology, while gender is a social construct” (Rellis, 2008) Sex is simply fixed across culture while gender is structured and changed based on culture, dress, and behavior. (Rellis, 2008) These two definitions make it quite clear the sex and gender are two different things.

            So, when you are asked at the DMV to fill out your gender marker are they really asking you how you identify behaviorally and psychologically? No, they are really asking for your sex and if you are male or female. This happens all of the time whether it’s on forms, written in policy, or simply listening to a professor lecture. More specifically the difference between sex and gender needs to be acknowledged when talking about gender inequality. The gender inequality that I am talking about is very different from the gender inequality that most people talk about.  In reality there are many different gender identities other than man and woman. So, talking about gender inequality, ideally all gender identities including man, woman, and those in-between should all be equal in society.

            There are also individuals who do not fit the standard sex definition, in relation to biology. Intersex individuals do not fit into the finite definitions of male and female as a sex. Are they treated equally? There are 46 different intersex conditions (Bowcott, 2009) and 1-4% of the people in the world are intersex (Rellis, 2008). Intersex individuals could be born with both genitalia, have an imbalance in chromosomes, or a combination of both. But, sex equality is a whole other conversation.

            When talking about gender identity there are multiple was to identify. Many gender variant identities fall under the transgender umbrella. Under this umbrella includes terms such as transgender, transsexual, cross dresser, drag queen, drag queen, and agender; just to name a few. Simply these different identities mean that an individual falls outside of the gender binary, which solely includes man and woman. Those with varying gender identities, other than man and women, are not treated equally and images of transphobia, violence, and discrimination are scoured through the media (Vivienne, 2011). In reality ALL genders need to be equal with one another and in order to do that there must be a basic knowledge of what gender really means, and the many different gender identities. To accomplish equality there needs to be education, which in turn will create knowledge, and that knowledge will create skills for advocates to fight for gender equality. 

References

Bowcott, O. (2009, September 11). Caster semenya has one of the 46 typers of 'intersex' conditions. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/sep/11/caster-semenya-runner-intersex

Rellis, J.. (2008). "Please Write 'E' in This Box" Toward Self-Identification and Recognition of a Third Gender: Approaches in the United States and India. Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, 14(2), 223-258.  Retrieved April 4, 2012, from GenderWatch (GW).

Vivienne, S.. (2011). Trans Digital Storytelling: Everyday Activism, Mutable Identity and the Problem of Visibility. Gay and Lesbian Issues and Psychology Review, 7(1), 43-54.  Retrieved April 5, 2012, from GenderWatch (GW).

History of Gender Equality

           Gender roles are ever changing, but there was a long period of time when women had little to no rights. As society progresses in the 21^st Century, the roles of men and women are becoming more equal than they have ever been before. Prior to the 21^st Century, women were historically submissive to men and could not hold any important role. A women’s role was to tend to the home and fill the shoes of the saying “a woman’s place is in the home.” (WIC, 1995) The men of the house were to do labor work and the women were to wash clothes and milk the cows. (WIC, 1995) Not only were they expected to complete these tasks but, if married, they were to virtually give up their name and all their property to their husbands. Women in history were treated as property and had no independence in their lives; they didn’t even have the independence to vote on their own government.

            After protest and fighting women finally gained the right to vote in 1920. The suffrage movement lasted from 1776 to 1920 in a long battle for women’s rights. During this movement women came together to claim their power and independence and their efforts paid off. This movement was the turning point for women’s rights in America. Following 1920, women began to have more rights and more independence with their lives For example, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibited discrimination against women by a company with 25 or more employees. (WIC, 1995) Progressing into the 21^st Century women are coming into power and holding high positions in companies and gaining martial independence. Although women’s rights have come a long way, rights for all genders are still being fought.

            Historically gender has been defined as man and woman and those are the only two existing “genders.” The Stonewall riots occurred in New York in 1969, which lead to a formation of the Gay Liberation Front. (Thane, 2010) Prior to the riots there were not many places where people could be openly gay in public. A group of gay men and lesbian at a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn, grew angry by the harassment of police and took a stand, in which a riot broke out. (Civil Rights, 2009) The rights inspired the LGBT community around the country to organize in support of gay rights. Also during this time the idea of a butch lesbian came into light and the fluidity of gender. Females were no longer fitting into “normal” gender roles. Lesbian women were seeing themselves as strong masculine women and no longer as weak feminine women. The idea of a gender binary was being challenged and individuals started asking, “is there really only two genders?” As Stonewall progressed transgenderism came to the forefront to battle the gender binary.  Is there just female and male or is there a third gender? The transgender community is broad and they are still fighting for their rights as human beings to be treated equally among all. Stonewall was the beginning of creating change in the societal view of gender roles and gender expression, although today we are still trying to find equality for those who do not fit in to the stereotypical gender roles or expression. The biggest question that I think needs to be asked in regards to gender equality is, are ALL genders treated equally?

And by gender equality do people really mean sex equality? I guess more simply, does society know the difference between gender and sex? Until next time, where I will discuss this, here is an excerpt from a story:

“With my status, a trans man, the UK government, because I have undergone some surgical gender reassignment, acquiesces to my request to be regarded as male (and not a man) for some social purposes, but continues to maintain that for legal purposes, I will be regarded as a woman. They choose not to make my life really difficult by making international travel or a driving check embarrassing, but they refuse to allow me many of the privilege that the law affords other men. At worst, they insist that I am a woman.” (Whittle, 2002)

References

"The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights." The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. 22 June 2009. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. <http://www.civilrights.org/archives/2009/06/449-stonewall.html>.

Thane, Pat, and Liza Filby. "Chapter 6: Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation." Unequal Britain: Equalities in Britain since 1945. London: Continuum, 2010. Print.

Whittle, Stephen. "Chapter 1: Disembodied Law: Trans People's Legal (Outer)Space." Respect and Equality: Transsexual and Transgender Rights. London: Glass House, 2002. 2. Google Books. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

<http://books.google.com/books/about/Respect_and_equality.html?id=xiAthlo-9t4C>.

"WIC - Women's History in America." Welcome to WIC. Women's International Center, 1995. Web. 28 Feb. 2012. <http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm>.