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
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