Title: A TRANSgressive society: fighting for equal rightsSpeaker: Kevin TurnbullSpecific purpose: providing basic information about transgender individuals, the struggles they face, and what can be done as a society to fix this

ATTENTION: Picture this: You are a young girl, about 8 years old. You want to play dress up, and play with barbies, and have tea parties. Unfortunately for you, your parents always tell you to stop being so girly and to go play outside with the other boys. Well that makes no sense, does it? Thats exactly what its like to be transgender; You feel as though you are one gender on the inside, but it does not reflect the sex/gender you were assigned at birth.RELEVANCE: More and more transgender people are becoming comfortable in their identity, and it is becoming imperative that the general public become educated about what it really means to be transgender.THESIS: Transgender people are oppressed, and are major targets of discrimination and violence in todays society, and this needs to change.PREVIEW: After some brief background into what being transgender really means, I will talk about some of the problems that transgender people face throughout their lives, then look a little at the causes for this discrimination, and finally move into what kinds of things can be done to help transgender people live peacefully

I) BACKGROUND1. WHAT IS TRANSGENDER? Transgender is when a persons biological sex (male, female, or intersex) does not match up with their gender identity.2. HOW PREVENLANT IS IT? Approximately 2-5% of American Adults identify as transgender Some people surgically transition, many dontII) PROBLEMS1. YOUTH- BULLYING- Based on statistics retrieved by the National Center of Transgender Equality in 2011, If you were to put 100 transgender children into a school, 82 would report feeling unsafe. 44 of the 100 would be physically abused by their cisgender peers, and 67 of the 100 would be bullied online as well. Because of this, according to the CDC in 2014, transgender youth are 6 times more likely to experience serious depression, and 8 times more likely to commit suicide than their cisgender peers.2. ADULTHOOD- VIOLENCE- If a transgender person is lucky enough to survive childhood, or perhaps if they dont come out until they reach adulthood, the prospects are not much better. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence programs releases a report on Hate Violence against the LGBT community every year, and the most recent one (published in May of 2014), shows some alarming statistics. Transgender people were about 7 times more likely to experience violence from law enforcement. In addition, transgender people are 1.8 times more likely to experience harassment and verbal abuse, and 1.7 times more likely to experience sexual abuse. These are just a few of the statistics presented, and the full text of this report is available online should you wish to read about some of the others, which I urge you to do.III) CAUSES1. IGNORANCE- Ignorance leads to misunderstanding. And misunderstanding leads to hatred and oppression. This is the way things have worked since the dawn of time, whenever people have encountered something they did not understand. This is the main reason why transgender people experience so much violent discrimination. These people are viewed as freaks, when in reality they are not different than anyone else.2. RELIGIOUS OPPRESSION (God makes no mistakes)- Another big cause for this discrimination lies with religion. Many people say that transgender people cannot exist because God makes no mistakes. Additionally, because there is no evidence of any transgender people existing in the bible, or any other holy text for that matter, many people assume that being transgender is morally wrong.IV) SOLUTIONS1. ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LEGISLATION- One of the biggest, simplest things that can be done to ensure trans people become less oppressed and marginalized is to advocate for the passing of anti-discrimination laws. Just as laws against discrimination on the basis of race, and the field of gay rights is growing in terms of legislations, but until the specific issues of transgender rights are addressed in government, people will continue to exploit loopholes and oppress trans people.2. EDUCATION PROGRAMS- As I said earlier, ignorance is the basis of most discrimination and hatred in todays society. One of the best ways we can ensure trans people gain equal treatment is to simply provide education into trans issues. Just as high school health classes talk about cisgender issues, spending even a couple class periods on transgender issues and information could potentially be enough to considerably lower the amount of violence against transgender people, especially in school environments.3. SAFE PLACES/SHELTERS- One final measure that could be taken would be the establishment of shelters, or safe spaces. Similar to battered womens shelters or other places of the sort, a place for transgender people to go when they feel unsafe or threatened could drastically reduce incidents of violence and discrimination

I hope that now you have a better understanding of just what it means to be a transgender person in this country, and the perils that come with that. I urge you to seek out local groups that seek to help transgender individuals, and see what you can do to help. Use your voice to speak up for others who are being silenced.

References

Ahmed, O., & Jindasurat, C. (2013). LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, QUEER, AND HIV-AFFECTED HATE VIOLENCE IN 2013. (2013).

The Transgender Law and Policy Institute: Home Page. (n.d.). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.transgenderlaw.org/

Transgender Persons. (2014, March 25). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/transgender.htm

Transgender Bullying: A National Epidemic. (2014, July 13). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://nobullying.com/transgender-bullying/