Courageous:

A Journey Through Unfamiliar Territory Part 1

By Dario Murphy aka Taliyah Murphy

Behind the scenes, the transgender community has been a topic of discussion for the past half
century, mainly in a negative light. Yet, over the past decade, the transgender community has been
brought to the forefront of families, communities, education establishments, Hollywood, businesses,
religion, healthcare, the judicial system, politics, and even national security. To say the least, this is a
highly controversial and sensitive subject, nonetheless the reality must be confronted with the hopes of
understanding and acceptance seeing that the transgender population is increasing with no signs of
slowing down. As of 2016, the Williams Institute reported that there are approximately 1.4 million
people across the United States that identify as transgender—double the 2011 estimate. Also in that
2011 report, the worldwide population was estimated to be 15 million. If the global population is in
correlation with the trend of the US, then there are approximately 30 million transgenders today.

What is threat of informative dialogue and open-mindedness? There isn't one, in fact, it's an
opportunity for enlightenment and understanding, which promotes growth. Understanding is the
substance out of which compassion is fabricated. It's alright to say you don't know something or
someone, however it's utterly wrong to hate or stereotype someone because you don't know, better yet
understand them. What people don't know, they don't understand and what people don't understand,
they can't have compassion for. The prominent leader Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the
most powerful weapon we can use to change the world."

One's identity is a common struggle amongst every individual and a comprehensive subject at
that. For the sake of this article, the focus will be on two aspects in particular—sexual v. gender
identity. We're all grown-ups here, however, without going
into too much detail, sexual identity is the role you play in your ( ") (""t
intimate relationships. In other terms, it's who you go to bed -f- + ■• ^
with. On the other hand, gender identity is who you go to bed WcMrty.
as—male or female. Genitalia does NOT determine your
gender and solely being transgender does NOT make you
homosexual. To give you a complete picture, sexual orientation is inferred after factoring in both your
sexual and gender identity. E.g. if a person identifies as a woman and is attracted to men, this would
constitute or be perceived as a heterosexual relationship.

The terms transgender, transsexual, and transvestite are often used interchangeably, however
they have distinguishable meanings. Technically, transgenders are those that identify as the gender not
assigned at birth and have no intention of having Gender Confirmation Surgery (GCS). Transsexuals also
identify as the gender not assigned at birth, however they intend on having GCS. Gender identity has
absolutely nothing to do with transvestites, which are individuals that dress up as the opposite gender
strictly for sexual gratification. Today, the word "transgender" is an umbrella term for the entire
community because the root word "trans-" has various meanings and leaves it open for interpretation
by the person you're conversing with, thereby creating an open and respectful dialogue.
 Each person is unique and thus will be their plan in accordance with their overall goals. Their
plan may entail counseling, self-discovery, education, legal name and gender marker changes on
Identification documents, electrolysis, hormone replacement therapy (HRT}, and a variety of surgeries.
A foundation built on honesty and support by a team comprised of family, friends, medical and mental
health professionals, and organizations Is Invaluable to a successful transition. This journey truly begins
with a formal diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria.

Gender Dysphoria is persistent cross-gender identification with clinically significant distress or

impairment of functioning. The Individual may identify with the opposite sex to the point of believing
that they are. In fact, a member of the opposite sex who is trapped In the wrong body. Once this takes
place, most move on to HRT, which has often been categorized as
the cornerstone for medical transition. This process consists of
^ suppressing your original sex characteristics and accentuating the
opposite ones. After a minimum of a year on hormones and
'_ ^ documentation of real-life experience, the option for multiple
surgeries Including GCS become available as long as all of the
additional criteria has been satisfied. GCS consists of procedures
^ fc to match their anatomical sex to their gender Identity and the
current cost is approximately $30,000.00(cost provided by the
renowned Dr. Marci Bowers). The first GCS surgery was performed In 1966. The Surgery Encyclopedia
estimates the number of GCS conducted in the US each year Is between 100 and 500, while the global
number is 2-5 times higher. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC)currently lists 18 health Insurance
providers that will cover the surgery. Because of the irreversible nature of many aspects of this process,
transgender people go through strenuous evaluations enabling them to make well-informed decisions.
If these precautionary safeguards are not adhered to, the consequences could be astronomical.

The overall psychological and emotional well-being of the Individual Is paramount and can't be
emphasized enough. When this vital aspect of the transition
is neglected, tragedies are born. Suicide is very real and has
devastated countless families, in fact, according to the
National Center for Transgender Equality(NCTE), an
astounding 40% of the transgender community has
attempted suicide on more than one occasion. Disturbing is
the only word to describe this statistic. There are two
junctures where a transgender's risk of suicide is heightened:
if they feel that they are unable to get the necessary
help they need to live as the gender they Identify as and
second, ironically enough, after GCS, when the continued stigma and discrimination places an
unendurable amount of pressure and rejection upon them. Violence is wrong...whether against oneself
or others.

In 1990, the Hate Crime Statistics Act(HCSA) was enacted. This law requires the U.S.
Department of Justice to collect data from law enforcement agencies across the country on crimes that
 "manifest prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or
ethnicity" and publish an annual summary of the findings. It
further authorizes federal resources and funds to be utilized at the
state level to investigate and prosecute such atrocities. Based on
FBI Statistics regarding hate crimes from 1995-2008, the
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)compared the rate of
victimization of six minority groups based on the representation
in the population and found that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender (LGBTj people were 8.3 times more likely to be victimized.
According to the statistics gathered by the FBI in 1996, hate crimes against the LGBT
community was 11.6%. As of 2014, this number rose to 18.7%. In 2013, the National Coalition
of Anti-Violence Programs(NCAVP) recorded that hate motivated violence against transgender people
was up 13% and in 2015, The Advocate released a magazine titled, "the 21 Trans Women Murdered in
2015"—this is the largest number on record for any given year and majority were women of color.
Ignorance and lack of understanding breeds hate and hate gives birth to violence. Transgender Day of
Remembrance is held annually on November 20'^ to commemorate the lives of transgender people who
have been murdered around the world.

You may be asking yourself, what kind of understanding and acceptance is expected? The kind
of understanding that other people suffer to and that everyone seeks some degree of acceptance in
their lives. Humans are selfish by nature and when difficulties, fears, and worries foster the tendency is
to fall into the victim stance and the belief that you're the only one suffering—this is simply false. Do
you have the ability to look into the pain of others? Maybe they don't know how to handle their
suffering and this leads to more suffering, thereby causing those around them to suffer. With this kind
of mindfulness, understanding begins, and understanding will give rise to compassion. This creates
motivation by a desire to do something so that there's less suffering. The attributes of a person's
character is what defines them, nothing else. Collectively, barriers that continue to divide can be
demolished and opportunities embraced, thereby creating prosperity for all. There are two types of
people in this world; those that lead and those that will be led, which are you?