Gender Identity

The world has experienced seeing partnerships that were more than a man and a
woman. It is not new for the society to see lesbians, gays or even transgenders who would seek
partnership from a straight man or woman. Some countries had already highlighted the rights of
transgenders through the years, but how do we define a transgender and is it a moral duty to tell
a partner of being a transgender?
First and foremost, a transgender or transperson’s gender is not the same as those in its
birth certificate. As they progress through life, they begin to find their gender identities – which is
based on the self-perception, or how do we present ourselves to the world. People who in their
lifetimes may encounter differences with their sex and gender are referred to as gender
dysphoria.
Now let’s see that the person is already a transgender, is it a moral duty to disclose if a
person is a transgender to a potential partner? This imposes a potential debate on whether the
transgender who has been consistently dating and on search of a potential partner.
Do they have to know? Some may say that a transgender person has the duty to
disclose this fact to a potential partner before intimacy – others based on Justia.com may say
they don’t have the moral obligation to declare it unless they have sexually transmitted disease.
Having to know would also cover 2 facets of questions: Does it Hurt Anyone? And how does a
non-disclosure of any fact psychologically affect partners?
Does it Hurt Anyone? Yes we can’t say it right away, but later on keeping the truth would
bring more problems. While not saying may not hurt anyone in the process, as one person
would be dating another person, they “assume the risk” because what we see in people in
relationships are not what they seem. Some of those who will tell that it is not a moral duty is it
is not their fault that the potential partner did not ask. When someone would go on a blind date,
they would even leave it to the matchmaker to “surprise them”. This would also spark another
question if we are to rely on assumptions or let things be discovered on its own.
Non-Disclosure affecting partners – There is a different take on this one, how would the
partner react to the non-disclosure could be of 2 ways, they could get extremely mad with their
partner and have within themselves the psychological effect of having gone to sex with the
same sex upon birth or the second one could start accepting because they love the person. In
both ways, transgenders would not know the answer to this one as mentioned earlier, things are
not always what they seem and the reaction could be shown once the situation has happened.
The debate is still on whether they have to disclose or not – but to a personal evaluation,
there is a moral duty to disclose if a person is transgender to a potential partner. While there is a
cliché saying that we love the other person for who they are, acceptance begins by being
honest from the start. Transgenders do not need to wait for the day that their partners be the
one to discover them and give them psychological harm or thoughts that they went on sex with
someone whom the same sex as them. Transgenders had been accepted in the 21 st Century
and in turn they need to realize that they would have a huge effect on the relationships they are
to undertake.