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TRANSGENDER: THE SOCIAL GROUP

Transgender: The Social Group

Hanna Lesko

General Psychology

Professor Debra Stewart

November 14 2021
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TRANSGENDER: THE SOCIAL GROUP
When it comes to discussing the experiences of transgender people, specifically in the

United States, there are many negative aspects that individuals in this social group experience. In

an article published in October 2013, written by the American Journal of Public Health, common

experiences among those who identify in the LGTBQ+ community as transgender are discussed.

In this article, a study was taken in Virginia, regarding the experiences of transgender-related

discriminatory instances, reported by transgender individuals living in the state of Virginia.

Discrimination among trans people is highly reported specifically among health care,

employment, and housing. With specifics in transitioning, many issues can arise for those who

belong to this social group (Bradford, 2013). For instance, one of the many first steps to

transitioning is the beginning of hormonal therapy, surgery of any kind, counseling, or

psychotherapy, etc. With all these costly medical procedures and implications to help the process

physically in transitioning, these can cause many issues, and not being able to have these done.

This could be due to whether their healthcare provider does not deem any of these process as

needed, to be covered financially, etc. Looking at the public opinion of transgender individuals,

but more specifically from other countries than the United States, these opinions are very

negative. For example, in the article from Research That Matters, research and studies were done

on the public on their thoughts of the rights of transgender people. In one study, participants

were given a series of statements, and were then chose to state whether they agreed or disagreed,

about trans individuals. Statements discussing their rights to adopt children, being allowed to use

the restroom of the sex they identify with, being allowed to marry a person of their birth sex, etc

(Luhur, 2021). After further reading the data collected from the public eye, many individuals in

China seem to have a split consensus about transgendered individuals, where some agree they

should have the same equal rights as any other individual. Others, this opinion was the opposite.
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TRANSGENDER: THE SOCIAL GROUP
In my interview, I had the pleasure of asking a series of different questions to one of my

childhood friends, in who I knew before they transitioned, and through the series of hormonal

therapies and other changes he has gone through to transition. I started out by asking about the

experiences he has had, specifically in the social group he identifies in. He went on to discuss the

many difficulties and challenges he faced when transitioning, and continues to, even now. He

discusses his first memories of gender dysphoria, which is common in those who are questioning

their identity, specifically in the LGBTQ+ community, for many. Some days he identified as

masculine, others he identified as feminine. The feeling consciously fluctuated, as among many

individuals who face identity crisis’, are left wondering how they should identity, or even feel,

day by day. Another question I asked during the interview was if they’ve always been a part of

this social group, or if it has changed them. He replied with discussing a childhood memory of

his when he never conformed to any gender-specific norms unless it was requested of him. Many

of disadvantages to being trans include a list, if you ask anyone who falls into that social group.

However, one of the biggest ones, according to him, is the constant discrimination and

harassment against not only him, but others who identity similarly to him. Many of these things

discussed and that were told to me in my interview with him were like that of what I researched,

as it’s a very common world to live in that type of environment for transgendered individuals.
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TRANSGENDER: THE SOCIAL GROUP
In my own personal experiences, I have been very much aware of the discrimination and

hateful actions towards those who belong to this social group. While I may not experience these

in my own daily life, I do believe when you are around an individual who is apart of this group,

you become more aware of the challenges they face. My compassion and empathy remain just

the same amount towards this group, not that it has lessened, but still flourishes just as much. In

my own personal thoughts, I do believe that these individuals in this social group should not

have to be discriminated, let alone harassed for simply being different compared to someone of

another social group. While I was given a bigger insight firsthand towards the specifics of

someone who is transgender, and how they grew up questioning their identity, this is nothing of

newer information to me. I do not fall in this social group, but I am around many individuals

enough to be aware of the hardships. If anything, I believe that when finding more information

about the treatment of transgender individuals in specifically the law, whether in acquiring a job,

not being correctly identified in school, etc., it is an eye opener to many.

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References

Bradford, J., Reisner, S. L., Honnold, J. A., & Xavier, J. (2013, October). Experiences of

t=Transgender-Related Discrimination and Implications For Health: Results

From the Virginia Transgender Health Initiative Study. American Journal of

Public Health. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3780721/.

Luhur, W., Brown, T. N. T., Liu, M., & Shaw, A. (2021, June). Public Opinion of

Transgender Rights in China. Retrieved November 15, 2021, from

https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Public-Opinion-Trans-

South-Africa-Jun-2021.pdf.