What you should know about being transgender

Being transgender means your gender identity is different than the sexual orientation you were born with. 

Gender identity is internal. We all have a personal sense of being on the inside; we either feel like a woman, or a man. Sexual identity is external. We were all born to appear on the outside as either male or female; we all have either a penis or a vagina. Transgender people were born to physically look either male or female, but they feel the opposite gender on the inside. Gender is in the mind, while sex is the physical body. 

There is a difference between transgender and transsexual.

Transgender means you identify as a man or woman, because that is how you feel on the inside. You still have a penis, vagina or breasts, yet may choose to change the style of your hair, or wear more feminine or masculine clothing. 

Transsexual means to transition from one sex to another, through the use of hormone therapy and sexual reassignment surgery. 

Being transgender is common, and likely much more common than you think. 

According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, it is unclear how many transgender people there are in the United States, or world. Reasons being that the US Census or other agencies do not keep track of this data. In addition, many transgender people hide their identities, therefor sufficient data is not available. 

A research study by the Williams Institute estimates that there are about 700,000 transgender people in the U.S. However, there are most likely many more than that. As society becomes more accepting of transgender people, there will certainly be many more transgender people who will publicly identify. 

Transgender people often show signs of gender identity early on. 

Medical experts say that people are often aware of their gender identity at a very young age. A story recently came out about afive year old transgender boy (born female), who recently transitioned with the support of his loving parents. Truly an amazing story. See the full story here: Jacob's Journey: Life as a Transgender 5-Year-Old

Transgender people face a lot of discrimination. 

Transgender people face a lot of unnecessary discrimination and violence. According to Glaad, 53% of anti-LGBT homicide victims in 2012 were transgender women. The majority of transgendered women who are murdered, homeless, or incarcerated are black. Here are some statistics to show how prevalent discrimination is for transgender people, according to a report by the National Center for Transgender Equality and The Task Force:

• Four times more likely to live in poverty.
• Unemployment rate is twice as high compared to general population. Even higher (up to four times as high) for transgender people of color. 
• 90% of transgender people report experiencing harassment, mistreatment or job discrimination. 
• 22% of transgender people who have interacted with police reported harassment by police, with much higher rates reported by people of color. 46% reported being uncomfortable seeking police assistance.
• Transgender people still cannot serve in the US Military.

Not every state in the U.S. has non-discrimination laws. 

There are still 32 states in the U.S. that do not have non-discrimination laws to cover transgendered people. If a state has a non-discrimination law that includes sexual orientation, this covers lesbian, gay and bisexual people, but it does not necessarily cover transgender people. In order for transgender people to be covered, the law must also specify that there can be no discrimination based on gender identity. 

For those of you who have other questions about whether transgender people can be ‘fixed’, ‘have a mental illness’, you better get educated, and quick. Given the current era we are living in, questions like this are no longer relevant nor appropriate. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “No question is a stupid question,” well, this isn’t always true; these are stupid questions. But because there certainly are people out there who do have these questions, here are the quick answers:

Transgender people cannot be ‘fixed’; there is nothing to fix.

Being transgender is not a phase. It is who they are; who they have been since birth and who they will always be, and that’s perfectly okay. Trying to change a person’s gender identity is like trying to change the pigment of skin you were born with – it can’t happen, won’t happen, nor does it need to happen. 

Transgender is NOT a mental illness. 

A mental illness is defined as a psychological state that causes significant distress or disability. While being transgender may certainly cause a person distress given the lack of awareness and knowledge many people have about it, this distress is only a result of external negative factors within their environment, such as unacceptance among family members or within society, finding affordable resources like hormone therapy, counseling, or medical procedures, difficulty finding social support, discrimination, and assault. This often leads to anxiety, depression, and sadly, suicide. In fact, 41% of transgender people attempt suicide, compared to 1.6% of the general population.