IDENTITY
NOT
DISORDER
TRANSITIONING TO A BETTER TOMORROW
A BRIEF HISTORY IN TRANSGENDER RIGHTS
1952
Christine Jorgensen Becomes First American to Have a Sex Change
A former Army private from the Bronx became the first American to undergo a sex change operation after traveling to Denmark for surgery and hormone treatments. Upon her return, she publicly announced her transition, and became an advocate and a celebrity.
1969
The Stonewall Riots
Police officers raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in New York City. The crowd, weary of the raids on gay clubs, rioted. Many in the L.G.B.T. community, including transgender people, joined in several days of demonstrations. The Stonewall Riots are widely considered to have sparked the L.G.B.T. rights movement.
1975
Transgender Protections in Minneapolis
Minneapolis became the first city to pass a law prohibiting discrimination against transgender people.
1993
Brandon Teena
Brandon Teena, a 21-year-old transgender man, was beaten, raped and murdered in Nebraska. His story was later shared in the film “Boys Don’t Cry.”
1999
The Transgender Day of Remembrance
The advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith organized the first Transgender Day of Remembrance, to honor the memory of Rita Hester and other transgender people like her who were lost to bigotry and anti-transgender violence.
2002
Advocates for the Transgender Community
The Transgender Law Center, a civil rights organization that advocates for transgender communities, opened its first office in San Francisco.
2008
A Transgender Mayor
Stu Rasmussen was elected mayor of Silverton, Ore., becoming the first openly transgender mayor in America.
2012
Title VII Applies to Transgender Employees
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which made it illegal to discriminate based on sex, also protected transgender employees.
2014
A Medicare Exclusion Reversed
The Department of Health and Human Services reversed a Medicare policy in place since 1981. Medicare must now cover sex reassignment surgery.
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Although the word 'transgender' was not coined until 1971, people identified as trans, far before that. Take for instance Roman Emperor Elagabalus who lived in 220 AD was reported to have offered vast sums of money to any physician who could equip him with female genitalia. Elagabalus has been characterized by many modern writers as transgender.
Today many people identify as trans, but that road to now has been an extensive one. What follows is a selection of events showing the evolution of the transgender movement.
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Although transexuality has long held a place in popular culture, but the struggle for equality in society continues.
REMEMBER THEIR NAMES
Monica Loera, 43 January 22, North Austin, TX
Jasmine Sierra, 53 January 22, Bakersfield, CA
Kayden Clarke, 24 February 4, Arizona
Maya Young, 25 February 20, Frankford, PA
Demarkis Stansberry, 30 February 28, Baton Rouge, LA
Kedarie/Kandicee Johnson, 16 March 2, Burlington, IA
Quartney Davia Dawsonn-Yochum, 32 March 23, Los Angeles, CA
Shante Thompson, 34 April 11, Houston, TX
Reecey Walker, 32 May 1, Wichita, KS
Mercedes Successful, 32 May 15, Haines City, FL
Amos Beede, 38 May 28, Vermont
Goddess Diamond, 20 June 5, New Orleans, LA
Deeniquia Dodds, 22 July 4, Washington, D.C.
Dee Whigham, 25 July 23, St. Martin, MS
Skye Mockabee, 26 July 30, Cleveland, OH
Erykah Tijerina, 36 August 8, El Paso, TX
Rae’Lynn Thomas, 28 August 11, Columbus, OH
T.T. Saffore, 28 September 11, Chicago, IL
Crystal Edmonds, 32 September 16, Baltimore, MD
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Transgender people are being killed at an unprecedented rate. The year 2015 saw an all-time high in reported killings of trans people in the United States: 21
School
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According to Williams Institute, almost 50% of trans teens have considered suicide
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Transgender youth are 5 times more likely to miss school out of fear from bullying (bullyingstatistics.org)
TITLE IX
Title IX is a federal law banning sex discrimination in schools. Courts have made it clear that that includes discrimination against someone because they are transgender or don’t meet gender stereotypes or expectations. Title IX applies to all schools (including both K–12 schools and colleges) that get federal money, including nearly all public schools. (transequality.org)
States with laws and policies protecting transgender youth include:
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California​
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Colorado
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Connecticut
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District of Columbia
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Hawaii
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Idaho
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Iowa
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Maine
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Maryland
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Massachusetts
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Michigan
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Minnesota
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New Jersey
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New York
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Oregon
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Rhode Island
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Vermont
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Washington
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It’s estimated that over 134,000 American veterans are transgender, and over 15,000 trans people are serving in military today. ​
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Many transgender veterans face barriers from obtaining updated service records that do not out them as transgender, and from receiving VA coverage of necessary medical procedures.
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The RAND corporation’s analysis of the health care that trans soldiers would get would be, in total, around $100,000 and up.
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Trans people are twice as likely as others to serve the military; one in five trans people are military service members or veterans.
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​Australia, the UK, Israel, and Canada allow openly trans people to their military.
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Trans people are able to serve openly, as stated in the “Transgender Service Member Policy Implementation Fact Sheet”.
Military
Workplace
There is no federal law barring employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity
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In 30 states, someone has been fired​ for being transgender
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In only 22 states and the District of Columbia is the employment discrimination on basis of gender identity prohibited.​
Facts:
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One in four LGBT employees report experiencing employment discrimination in the last 5 years.
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Transgender people face double the rate of unemployment
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In 2014, more than 1 in 4 LGBT adults (2.2 million people) struggled to put food on the table
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1 in 10 LGBT employees have left a job because the environment was unwelcoming
Progress:
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In 2002, only 3% of Fortune 500 companies includes gender identity in their nondiscrimination policies.
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Today, 82% of Fortune 500 include include gender identity in nondiscrimination policies.
Facts:
progress:
progress:
Facts:
DISCRIMINATION IN THE NATION
organizations
Transgender rights are human rights and it's more important now than ever to support them. If you're feeling helpless, offering your money, time, skills, or all of the above to these organizations can help make a real difference.
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Here are some of the organizations that are making a difference in the Trans community everyday
National Center for Transgender Equality
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The National Center for Transgender Equality, the nation’s leading social justice advocacy organization for transgender people, works at the local, state, and federal levels to change laws, policies, and society.
http://www.transequality.org/about
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Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund
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The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund is committed to ending gender identity discrimination, and seeks to achieve equality for transgender people through public education, test-case litigation, direct legal services, and public policy effort.
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http://www.transgenderlegal.org
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Trans Life Line
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Trans Lifeline, a non-profit dedicated to the wellbeing of transgender people, is a hotline staffed by transgender people for transgender people. Trans Lifeline volunteers listen and support people from the trans community.
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