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IN FOCUS: ARTICLE |
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Transgender Teens: Fighting Hate
by Chris Hayhurst, 4.25.06
Transphobia is the fear and hatred of people who are — or who appear to be — transgender. |
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Gwen Araujo was beaten and strangled to death in the fall of 2002, not far from her home in Newark, CA. In September 2005, two young men were convicted of her murder.
When she was 14, Gwen came out to her family as transgender. Her family supported her, but many people in her town and at school didn't. A few years later, Gwen was hanging out at a house with some people she knew. They didn't know she was transgender, but some of the guys suspected it. A girl went into the bathroom with Gwen and came out yelling that Gwen was a man. That girl left the party, and a few of the guys stayed and watched as the others attacked Gwen, eventually killing her.
Transgender Identity and Transphobia
The term transgender (also known as trans, TG, or genderqueer) can be used to include a lot of different people. For some, being transgender means their sexual anatomy conflicts with their gender identity. For example, someone with a penis might be declared a boy at birth, but grow up thinking and feeling more like a girl.
Transgender can also include people who are simply not satisfied with the strict gender roles society dictates, those who enjoy "playing" the other gender, and those who take hormones and/or have surgery to alter their physical bodies to match their gender identity.
Transphobia is the fear and hatred of people who are — or who appear to be — transgender. Gwen Araujo was killed because her so-called "friends" were violently transphobic.
The Threat of Violence
According to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, hundreds of hate crimes — acts of harassment or violence that are motivated by bias — are committed against transgender people each year. Hatred in the Hallways, a report by Human Rights Watch, details the dangers faced by transgender people. It also notes the particular dangers faced by transgender teens. "[T]ransgender people remain misunderstood at best and vilified at worst," reads the report. "[Y]outh who identify as or are perceived to be transgender face relentless harassment and live with overwhelming isolation."
Some transgender people are targets of violence just because they're so obviously different, while others, like Gwen, are victimized when their transgender identity is discovered by transphobic people.
When transgender teens are victims of hate crimes, they often have nowhere to turn. Not all hate crime laws protect transgender people. In 2005, a hate crimes prevention bill that specifically protects transgender people was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, but it has not yet been passed in the Senate.
The Transgender Law & Policy Institute has a list of resources for transgender people who've been victimized or threatened and are seeking legal assistance, support, or information.
Standing Up for Trans Rights
In addition to violence, or the threat of violence, transgender teens have many other issues to deal with every day, both in school and out — everything from using public restrooms to having their name changed on school records to reflect their new identity. Finding acceptance is often difficult, and may even seem impossible.
Lisa Mottet, a lawyer at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force who staffs the Transgender Civil Rights Project, says advocacy is key — for both transgender teens and their non-transgender allies. "There are a lot of things you can do to try and improve your environment," says Mottet. "Write articles about transgender issues in your school newspaper. Invite guest speakers to talk in class. Join a Gay Straight Alliance, or help start one up, so there's a peer network and a bunch of friends you can rely on."
You can also use the transgender advocate "action kit" (PDF file) available through LAMBDA Legal, check out the resources provided by the Transgender Law Center, or take part in the national Transgender Day of Remembrance, when people gather in hundreds of cities around the world to honor those killed as a result of anti-transgender hate or prejudice.
Looking to the Future
For her part, Mottet can envision a time in the not-so-distant future when transgender people are treated as citizens with rights equal to those of anyone else. "We're definitely headed in that direction," she says. "We've had so much success. About five years ago, nondiscrimination laws only [protected transgender people] about five percent of the country by population. Today we're up to 30 percent. So we've seen a huge improvement.
"There's still plenty of work to be done, but as Martin Luther King said, 'The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.' It's definitely bending toward justice right now." |
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