Transgender Rights By Nielle Reaves

From man to woman or woman to man...perhaps boy to girl or girl to boy. Something that some support and some don’t. A life changing decision for those who want to transition. Transgender is when a person has a different gender expression or identity than they were assigned at birth. At first it was called transvestites' in 1910 then transsexuals' in 1949 and finally became the term transgender in 1971. The first transgender reassignment was in 1952 done on Christine Jorgensen who transitioned from male to female. In 2004 being transgender became legalized. Is the country really free, if your rights are only protected if you’re claimed to be “legal?”

Transgender women and men have had their medical rights taken away by former president Donald Trump. He had reserved Obama-era protections in the healthcare system that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. As you can see Trump is a homophobic man that discriminates against people and allows his personal views to effect the basic rights of the people he is supposed to be protecting. The courts have created laws to protect transgenders in schools, some states have local laws to protect transgenders using restrooms, and there is a housing act to prohibit discrimination from landlords. Transgenders have more rights, but not as many. If these rights are violated there are different ways to handle them.

Currently, there is a debate on whether transgenders should be allowed to play on gender-specific sports teams. Most believe that transgender women shouldn’t be allowed to participate in women's sports. Caitlyn Jenner, a well known transgender, believes that transgender women should not be able to participate in women’ sports because she believes that the girls on other teams need to be protected. Which I disagree with because transgender women shouldn’t have to choose between their self-identity and a sport they love. There are still debates about transgenders using restrooms belonging to the gender they identify with. It shouldn’t be a problem, especially if they just created unisex bathrooms.

Transgender rights have been a debate for too long. The rights being debated are not seen as essential, but to the transgender community these rights can effect their lives. Transgenders have done marches and more for their rights. At the end of the day everyone is human no matter if black , white , girl , boy , man. Everyone deserves to be treated like a human.