In light of the midterm election and transgender awareness week, this November its time to shed light on some of the common issues that transgender people still face.
Each election, year after year, transgender people are used as a political weapon. What age should we be able to medically transition? What sports team can we play on? An, even, what bathroom do we use? These questions are brought into the conversation and held above our heads. It is constantly talked about and brought up as if our livelihoods are just a debate topic. This year, as per usual, as our midterm elections move closer, plenty of political officials are lighting the match once again.
Currently, in Indiana, there are mixed policies and laws when it comes to being transgender. While schools are not allowed to deny access to things such as using the correct locker room or restroom as well as participating in school clubs, when it comes to sports, it is different. According to the Human Rights Campain, in March of 2022, Indiana officially banned transgender student-athletes from playing their preferred sport unless they have undergone surgery. Students must provide proof of gender reassignment surgery and be taking the hormones in accordance to their identity. This, in and of itself, is extremely problematic for multiple reasons. One, not everyone can afford the cost of surgery, especially due to the fact there is often no specific coverage for this. For me, even just accessing hormones is difficult. A lot of parents and even some doctors encourage kids to wait until they are 18 to consider going through hormone replacement therapy, and for most kids, that's their senior year which feels too late to join anything. Secondly, not all transgender people want surgery, especially while still in high school. My personal experience with sports went something along the lines of being told I could practice with the boys, but I would have to play with the girls. As someone who looked forward to joining a high school sport, especially at a school like Warren where sports are a big part of who we are, it's extremely discouraging. The significance of being on the right team is more than just playing the sport; it feels comfortable and welcomed into the environment you actually belong in. For me It's more than just being on a boys team, it's seeing that at every practice, and every game you are just another guy like everyone else.
Aside from sports, there have been some extremely questionable bills suggested from legislation during 2022. Specifically, there was a bill made for denying care to transgender youth, where it would potentially be a criminal offense for any doctors or healthcare professionals to assist us with any of out health care needs regarding providing hormones, or any wanted procedures. The summary of the bill provided by a legislative tracker from Freedom for All American states the following “Prohibited services relating to care of minors. Prohibits specified health care professionals from: (1) performing certain medical procedures on a minor; or (2) subjecting a minor to certain activities; that purposely attempt to change, reinforce, or affirm a minor's perception of the minor's own sexual attraction or sexual behavior, or attempt to change, reinforce, or affirm a minor's gender identity when the identity is inconsistent with the minor's biological sex.” Although it was not passed, simply the idea that something like this could further prevent the proper treatment of transgender youth is upsetting. Bills like this are popping up not just in Indiana but nationwide, these bills are not helping anyone other than people who want to eradicate transgender youth. The idea behind this would back the idea that kids cannot decide their own gender identity and that they need to be legal adults to make something they see as a rash decision. As a matter of fact, a study run by Cendars Sanai states that “urologist Maurice Garcia, MD, director of the Cedars-Sinai Transgender Surgery and Health Program, shows that the majority of transgender patients experience gender dysphoria in early childhood.” This proves that although not of legal age, transgender youth have more than enough experince and knowledge backing up what they are stating. Transgender youth expericnce extreme dysphoria especially when it comes to puberty so all this wrapped up inevitably leads to something very danrgerous. In all actuality, this idea that we are old or mature enough to decide it would not help transgender kids, and would open a door of more sucide attempts.
Statistically speaking, according to Fewnway Health “The study, titled “Access To Gender-Affirming Hormones During Adolescence and Mental Health Outcomes Among Transgender Adults,” compared past-month severe psychological distress and past-year suicidal ideation of 12,738 transgender adults who had accessed gender-affirming hormones during early adolescence, late adolescence, or adulthood with those of 8,860 transgender adults who desired gender-affirming hormones but had never accessed them.” A lot of cisgendered people do not understand or see that hormones and treatment are not just some irreversible change. They are in a literal sense a lifeline and can seriously impact and improve our quality of life. We do not randomly wake up one one day and decide to go through a second puberty, we think about it day in and day out. We think about it when we look in the mirror, when we think about it when we look at our friends, and it even comes down to simple tasks like watching our favorite films.
For years, transgdender people have been fighting for our place among everyone else. There is an everlasting battle to prove to others things we already know. Although it's hard there are still things to do to ensure our spot and solidify what needs to be done. First, visiting the local school board regarding any in school issues is always an option. You can contact your local officials via the USA gov website at https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials. For nationwide support and keeping up with current and ongoing transgender issues, visit the national center for transgender support online at https://transequality.org/.
https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/anti-transgender-legislation/
https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1407002
https://www.hrc.org/resources/state-scorecards/indiana
https://www.transathlete.com/k-12
https://medicine.iu.edu/expertise/lgbtq-health/clinical-care/gender-affirming-surgery
https://www.aclu-in.org/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/trans_students_kyr_one-pager.pdf
https://www.transathlete.com/k-12
https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/anti-transgender-legislation/