Chapter One
Did you know that more than 50% of transgender minors have admitted to attempting suicide? How about that 82% of transgender youth feel unsafe or scared at school ? These statistics are high, too high. Transgender is defined as being a person who identifies with a gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the person's sex at birth, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary. Cisgender is defined as a person who identifies with the gender identity they were given at birth. For a very long time, being transgender, or part of the LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and more) community, meant you were considered mentally ill and sick. Often times anyone who considered themselves LGBT+ was put into an asylum …show more content…
Our society has become more open-minded, leading to many more transgender minors coming out with their preferred gender identity. However, while it seems as though we are more open-minded, transgender youth are still being abused to a point where suicide can seem like the only option they have. Should everyone be given a full spectrum of rights, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity? Despite the answer to this being yes transgender minors are still not being guaranteed human rights, rights that supposedly belong to every human being, regardless of race, sex, and/or age. So, why are transgender minors more at risk than cisgender minors in today’s society? Although there is a constant fight for laws protecting transgender minors, including Leelah’s Law, there are still severe problems in our system. Transgender minors are more at risk for depression, which can lead to suicide attempts. There also have been reports of transgender minors being forced into conversion therapy, which can leave them psychologically and emotionally scarred, or even …show more content…
Hashtags: a phrase preceded by a pound sign to get across a message on social media websites and apps. #HerNameWasLeelah, #HisNameWasZander, #HisNameWasAsh… These are just three of some of the more popular hashtags on Instagram after these transgender minors committed suicide. Leelah was seventeen, Zander was only fifteen, and Ash was sixteen. These kids did not deserve to be treated with the tactlessness and malice they were. They were just kids, they had their entire lives ahead of them to be happy and transition fully. They were so beleaguered and abused that these kids chose to take their own lives, and there have been countless more. The “His Name Was” and “Her Name Was” trends are becoming more and more common on social media sites, specifically Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. Teenagers are using the one source they know, the internet, to try and make a difference in their world. Most of these teenagers don’t have the ability to vote, due to being minors, so all they can really do is try to make adults understand their opinions on the issues we face. A difference is still not being made, however. 67% of transgender minors have been bullied online. 64% of them had their property stolen or destroyed . Clearly what teenagers are trying to accomplish in the world are not being done completely. Transgender minors are still about six times more likely to be seriously depressed, more than eight
Did you know that more than 50% of transgender minors have admitted to attempting suicide? How about that 82% of transgender youth feel unsafe or scared at school ? These statistics are high, too high. Transgender is defined as being a person who identifies with a gender identity that differs from the one which corresponds to the person's sex at birth, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary. Cisgender is defined as a person who identifies with the gender identity they were given at birth. For a very long time, being transgender, or part of the LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and more) community, meant you were considered mentally ill and sick. Often times anyone who considered themselves LGBT+ was put into an asylum …show more content…
Our society has become more open-minded, leading to many more transgender minors coming out with their preferred gender identity. However, while it seems as though we are more open-minded, transgender youth are still being abused to a point where suicide can seem like the only option they have. Should everyone be given a full spectrum of rights, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity? Despite the answer to this being yes transgender minors are still not being guaranteed human rights, rights that supposedly belong to every human being, regardless of race, sex, and/or age. So, why are transgender minors more at risk than cisgender minors in today’s society? Although there is a constant fight for laws protecting transgender minors, including Leelah’s Law, there are still severe problems in our system. Transgender minors are more at risk for depression, which can lead to suicide attempts. There also have been reports of transgender minors being forced into conversion therapy, which can leave them psychologically and emotionally scarred, or even …show more content…
Hashtags: a phrase preceded by a pound sign to get across a message on social media websites and apps. #HerNameWasLeelah, #HisNameWasZander, #HisNameWasAsh… These are just three of some of the more popular hashtags on Instagram after these transgender minors committed suicide. Leelah was seventeen, Zander was only fifteen, and Ash was sixteen. These kids did not deserve to be treated with the tactlessness and malice they were. They were just kids, they had their entire lives ahead of them to be happy and transition fully. They were so beleaguered and abused that these kids chose to take their own lives, and there have been countless more. The “His Name Was” and “Her Name Was” trends are becoming more and more common on social media sites, specifically Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. Teenagers are using the one source they know, the internet, to try and make a difference in their world. Most of these teenagers don’t have the ability to vote, due to being minors, so all they can really do is try to make adults understand their opinions on the issues we face. A difference is still not being made, however. 67% of transgender minors have been bullied online. 64% of them had their property stolen or destroyed . Clearly what teenagers are trying to accomplish in the world are not being done completely. Transgender minors are still about six times more likely to be seriously depressed, more than eight