Transphobia

How Intersectionality is Reflected in the Media The media has just recently (in the past years) started picking up on queer and transgender representation. There are shows like Modern Family, Glee, and How to get Away with Murder that have gay couples as reoccurring cast; in these shows there are topics about common struggles in the LGBT+ community discussed. Although this is progression, there is not enough intersectionality portrayed within the media. Intersectionality is a huge determining…

Imagine shopping in a mall, and there is a woman standing confused right in front of the bathroom signs that clearly indicates men and women. What is the confusion? You asked yourself. Well, this woman was biologically born as a man; but, she has the desire to use the ladies washroom. With so much contemplation, and fearing the repercussions, she took the step of fate into the ladies washroom. These are just some of the issues transgender individuals are facing today. What is transgender you…

Living in fear of losing a job, being denied rights by the government, and the fear of being brutally killed should not be crossing the minds of people who are trying to do things that make them happy. Many transgender people live in constant fear of these things for simply being themselves, and doing what makes them feel comfortable in their own skin. The transgender community faces a lot of discrimination and progress is not coming as quickly as it is for the rest of the LGBTQ community.…

Each generation changes. As the time passes between our grandparents being children, our parents growing up, and millennials making their way through life, life is drastically altered. Technological advances, culture shifts, and a skewed sense of independence are factors that affect each generation. Each generation is quick to judge the next, while completely disregarding the fact that their generation influenced them. Opposing views in the article “Boomerang Kids: What Are The Causes of…

Consequently, the experiences of those who are more marginalized within the marginalized group are largely unnoticed, understudied, and detrimental to the mental health of those within this extra layer of oppression. Transgender women of color not only have to experience the discriminatory effects of their sexual minority identity but they also have their racial minority identity, both of which may be visible and which may indicate their existence in public spaces. Balsam, Molina, Beadnell,…

Eileen Myles, a sixty-seven year old poet and activist, has over the course of their life written poetry, essays, novels, libretto and plays. They were born in 1949 and later graduated from UMass, Boston. In the mid-70s they moved to New York City to work as an assistant to Pulitzer-Prize winning poet, James Schuyler, in pursuit of living and growing as a poet. Myles’ identity is made up of many dovetailing parts; they are gender-neutral, a poet, a “dyke,” child of the working class and later a…

No matter where one is from, what one’s gender is, what one’s intelligence is, anything and everything. Everyone faces adversity; sexism, racism, homophobia, class discrimination, transphobia, and dozens more examples. However, when these wrongdoings are confronted, and attention is drawn to them, people can get relief. For Taylor in the bean trees, she had to let herself look at the situation from a new angle, realising the pressures…

Black women have long faced dehumanization and subjugation. This dehumanization is based on gender and racial stereotypes. Race and gender, despite being social constructs, have a tangible impact on how one interacts with society. Specifically, in regards to the intersection of race and gender. Kimberlé Crenshaw coined this intersection of race and gender as intersectionality. Intersectionality is highlighted by Megan Thee Stallion in her activism. In the video “Why I Speak Up for Black Women”,…

Discriminating against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) and its consequences is something that people maybe never seriously think about, although many people get affected by it. The show, “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” elaborates on the issue of LGBT discrimination. The Equality Act of 2015 is a bill passed by the House of Representatives and Senate, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, gender, identity, and sexual orientation, and for other purposes. Yet, this…

Social Movements and the Power of Social Change Social movements are organized, collective efforts to promote or resist change by powerless people who are committed in an extrainstitutional action (Crouteau and Hoynes 2015). What distinguishes social movements from other forms of social and political action is that social movements are mobilized by a large group of people who lack access to common forms of power. These people use organized and ongoing extrainstitutional tactics, such as boycotts…