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Introduction
This page is intended to serve three purposes: a general educational page, a starting point for making changes on this campus, and a resource for trans people.
Contents
Basic Definitions
Here are some very basic definitions. These words take on a multitude of meanings in as many settings, so please
consider these definitions only a start. Many
of the education/advocacy pages have their own definitions pages.
Transgender—is an umbrella term to describe people who have
gender identities, expressions or behaviors not traditionally
associated with their birth sex http://www.gender.html
Transsexuals—were born into one socially constructed gender but identify psychologically and emotionally as the other
Intersex—refers to individuals born with sex chromosomes, external genitalia,
or an internal reproductive system that is not considered “standard” for either male or female. http://www.isna.org/faq/faq-medical.html#what
Two-spirit—is a term for gender variance adopted by the Native American/ American Indian community to recognize gender identity as a continuum or circle and to emphasize “balance within oneself, and between the emotional,
physical, spiritual and intellectual parts of one's person.” http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/99-1/issue5/spirit.html
Gender Queer—individuals are people whose gender identity and/or gender expression falls outside of the cultural norm for their sex.
http://cs.smith/edu/~cmore/monologues/definitions.html
Gender Variant—is a term used to refer to those who cannot or choose not to conform to societal gender norms associated with their physical sex.http://www.gender.org
Issues on Campus
Restrooms/locker rooms: Single sex restroom are problematic, many trans individuals do not feel safe in either restroom -
and so may prefer unisex restrooms. However, this also creates a clear feeling of otherness. This is especially true when a trans person has to leave a meeting or the pool or a class and go a long way to find an
appropriate restroom. As far as we know, there is also no clear campus policy regarding the rights of trans individuals to use the restroom of their preferred gender - and so a trans individual may be legally required
to use restrooms in which they feel unsafe.
Women/Men only spaces
- Programs designed specifically to support women or men can inadvertently be exclusive to gender variant/trans-identified individuals even though they also have a distinct need for these resources.
- Student clubs and organizations with a particular gender focus can both be very exclusive and even serve to reinforce strict gender norms if they aren't careful.
Campus Resources can exclude inadvertently based on their intake forms. They also might not have the capacity to provide resources that might be specific needs of the trans community -
for example in career advising: which jobs are in companies that have decent human resources policies regarding transition, and which cities and states (yeah for California!!!) have anti-discrimination policies.
There are many issues, a short list might include:
- Gender Variance absent in non-discrimination policy
- Legal issues including restrooms
- Accommodations in residence halls - shared bathrooms/roomates
- Media issues/coverage - silencing/not recognizing language
- ID with “incorrect” gender present challenges
- Harassment statistics - TG/GQ are targeted within and outside of community
- Domestic Partner Benefits did not consider TG issues
Links to Education/Advocacy Pages
PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) is a national organization which provides support, advocacy and education. Despite their name, they are inclusive of gender variant individuals.
T-net is their transgender network.
http://www.pflag.org/education/trans.html
http://www.youth-guard.org/pflag-tnet/booklet.pdf
Gender Education and Advocacy (GEA) is a national organization focused on the needs, issues and concerns of gender variant people in human society.
They seek to educate and advocate,
not only for ourselves and others like us, but for all human beings who suffer from gender-based oppression in all
of its many forms. Their main webpage is www.gender.org which has an excellent resources link. I especially
recommend: Gender Variance: A Primer - A thumbnail on the transgender community,
explaining what it is and who it covers.
The Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) is devoted to systemic change to end shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries for people born with an
anatomy that someone decided is not standard for male or female. They have definitions under their frequently asked questions.
http://www.isna.org
The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition focuses on gaining civil rights for all that are currently denied them because of their gender identity: http://www.ntac.org
They have links to some other advocacy pages.
The International Foundation for Gender Education publishes the Transgender Tapestry, a magazine by, for, and about a wide range of gender
variance. The spring 2003 issue is “Transgender 101”.
http://www.ifge.org/
The Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GenderPAC) works to end discrimination and violence caused by gender stereotypes by changing public
attitudes, educating elected officials and expanding
legal rights. GenderPAC also promotes understanding of the connection between discrimination based on gender stereotypes and sex, sexual orientation,
age, race, class.
http://www.gpac.org/gpac/
Gendertalk (www.gendertalk.com) is a radio program focusing on trans issues.
They have a large list of web links, as well as some good clear definitions.
http://www.gendertalk.com/tgism/tgism.shtml
There is a scholarly journal: The International Journal of Transgenderism.
http://www.symposion.com/ijt/index.html
Other Resources
These are some randomly selected general links including information specific to the trans community. Disclaimer - we take
no responsibility for any
information on these sites, especially those which provide medical advice.
an excellent resource for MTF transsexuals.
http://www.annelawrence.com/twr
a funny greeting card site for FTMs
http://www.spoonstorm.com/cards/
FTM International: This site is the internet contact point for the largest, longest-running educational organization serving FTM transgendered people and transsexual men.
http://www.ftmi.org/
MtF Hormone Info :Very thorough description of hormones for the Male-to-Female, what they do, what they don't do, what's safe, what's not.
http://www.jennifer-o.com/Hormones/m2f/m2fFAQ.htm
Center For Gender Sanity- Contains info on Transitioning in the Workplace
http://www.gendersanity.com/index.shtml
Contains info on Transitioning in the Workplace
http://www.tgender.net/taw/
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