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An article dedicated to Daniela Vega to get to know more about her real identity.

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Daniela Vega: 'I want to open spaces that have historically been closed.'

Daniela Vega was 17-year-old when she began transitioning to female. She was lucky that her parents were supportive of her decision to do so, as the rest of Chile - from her fellow students at an all-boys school, assailants on the streets who would throw her down stairs and urinate on her, and government policy that didn't support transgender operations - were far more damning.

Vega brings many of her real-life experiences to her character Marina in A Fantastic Woman, which is up for the Best Foreign Film Oscar at this weekend's ceremony, where Vega will also be the first transgender presenter in the history of the awards.

She plays the fantastic woman of the title. We see her coping with grief and struggling to live a normal life as a waitress and singer in the face of individual and institutional prejudice. She suffers a humiliating strip search by the police and her lover's ex-wife. Her family treats her like a pariah and she has constantly to pretend to be someone she is not.

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'One of the challenges is to incorporate trans people in more areas of daily life. An awareness is one thing, but an opportunity is a different thing'

In person, Vega, wearing thick glasses, is incredibly likeable and clearly ecstatic with how A Fantastic Woman has been received by the press and public so far. Her casting in the title role came about after the director Sebastián Lelio, fresh from his success with Gloria - a brilliant examination of a single older woman, which is now being remade with Julianne Moore in the lead - called her up while researching A Fantastic Woman.

"He called me to ask if I could help him understand what it meant to be a trans person in Chile and that is how we met," says Vega. She would tell him that there are no laws in Chile that allow people to do safe transitions. That there is no public policy supporting the rights of trans people. And that there is no sex education about transgender people.

Director Sebastian Lelio cast Daniela Vega in his film after he called her to research trans rights in Chile. Photo: Valerie Macon/ AFP/Getty

Vega spent a year in bed suffering depression in her late teens. Her father encouraged her to go to beauty school; it was there that she was encouraged to go to theatre school. During that time she also worked at Club Bizarre, a Santiago nightspot, and she was singing opera at every opportunity.

Her big break came when she was performing at a theatre and a director approached her to collaborate on a work about transitioning. They came up with the solo show La Mujer Mariposa (The Butterfly Woman), which has run for eight years. In 2015 she took a trans role in the film La Visita (The Guest) in which she surprises her family at the funeral of her father's wake when they are expecting his son.

'I would love to play a part of a woman in a film. When you make something visible it makes it a reality'

What Vega wants more than anything is to change the curiosity around trans people. "One of the challenges is to incorporate trans people in more areas of daily life. I think it could change, but I don't know if it's really changing. An awareness is one thing, but an opportunity is a different thing."

So far opportunity has been a problem in a film industry built around celebrity. When roles touching upon the trans experience have been available, they have traditionally gone to star names. When Teena Brandon adopted the male identity of Brandon Teena in Boys Don't Cry it was Hilary Swank who won the Best Actress Oscar for playing the part. Jared Leto won Best Supporting Actor for Dallas Buyers' Club. Eddie Redmayne was nominated for playing Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl and Felicity Huffman received a nomination for her turn in Transamerica.

The trans community complain that such casting is another sign of discrimination against them. In recent years others have joined the fight with Transparent star Jeffrey Tambor, who said, as he picked up his second Emmy, that he hoped that transgender talent would be given a chance to prove itself.

Recently, there have been some positive exceptions, most notably Laverne Cox in Orange is the New Black and Mya Taylor in Sean Baker's Tangerine. Vega argues that trans actors should be able to play non-transgender characters.

"I would love to play a part of a woman in a film," she says. "When you make something visible it makes it a reality. I want to open spaces that have historically been closed."

'I love both singing and acting. It's a different physical feeling and it's like you have two children and you don't know which one is the best'

For that reason, Vega hopes audiences will not simply see A Fantastic Woman as a political film. "While I think it's impossible to separate art from politics - it is a political moment - this film is firstly a love story and only after that the persecution of a social group."

"I think that being trans adds something more intense to the role," she adds. "It makes it more contemporary, a story of a modern couple in what is a very classic story of a couple separated by death."

On the red carpet at the premiere of 'A Fantastic Woman' at the Berlin Film Festival. Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

It will be interesting to see what happens next for Vega. Will she get her wish to just be a character in a film, without being other, or will she always be defined by her own gender identity? She now has a book in the works and is developing two films, but she also wants to perform opera at every opportunity.

"I love both singing and acting. It's a different physical feeling and it's like you have two children and you don't know which one is the best. The best thing for me, perhaps like I did here, is to sing opera in a movie."

Wherever we see her, whether it's on screen or stage, it will be both a huge surprise and an indictment of society if this is the last we hear of the fabulous Daniela Vega.
A Fantastic Woman is released on Friday 2 March

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Daniela Vega will make history at this weekend's Oscars

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Daniela Vega: 'I want to open spaces that have historically been closed.' Daniela Vega was 17-year-old when she began transitioning to female. She was lucky that her parents were supportive of her decision to do so, as the rest of Chile - from her fellow students at an all-boys school, assailants on the streets who would throw her down stairs and urinate on her, and government policy that didn't support transgender operations - were far more damning.

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The reality of hate crimes in The United States towards the Transgender community in 2019.

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In 2018, advocates tracked at least 26 deaths of at least transgender or gender non-conforming people in the U.S. due to fatal violence, the majority of whom were Black transgender women. These victims were killed by acquaintances, partners and strangers, some of whom have been arrested and charged, while others have yet to be identified. Some of these cases involve clear anti-transgender bias. In others, the victim's transgender status may have put them at risk in other ways, such as forcing them into unemployment, poverty, homelessness and/or survival sex work.

While the details of these cases differ, it is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color, and that the intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and unchecked access to guns conspire to deprive them of employment, housing, healthcare and other necessities, barriers that make them vulnerable. HRC Foundation's "Dismantling a Culture of Violence" report demonstrates how anti-transgender stigma, denial of opportunity and increased risk factors compound to create a culture of violence -- and provides clear ways that each of us can directly make an impact to make our society a safer place for transgender people.

As is too often the case in the reporting of anti-transgender violence, many of these victims are misgendered in local police statements and media reports, which can delay our awareness of deadly incidents. In the pursuit of greater accuracy and respect for transgender and gender expansive people in both life and death, HRC offers guidelines for journalists and others who report on transgender and gender non-conforming people.

Sadly, 2019 has already seen at least 27 transgender or gender non-conforming people fatally shot or killed by other violent means. We say at least because too often these stories go unreported -- or misreported. As HRC continues to work toward justice and equality for transgender and gender non-conforming people, we mourn those we have lost:

Dana Martin, 31, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Montgomery, Alabama, on January 6. Daroneshia Duncan-Boyd, an Alabama-based trans advocate, said that "she was a person that was loved by many."

Ashanti Carmon, 27, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Prince George's County, Maryland, on March 30. "Until I leave this Earth, I'm going to continue on loving her in my heart, body, and soul," said Philip Williams, Carmon's fiancé. "She did not deserve to leave this Earth so early, especially in the way that she went out.

Michelle 'Tamika' Washington, 40, a Black transgender woman, was fatally shot in Philadelphia on May 19. Washington, who was also known by the name Tameka, is remembered by friends and loved ones as a beloved sister and "gay mother."

Paris Cameron, 20, a Black transgender woman, was among three people killed in a horrific anti-LGBTQ shooting in a home in Detroit on May 25, according to local reports. Alunte Davis, 21, and Timothy Blancher, 20, two gay men, were found dead at the scene and Cameron was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries. Two other victims were also shot but survived. "This case illustrates the mortal danger faced by members of Detroit's LGBTQ community, including transgender women of color," Fair Michigan President Alanna Maguire said.

Titi Gulley, 31, a Black transgender woman, was killed in Portland, Oregon, on May 27. Her death was originally reported as a suicide but is now under investigation.

Chynal Lindsey, 26, a Black transgender woman, was found dead in White Rock Lake, Dallas, with signs of "homicidal violence" on June 1, according to police. Friends, family and community members took to social media to share their shock at her death, describing her as "smiling" and "a person I had never seen mad."

Chanel Scurlock, 23, a Black transgender woman, was found fatally shot in Lumberton, North Carolina, on June 6. "RIP baby," wrote a friend on Facebook. "You [lived] your life as you wanted. I'm proud of you for being unapologetically correct about your feelings and expectations of YOU."

Zoe Spears, 23, a Black transgender woman, was found with signs of trauma near Eastern Avenue in Fairmount Heights, Maryland, and later pronounced dead on June 13, according to local reports. "She was my daughter -- very bright and very full of life," transgender advocate Ruby Corado, the founder and executive director of Casa Ruby, told HRC. "Casa Ruby was her home. Right now, we just want her and her friends and the people who knew her to know that she's loved."

was among the nine victims killed in a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, on August 4. While Cofer was only out to a handful of close friends and used the pronouns he/him/his on his social media profiles, he is remembered by friends as "extremely bright" and "well-liked." A friend told Splinter News that "Jordan was probably one of the sweetest people you would ever meet, a true saint, but he was also very scared constantly. He tried to give the best to everyone."

Pebbles LaDime "Dime" Doe, 24, a Black transgender woman, was killed in Allendale County, South Carolina, on August 4. Doe's friends and family remembered her as having a "bright personality," and being someone who "showed love" and who was "the best to be around."

Bee Love Slater, 23, was killed in Clewiston, Florida, on September 4. Slater is remembered by loved ones as someone "with a really, really sweet heart" who "never harmed anyone."

Itali Marlowe, 29, a Black transgender woman was found shot in Houston on September 20. She was transported to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead, as reported by Monica Roberts of TransGriot. "You deserved to live a full and robust life surrounded by people who embraced and celebrated your real self," wrote Sue Kerr, an LGBTQ columnist.

Nikki Kuhnhausen, 17, was killed in Vancouver, Washington, some time after her disappearance in June. Kuhnhausen enjoyed sharing videos of her dancing and singing on her Facebook, and she often posted memes to entertain her friends. Her loved ones have taken to social media to mourn her passing. "[Y]ou my dear didn't deserve this ... rest with God now."

Yahira Nesby, 33, was fatally shot in New York on December 19. Nesby, a Black transgender woman, was a loved member of the New York ball scene. Her friends and family commented on social media about her death, calling Nesby "a good spirit," "genuinely good people," and said "Every time [Nesby was] around [she] put a smile on my face and others."

Mia Perry, a transgender woman, was killed in Washington, D.C. on December 29.

Layleen Polanco, 27, was found dead in a cell at Riker's Island on June 7. Polanco was described by those who knew her as "a sweet, amazing [...] and generous human being."

Additionally, HRC is deeply concerned about the deaths of Johana 'Joa' Medina and Layleen Polanco, whose stories we are following closely:

HRC has been tracking reports of fatal anti-transgender violence for the past several years. Previous reports can be found: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015.

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Violence Against the Transgender Community in 2019

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In 2018, advocates tracked at least 26 deaths of at least transgender or gender non-conforming people in the U.S. due to fatal violence, the majority of whom were Black transgender women. These victims were killed by acquaintances, partners and strangers, some of whom have been arrested and charged, while others have yet to be identified.

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Resources and organizations that advocate for Trans folks in America.

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GLAAD - GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance.

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Transgender Resources Resources for Transgender PeopleTransgender people in crisis should contact the following resources:The Trevor Project's 24/7/365 Lifeline at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386) or TrevorChat, their online instant messaging option, or TrevorText, a text-based support option.

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From the person that created the term intersectionality we can understand better the meaning of the word and relate it to the life of a Tans woman shown in the film.

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Daniel Zamudio, victim of a hate crime in Chile . Here's a CNN article based on his story.

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outpouring in chile over gay man's death - cnn

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Outpouring in Chile over gay man's death - CNN

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The issue of hate crime legislation has gripped Chilean leaders as one family on Friday prepared to bury their 24-year-old son.

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Here's a research made in Chile to show the violence against the LGBTI community and all the abuses they have to deal with.

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After the the brutal murdered of Daniel Zamudio the LGBT community raised its voice in order to be heard worldwide.

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Over the past few years, there have been important milestones advancing LGBT human rights in Latin America. Recognition of civil unions in Brazil and Uruguay, same-sex marriage in Mexico City and Argentina, laws protecting gender identity in Chile and Bolivia, and historic, progressive legislation in regard to gender identity in Argentina. These advances question old stereotypes of the region as a conservative macho culture dominated by the morals of the Roman Catholic Church.

The fight for LGBT human rights in Latin America isn't a one-way street. Paradoxes arise among and between countries. When Mexico City legalized same-sex marriage by legislative action, only 29% of the city's population supported the right to adoption by same sex partners. In Ecuador, the Constitution prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation yet bans same-sex marriage and adoption. Gay marriage is legal on a case-by-case basis in Brazil but transgender people continue to be the target of violent crime. In 2009, Brazil reported the highest number of murders of transgender people for the region. In Costa Rica, the president of the Legislative Assembly's Human Rights Commission expressed his belief that sexual orientation is a sin that can be treated. Clearly, homophobia and transphobia are widespread in the region.
Chile: World of Latin American paradoxes.
When the Chilean socialist president Michele Bachelet took office in 2006, LGBT groups saw an opportunity for advancing their rights in a country with rigid cultural conservatism. Ironically, most of the debate and legislation about LGBT issues had to wait until Sebastián Piñera, Chile's first right-wing president since Pinochet left office.

Three issues have received particular attention from the Chilean population: An anti-discrimination law, prompted by a ruling in the Karen Atala custody case condemning Chile by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the homophobic murder of Chilean youth Daniel Zamudio, a bill for same-sex civil unions and ban on same-sex marriage, and , an announced health coverage of sex reassignment surgeries by the country's public health plan.
A Quest for a Comprehensive Anti-discrimination Law
An anti-discrimination bill in Chile, introduced in 2005, had been languishing in Chile's Chamber of Deputies for almost seven years. It wasn't until March 2012, shortly after the brutal killing of Daniel Zamudio, that LGBT associations along with international organizations called for the prompt passage of the law. Putting more pressure on the government, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of Karen Atala, a Chilean judge who in 2005 had been denied custody of her children by the Supreme Court solely because she was living in a lesbian relationship.

The Chilean Constitution acknowledges equality but the principle of non-discrimination had not been specified nor included in any type of prohibited conducts. The "bill that establishes measures against discrimination" aimed to ban "arbitrary discrimination", and includes gender identity and sexual orientation as categories protected against discrimination.

In April 2012, a Joint Committee reviewed the bill and although the law was "not what we wanted in every point", the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, ( Movilh,) declared their support of the text. Concretely, the Joint Committee approved involving the State in actions against discrimination, giving a preventive dimension to the bill. Both houses of the government approved the bill with large margins. Movilh, Iguales Foundation, and other LGBT organizations celebrated the bill.

However, there is still criticism towards the law: some members of the board of the Iguales Foundation consider it a "hybrid of principles" already stated in the Constitution. The Organization of Transsexuals for the Dignity of Diversity (OTD) denounced the lack of concrete actions and the exclusion of affirmative action in the antidiscrimination law. A major critique is that it allows discrimination if other fundamental principles are evoked, such as academic freedom or freedom of religion.

When President Piñera signed the law on July 12, 2012. MUMS Chile, the Movement for Sexual Diversity, tweeted: "Strong and Clear, we don't have to thank or applaud politicians for a mediocre law. Let's protest!"
Civil Unions Yes, Gay Marriage No
The President's Bill for Civil Unions: In May 2011, president Sebastián Piñera advised Congress to pass legislation to "protect and safeguard the rights of unmarried couples, whether of the opposite or the same sex". The measure was a key proposal in Piñera's presidential campaign manifesto and caused heated debate. He acknowledged that other forms of relationships are effective and that the State is obligated to recognize, protect and respect those partnerships.

The bill, entitled Acuerdo de Vida en Pareja (AVP) would give homosexual couples and unmarried heterosexual couples the same inheritance and certain social welfare and health care benefits as married partners. However, many activists claim the bill maintains privileged status for heterosexual married couples. The bill is pending for debate at the parliament.

The Independent Democrat Union's Move to Ban Same-sex Marriage: Mr. Piñera has been clear on the fact that his initiative does not change the concept of marriage, saying, "I deeply believe that marriage is by nature between a man and a woman". Only two days after Piñera sent the bill to Congress, members of Chile's Independent Democrat Union (UDI, conservative) introduced a constitutional amendment seeking to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

The amendment would add to the Chilean Constitution "in guaranteeing and protecting the family, only one man and one woman have the right to marry". Supporters insist the amendment is necessary to soothe fears that the AVP is a prelude to the legalization of gay marriage in Chile.

Push for Legislation: In January 2011, in an unprecedented move, Chile's Constitutional Tribunal agreed to hear a case involving three same-sex couples challenging the decision of a Civil Registry official who refused to grant a marriage license to same-sex couples and recognize a marriage celebrated outside Chile. The case is part of a push by Movilh to challenge the constitutionality of the Civil Code, which defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.

In November 2011, Chile's Constitutional Tribunal rejected the arguments as "inapplicable". The vote came down 9 to 1. Only one judge stood for a broader definition of marriage, the other nine were divided among three camps: The strictest holds that marriage between two people of the same sex is unconstitutional. Three others ruled that the official's decision was in accordance with the law and there was no room for appeal. The last opinion rejected the appeal but called for legislation to be sent to Congress concerning the issue.

The case was also rejected by a local court in Santiago on the grounds of the "impossibility of gay couples to procreate" and because "homosexual conduct is a cause for divorce". Movilh took the case to the Supreme Court in December 2011, but was also turned down. The Court ruled, "control of the constitutionality of laws belongs to the Constitutional Court It is not feasible for this court to unravel whether Article 102 of the Civil Code conforms with constitutional norms".

In April 2012, Movilh announced that it would denounce the Chilean State to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Sex Reassignment Surgeries and Gender Identity
In May 2012, the Health Minister of Chile, Jaime Mañalich, announced that starting in 2013, public hospitals would offer sex reassignment surgeries covered under the country's public health plan, the Fonasa (National Health Fund).

The cost of the operations will depend on the patient's income bracket with the poorest citizens able to get sex reassignment surgeries for free, Benefits will include psychiatric therapy, endocrinology and surgery for people wanting to "recover their true sexual identity," according to Mañalich. The procedures will be performed in public hospitals in Santiago, Concepción and Valparaíso.

The announcement has sparked controversy. Members of the trans organization OTD are worried that the announcement could have negative impact on the country's image of transgender people. Felipe Salaberry, member of the conservative political party UDI (Independent Democratic Union) criticized the announcement, arguing that there are "more urgent changes and modifications" that need to be addressed. The president of Afrodita, the Transgender Union of Valparaíso, Zuliana Araya, is glad that the government is "opening its eyes" but disagrees with the inclusion of a psychologist or psychiatrist in the procedure.

Currently, there is no specific law that would allow legal name and sex reassignment for transgender people. The decision must be backed up by medical and legal documents and is left entirely up to the Tribunals; there are currently two bills in Congress that address gender identity ( Proyectos de ley sobre identidad de género). The first one was introduced in 2008 by representative María Antonieta Saa; the second by senator Alejandro Navarro in 2012, with the aim of allowing transgender men and women to change legal name and sex without the need of sex reassignment surgery.

The paradoxes, advances and setbacks, of LGBT human rights in Latin America, are perhaps nowhere as clear as in Chile.
Backgound Resources
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Rachel Glickhouse and Mark Keller, "Explainer: LGBT Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean", Americas Society Council of the Americas, http://www.as-coa.org/article.php?id=4188, May 24, 2012

El Paradiario, "Presidente del Movilh: 'Michelle Bachelet ha sido cobarde políticamente'", El Paradiario 14 (Chile), http://www.elparadiario14.cl/admin/render/noticia/17021, June 2, 2009

Oliver Balch, "The Bachelet factor: the cultural legacy of Chile's first female president", The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/13/michelle-bachelet-chile-president-legacy, December 13, 2009.

Kimberly Gonzalez, "Civil Marriage and Gay Union Law in the Americas", http://studentorgs.law.smu.edu/getattachment/International-Law-Review-Association/Resources/LBRA-Archive/16-2/SMB206.pdf.aspx, July 13, 2010.

El Mostrador, "Rolando Jiménez: 'El de Bachelet fue el peor gobierno para nostoros', El Mostrador Chile, http://www.elmostrador.cl/noticias/pais/2012/03/28/rolando-jimenez-presidente-del-movilh-"el-gobierno-de-bachelet-fue-el-peor-gobierno-para-nosotros"/, March 28, 2012.

Abigail Olmstead, "51 percent of Chileans want Bachelet back, poll says", The Santiago Times, http://www.santiagotimes.cl/chile/politics/23804-51-percent-of-chileans-want-bachelet-back-poll-says, May 11, 2012.

Biobiochile"Movilh: Bachelet pese a ser socialista, agnóstica y mujer no avanzó nada en diversidad sexual", Biobiochile.cl, http://www.biobiochile.cl/2011/05/23/movilh-bachelet-pese-a-ser-socialista-agnostica-y-mujer-no-avanzo-nada-en-diversidad-sexual.shtml, May 23, 2012.

Informe 21, "'Piñera ha dado una lección de coraje a Bachelet' dice colectivo homosexual", Informe 21, http://informe21.com/sebastian-pinera/pinera-ha-dado-leccion-coraje-bachelet-dice-colectivo-homosexual, June 6, 2012

Rolando Jiménez, "La Mirada del MOvilh al proyecto de Ley Antidiscriminación (video)", CNN Chile, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXHlZG_2ajQ, novembre 2011.

Andrea Cibotti, "Chilean Senate approves extensive anti-discrimination law", I Love Chile, http://ilovechile.cl/2011/11/09/chilean-senate-approves-extensive-antidiscrimination-law/38603, November 9, 2011.

Movilh, "Senado aprueba Proyecto de Ley que eEstablece Medidas contra la Discriminación", Movimiento de INtegración y Liberación Homosexual, http://www.movilh.cl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1227&Itemid=1, November 9, 2011

HRW, "Chile: Amend and Pass Anti-discrimination Bill", Human Rights Watch, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/09/chile-amend-and-pass-anti-discrimination-bill, April 9, 2012.

Movilh, "COmisión Mixta aprueva Ley Antidiscriminación y la déjà lista para ser votada", Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual, http://www.movilh.cl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1343&Itemid=1, May 4, 2012.

Eva Vergara, "Chile approves Hate Crime Law After Gay Bashing Death of Daniel Zamudio", The Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/10/chile-hate-crime-law-daniel-zamudio_n_1506362.html, May 9 th, 2012.

Aaron Nelsen, "Chile's Matthew Shepard Case: How a Brutal Murder Changed the Country's Mind about Gay Rights", Time World, http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2116433,00.html?xid=gonewsedit, June 4, 2012.

Jonny Payne, "Chile set to allow gay civil unions", Pink Paper, http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory/5427/29/05/2011/chile-set-to-allow-gay-civil-unions-.aspx, May 29, 2011

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On Top Magazine, "Chile introduces Constitutional Gay Marriage Ban Amendment", On Top Magazine, http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=9184&MediaType=1&Category=24, August 11, 2011.

LezGetReal, "Chile's Constitutional Tribunal Set to Reject Same-Sex Marriage Case", LezGet Real, http://lezgetreal.com/2011/10/chiles-constitutional-tribunal-set-to-reject-same-sex-marriage-case/, October 31, 2012.

Purple Unions, "Chile Constitutional Tribune to vote 9-1 Against Marriage Equality", Purple Unions, http://purpleunions.com/blog/tag/chile, November 1 st 2011

Nación.cl, "Matrimonio homosexual: Movilh acude a la corte suprema", La Nación, http://www.lanacion.cl/matrimonio-homosexual-movilh-acude-a-la-corte-suprema/noticias/2011-12-14/171616.html, December 14, 2011.

The Gay Report, "RULING: Chilean Supreme Court Rules Against Gay Marriage", The Gay Report, http://www.thegayreport.net/2012/04/ruling-chilean-supreme-court-rules.html, April 5, 2012.

Nación.cl, "Movilh Denunciará al Estado de Chile ante la CIDH", La Nación, http://www.lanacion.cl/movilh-denunciara-al-estado-de-chile-ante-la-cidh/noticias/2012-04-05/175140.html, April 5, 2012

Factor Absoluto, "El Empolvado proyecto de Acuerdo de Vida en Pareja", Factor Absoluto, http://www.factorabsoluto.cl/el-empolvado-proyecto-de-acuerdo-de-vida-en-pareja-avp, April 15, 2012.

Patricia Schüller, "Mañalich anuncia que Fonasa ofrecerá prestaciones de salud a transexuales", La Nación, http://www.lanacion.cl/manalich-anuncia-que-fonasa-ofrecera-prestaciones-de-salud-a-transexuales/noticias/2012-05-24/165351.html, 24 de mayo de 2012.

AFP, "Chile to cover sex change operation", AFP, http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h-eUQAVOf1IwN8URwN-6VcwNVgWA?docId=CNG.eae23f2ab8f30139dd842abfb1c0998f.1f1, 25 de mayo de 2012.

Emol, "Salaberry (UDI) 'Financiamiento a cirugías de cambio de sexo pueden esperar'", Emol, http://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/2012/05/28/542809/salaberry-udi-financiamiento-a-cirugias-de-cambio-de-sexo-pueden-esperar2.html, 28 de mayo de 2012.

Nadia Flores, "Presidenta de transgéneros opina sobre inclusión de cirugías de cambio de sexo a la salud pública", Biobiochile, http://www.biobiochile.cl/2012/05/30/presidenta-de-transgeneros-opina-sobre-inclusion-de-cirugias-de-cambio-de-sexo-a-la-salud-publica.shtml, 30 de mayo de 2012.

Charles Poladian, "Chile to Foot the Bill for Sex Change Operations", Medical Daily, http://www.medicaldaily.com/news/20120525/10036/chile-sex-change-operation-public-health.htm, May 25 2012.

Jillian Page, "Chile Doing the Right Things", The Montreal Gazette Blogs, http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2012/05/26/chile-doing-the-right-things/, May 26, 2012

Movilh, "Legislación: Leyes y Proyectos", Movimiento de Integración y LIberación Homosexual, http://www.movilh.cl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=492&Itemid=12#legislacion, accessed on June 6, 2012

Andrés Rivera Duarte, "Informe sobre Chile: Violación a los DDHH de Personas Transexuales, Quinta Ronda del Examen Periódico Universal ONU", Organización de Transexuales por la Dignidad de la Diversidad, http://www.indh.cl/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/EPU-OTD.pdf March 20, 2012

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Chilean Paradoxes: LGBT rights in Latin America

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Para leer este artículo en español, mira: Paradojas Chilenas: Derechos LGBT en América Latina Over the past few years, there have been important milestones advancing LGBT human rights in Latin America. Recognition of civil unions in Brazil and Uruguay, same-sex marriage in Mexico City and Argentina, laws protecting gender identity in Chile and Bolivia, and historic, progressive legislation in regard to gender identity in Argentina.

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This article can be used to compare to Chile. The United States also has work hard on accepting this folks.

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The killings, many of them against transgender women of color, have deeply disturbed groups already familiar with threats to their safety.

Activists at a rally in New York held pictures of transgender women who were killed this year. Credit... Demetrius Freeman/Reuters

ATLANTA - In the most recent killing of a transgender woman, her body was found inside an abandoned car, burned beyond recognition. In another case, the woman was pulled from a lake at a Dallas park. And in a third, she was found dead near a golf course, just weeks after she survived a brutal beating that was captured on video.

In the United States this year, at least 18 transgender people - most of them transgender women of color - have been killed in a wave of violence that the American Medical Association has declared an "epidemic." The killings, which have been reported across the country, have for some prompted a heightened sense of vigilance.

"It's always in the forefront of our minds, when we're leaving home, going to work, going to school," said Kayla Gore, who lives in Memphis. "Guys were flirting with me at the gas station, and the first thought was, 'This could go horribly wrong.'"

Activists said the cases have also underscored the precarious position of many in a community that faces elevated levels of homelessness and poverty, and the hazards that can bring.

The killings this year follow at least 26 recorded last year by the Human Rights Campaign. But transgender advocates noted that those figures fail to grasp the full extent of the perils the community faces, as data provided by law enforcement officials can be incomplete and many crimes are never reported.

The paucity of reliable data makes it difficult to measure whether violence against transgender people has increased. But many advocates say that hostility has intensified, as a rise in visibility has also stirred animosity and emboldened people to attack.

The climate of fear reflects a widening gulf in the acceptance of transgender groups, which today have far more representation in popular culture. There are transgender or gender-nonconforming characters on television and in movies, and Mattel recently introduced a line of gender-neutral dolls. Yet that cultural progress has not trickled down to everyday life, particularly for those who are the most vulnerable.

"We are the most afraid we've ever been," said Mariah Moore, a program associate for the Transgender Law Center, who lives in New Orleans. "But we're also stronger than we've ever been."

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The threat of violence, said Kayla Gore of Memphis, "is always in the forefront of our minds, when we're leaving home, going to work, going to school." Credit... Houston Cofield for The New York Times

Many transgender people said they have hunkered down, avoiding meeting people they do not know and sticking to places where they will have greater odds of staying safe.

"A lot of folks are living in silos," Ms. Gore said.

Between May and July - when pride events were taking place across the country - at least 14 L.G.B.T.Q. people were killed, according to a report from the Anti-Violence Project. Seven of the victims were black transgender women.

"The increased visibility is a signal for them that they need to double down in fighting back," Beverly Tillery, the executive director of the Anti-Violence Project in New York, said of those looking to harm transgender people. "We're definitely seeing what we would call a backlash."

The dangers, of course, extend beyond explicit bias crimes. Discrimination can stand in the way of housing, education and job prospects, pushing many transgender people into homelessness as well as into sex work, elevating risks to their safety. And for black transgender women, racism can compound the discrimination.

"The prejudices don't add upon one another, they multiply upon one another," said Sarah McBride, the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign.

Police departments have hired more L.G.B.T.Q. officers and have sought to mend strained relationships, but advocates say many transgender people avoid calling the police if they are threatened or even physically attacked.

Dana Martin, 31, was the first known transgender person killed in 2019, found shot to death in a vehicle in Montgomery, Ala., in January.

Since then, three transgender women have been killed in Dallas, including Muhlaysia Booker, a 23-year-old who was shot to death about a month after being brutally assaulted in an unrelated attack that was captured on video and garnered national attention. Another transgender woman in Dallas was shot several times last week and gravely wounded in an attack that the authorities are investigating as a hate crime.

Muhlaysia Booker speaks during a rally in Dallas. Ms. Booker was beaten in an attack captured on video and shot to death about a month later. Credit... Ryan Michalesko/The Dallas Morning News, via Associated Press

In Detroit in June, an 18-year-old man was charged with first-degree murder for the targeted killings of a transgender woman, Paris Cameron, and two gay men.

The most recent killing, at least the 18th, took place near Clewiston, Fla. The body of Bee Love Slater, 23, was found in a scorched car on Sept. 4, her body so badly burned that she had to be identified with dental records.

The series of killings has mobilized transgender and L.G.B.T.Q. groups, with calls for lawmakers to strengthen hate crime legislation and bar the use of the so-called gay- or trans-panic defense for people charged with attacks. They have also organized self-defense classes and guides on where to find affirming places to eat and shop.

The violence against transgender women has been cited by several Democratic presidential candidates, including Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, and Julián Castro, the former housing secretary. At a candidates forum on L.G.B.T.Q. issues in Iowa last week, Senator Elizabeth Warren read aloud the names of those who have been killed this year.

"We do not talk enough about trans Americans, especially trans African-Americans and the especially high rates of murder right now," Mr. Booker said on Twitter after the Democratic debate in Miami in June. "It's not enough just to be on the Equality Act. We need to have a president who will fight to protect L.G.B.T.Q. Americans every day."

Jennicet Gutiérrez, a national community organizer for Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, said she has had moments when people felt entitled to question her identity or insult her with transphobic comments. Some had threatened her with guns, she said, "or at times, they get very physical."

"Fortunately," she continued, "I have experience with those sort of attacks and have been able to survive and been able to organize my community and speak up and really challenge these injustices."

Ms. Moore said she felt a call to action in 2017, after Chyna Gibson, a 31-year-old black transgender woman, was fatally shot in New Orleans. Ms. Moore, 31, said the killing in her hometown rattled her.

Even so, she was already deeply aware of the risks she and other transgender people face. She recounted the time, in 2014, when she was attacked and had to leap from a third-story window to save herself, shattering her knees.

"I want us to live in a world," she said, "where we don't have to worry about walking out of our front doors and being killed because someone doesn't understand who we are."

Rick Rojas reported from Atlanta, and Vanessa Swales from New York.

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18 Transgender Killings This Year Raise Fears of an 'Epidemic' (Published 2019)

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The killings, many of them against transgender women of color, have deeply disturbed groups already familiar with threats to their safety. ATLANTA - In the most recent killing of a transgender woman, her body was found inside an abandoned car, burned beyond recognition. In another case, the woman was pulled from a lake at a Dallas park.

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When Orlando (Francisco Reyes) enters a rooftop supper-club in Santiago at the beginning of the film, he can't take his eyes off Marina (Daniela Vega), a striking young vocalist who's crooning lyrics about throwing her boyfriend out with the garbage because, she sings, his love "is like yesterday's newspaper."

She sings that line straight to Orlando, with a little smile. She's definitely not throwing him away ... she's moving into his apartment as soon as they celebrate her 27th birthday.

But that night, things take a terrible turn. Orlando wakes up feeling ill. Marina rushes him to the hospital, where less than half an hour later, he dies due to an aneurysm.

At that point, Marina's ordeal is only beginning. The doctors who couldn't save Orlando look at Marina in the harsh hospital lighting and begin to treat her as a suspect. A policeman demands to see identification and frowns at the fact that the name on her ID card is "Daniel."

A Fantastic Woman is Chile's submission to this year's Academy Awards, and it'll be one of the five films up for best foreign language film on Oscar night. Director Sebastian Lelio often makes films with strong, complicated women at their centers - his 2013 awards-circuit hit, Gloria for instance. In Marina, he's got a uniquely striking heroine, whom he is forever surrounding with mirrors and reflective surfaces, as if determined that we should see her from every possible angle.

The director first encountered Daniela Vega, who plays Marina, while researching Santiago's transgender community. Initially a consultant, Vega not only won the part, she clearly influenced it - she is herself a trans woman, and an opera-trained singer who supplies her own vocals throughout the film. Vega gives Marina a fierce dignity that the character needs when dealing with Orlando's son and with his ex-wife, who refuses even to see Marina as a woman.

"When I look at you I don't know what I'm seeing" she says bluntly, but she also uses the word "perversion" - which suggests she at least knows what she thinks about what she's seeing. And she's adamant that Marina not attend Orlando's funeral, something she emphasizes by always addressing her as Daniel.

"Complicated," she says at one point, "quantum physics complicated." The film reflects that, while also acknowledging that things don't have to be. Even as she copes with her own grief, Marina must deal with being mistreated, misjudged, even mugged. And then there'll be a moment of grace - as a gentleman simply stands aside to let her enter an elevator first. Someone who can navigate all that, and remain resilient, assertive, even charismatic? Yes - she's a fantastic woman.

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'A Fantastic Woman' Is As Strong And Complicated As Its Star

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When Orlando (Francisco Reyes) enters a rooftop supper-club in Santiago at the beginning of the film, he can't take his eyes off Marina (Daniela Vega), a striking young vocalist who's crooning lyrics about throwing her boyfriend out with the garbage because, she sings, his love "is like yesterday's newspaper."

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SANTIAGO - Trans people in Chile can now change their gender on official documents after a landmark law for human rights came into effect in the staunchly conservative country yesterday.

Chilean president Sebastian Piñera signed the transgender rights bill into law on Wednesday (November 28), which allows trans people above the age of 14 to update their name and gender on official records.

"We promulgate #LeyDeIdentidadDeGénero (Law of Gender Identity) with a firm belief that we are all born equal in dignity, rights and duties, and deserve to be architects of our lives and live them with freedom. So we move towards a society of human values, love and respect for the diversity," Piñera wrote on Twitter (in Spanish).

El Pdte. @sebastianpinera promulgó hoy la #LeyDeIdentidadDeGénero que permite el cambio de sexo registral para personas mayores de 18 años, y de entre 14 y 18 años con autorización de sus padres o tutor legal. pic.twitter.com/Z31yWBWfXf

- Gobierno de Chile (@GobiernodeChile) November 28, 2018

The bill was first introduced by center-left President Michelle Bachelet, then faced fierce lobbying by conservative and religious groups until its eventual passage by lawmakers in September, nearly five years later.

The law marks a progressive shift in Chile, which is strongly Roman Catholic and became one of the last countries in the world to legalize divorce in 2004. And the country's ban on abortion, one of the strictest in the world, was lifted in 2017, though for special circumstances only.

Chile passes law allowing transgender teens to change their sex, name

Human rights groups praised the passing of the "historic" trans rights law in the traditionalist country, where abortion remains illegal except for under special circumstances.

"Today we're taking a historic leap that will improve the quality of life for the trans population," said Rolando Jimenez, leader of the Integration and Homosexual Liberation Movement (Movilh). "A basic right, that of identity, is being recognized. It's a right that most of us have from birth but which is taken from the trans population at birth."

However, Jimenez believes the law should go further to include children younger than 14, adding that it's an "obvious violation of human rights that we hope will be corrected."

The Human Rights Campaign lauded the new law as a landmark moment for trans rights in the country.

"This historic decision marks a milestone for LGBTQ rights in Chile and in South America," said Ty Cobb, global director at Human Rights Campaign.

HISTORIC: Chile has enacted a law allowing transgender people over the age of 14 to update their names on legal documents and guarantee their right to be officially addressed according to their true gender. 🇨🇱 https://t.co/WmGziK2p60

- Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) November 28, 2018

"We commend the efforts of all the LGBTQ advocates involved, including our Chilean partners at Fundación Iguales, who worked tirelessly for five years to achieve this victory.

"While this legislation removes roadblocks for many trans people, there is still important progress to be made - especially for transgender youth."

The transgender bill signed into law on Wednesday defines gender identity as a personal conviction of whether a person sees himself or herself as male or female, irrespective of their physical state or the gender or name assigned to them in the country's civic register.

India's supreme court legalizes gay sex

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Chile enacts landmark gender identity law

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SANTIAGO - Trans people in Chile can now change their gender on official documents after a landmark law for human rights came into effect in the staunchly conservative country yesterday. Chilean president Sebastian Piñera signed the transgender rights bill into law on Wednesday (November 28), which allows trans people above the age of 14 to update their name and gender on official records.

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SANTIAGO - Chilean actress Daniela Vega made history by becoming the first transgender presenter at the Oscars ceremony. But, at a news conference after meeting Chile's President Michelle Bachelet this week, she spoke of the inequalities transgender people face in her home country.

Vega said that, in Chile, "I have a name on my identity card that is not my name". "In the country where I was born I do not have the possibility of having my own name on my official documents," the A Fantastic Woman star said.

"The clock is running, time is passing, people are awaiting this change."

A gender identity bill - which would allow trans people to identify themselves with their preferred names rather than their assigned ones - is currently being considered by a congressional committee. But its future is uncertain as Chile is about to have a new administration under conservative former president Sebastian Piñera who takes over from Bachelet on 11 March.

A Fantastic Woman, in which Vega plays an opera singer grieving over the death of her lover while being rejected by his family, won best foreign film at the Oscars - a first in this category for Chile.

'A Fantastic Woman' wins foreign language film Oscar for Chile

The film's director Sebastián Lelio told the same news conference that they and Ms Bachelet had spoken about the "urgency" of putting in place a law on gender identity. He described his lead actress, who was originally only hired as a consultant on the film, as "a great ambassador between the film and reality".

And he said: "Cinema has the power to be able to come out of the screen and enter social consciousness."

For her part, Daniela Vega said that the film "talk[s] about the limits of empathy and who places barriers in the way of trans people."

"Trans people have existed since the first day of humanity," Vega said, adding that acceptance by society is a significant problem.-MercoPress

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Oscar winning Chilean actress speaks of transgender inequalities

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SANTIAGO - Chilean actress Daniela Vega made history by becoming the first transgender presenter at the Oscars ceremony. But, at a news conference after meeting Chile's President Michelle Bachelet this week, she spoke of the inequalities transgender people face in her home country.

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A Fantastic Woman.
Academy Award Winner for Best International Feature Film.  2017. I'll use as reference to talk about the movie and plot.

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Official Trailer.
Shows a little bit of this woman's tragedy when her partner died. Suddenly she is alone and dealing with his family that hate and abuse her. I'll use some info to introduce the film for my final paper.

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Definition to start building the concept of Transgender and the way society perceive them.

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Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from the sex that they were assigned at birth. Some transgender people who desire medical assistance to transition from one sex to another identify as transsexual. Transgender, often shortened as trans, is also an umbrella term; in addition to including people whose gender identity is the opposite of their assigned sex ( trans men and trans women), it may also include people who are non-binary or genderqueer. Other definitions of transgender also include people who belong to a third gender, or else conceptualize transgender people as a third gender. The term transgender may be defined very broadly to include cross-dressers.

Being transgender is distinct from sexual orientation. Transgender people may identify as heterosexual (straight), homosexual (gay or lesbian), bisexual, asexual, or otherwise, or may decline to label their sexual orientation. The opposite of transgender is , which describes persons whose gender identity matches their assigned sex.

The degree to which individuals feel genuine, authentic, and comfortable within their external appearance and accept their genuine identity has been called transgender congruence. Many transgender people experience gender dysphoria, and some seek medical treatments such as hormone replacement therapy, sex reassignment surgery, or psychotherapy. Not all transgender people desire these treatments, and some cannot undergo them for financial or medical reasons.

Many transgender people face discrimination in the workplace and in accessing public accommodations and healthcare. In many places, they are not legally protected from discrimination.

Terminology

Before the mid-20th century various terms were used within and beyond Western medical and psychological sciences to identify persons and identities labeled transsexual, and later transgender from mid-century onward. Imported from the German and ultimately modelled after German Transsexualismus (coined in 1923), the English term transsexual has enjoyed international acceptability, though transgender (1965, by J. Oliven) has been increasingly preferred over transsexual.

Psychiatrist John F. Oliven of Columbia University coined the term transgender in his 1965 reference work Sexual Hygiene and Pathology, writing that the term which had previously been used, transsexualism, "is misleading; actually, 'transgenderism' is meant, because sexuality is not a major factor in primary transvestism." The term transgender was then popularized with varying definitions by various transgender, transsexual, and transvestite people, including Virginia Prince, who used it in the December 1969 issue of Transvestia, a national magazine for cross dressers she founded. By the mid-1970s both trans-gender and trans people were in use as umbrella terms, while transgenderist and transgenderal were used to refer to people who wanted to live cross-gender without sex reassignment surgery (SRS). By 1976, transgenderist was abbreviated as TG in educational materials.

By 1984, the concept of a "transgender community" had developed, in which transgender was used as an umbrella term. In 1985, Richard Elkins established the "Trans-Gender Archive" at the University of Ulster. By 1992, the International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy defined transgender as an expansive umbrella term including "transsexuals, transgenderists, cross dressers", and anyone transitioning. Leslie Feinberg's pamphlet, "Transgender Liberation: A Movement Whose Time has Come", circulated in 1992, identified transgender as a term to unify all forms of gender nonconformity; in this way transgender has become synonymous with . In 1994, gender theorist Susan Stryker defined transgender as encompassing "all identities or practices that cross over, cut across, move between, or otherwise queer socially constructed sex/gender boundaries", including, but not limited to, "transsexuality, heterosexual transvestism, gay drag, butch lesbianism, and such non-European identities as the Native American berdache or the Indian Hijra".

Between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s, the primary terms used under the transgender umbrella were "female to male" (FtM) for men who transitioned from female to male, and "male to female" (MtF) for women who transitioned from male to female. These terms have now been superseded by " trans man" and " trans woman", respectively, and the terms "trans-masculine" or "trans-feminine" are increasingly in use. This shift in preference from terms highlighting biological sex ("transsexual", "FtM") to terms highlighting gender identity and expression ("transgender", "trans woman") reflects a broader shift in the understanding of transgender people's sense of self and the increasing recognition of those who decline medical reassignment as part of the transgender community.

Transgendered is a common term in older literature; many within the transgender community now deprecate it on the basis that transgender is an adjective, not a verb. Organizations such as GLAAD and The Guardian also state that transgender should never be used as a noun (e.g., "Max is transgender" or "Max is a transgender man", not "Max is a transgender"). However, transgender is also used as a noun equivalent to the broader topic of transgenderism, i.e. transgender identity and experience.

Health-practitioner manuals, professional journalistic style guides, and LGBT advocacy groups advise the adoption by others of the name and pronouns identified by the person in question, including present references to the transgender person's past.

In contrast, people whose sense of personal identity corresponds to the sex and gender assigned to them at birth - that is, those who are neither transgender nor non-binary or genderqueer - are called .

Inspired by Magnus Hirschfeld's 1923 term seelischer Transsexualismus, the term transsexual was introduced to English in 1949 by David Oliver Cauldwell and popularized by Harry Benjamin in 1966, around the same time transgender was coined and began to be popularized. Since the 1990s, transsexual has generally been used to refer to the subset of transgender people who desire to transition permanently to the gender with which they identify and who seek medical assistance (for example, sex reassignment surgery) with this.

Distinctions between the terms transgender and transsexual are commonly based on distinctions between gender and sex. Hence transsexuality may be said to deal more with physical aspects of one's sex, while transgender considerations deal more with one's psychological gender disposition or predisposition, as well as the related social expectations that may accompany a given gender role. Many transgender people reject the term transsexual. Christine Jorgensen publicly rejected transsexual in 1979 and instead identified herself in newsprint as trans-gender, saying, "gender doesn't have to do with bed partners, it has to do with identity." Some have objected to the term transsexual on the basis that it describes a condition related to gender identity rather than sexuality. Some transsexual people object to being included in the transgender umbrella.

In his 2007 book Imagining Transgender: An Ethnography of a Category, anthropologist David Valentine asserts that transgender was coined and used by activists to include many people who do not necessarily identify with the term and states that people who do not identify with the term transgender should not be included in the transgender spectrum. Leslie Feinberg likewise asserts that transgender is not a self-identifier (for some people) but a category imposed by observers to understand other people. According to the Transgender Health Program (THP) at Fenway Health in Boston, there are no universally-accepted definitions, and confusion is common because terms that were popular at the turn of the 21st century may now be deemed offensive. The THP recommends that clinicians ask clients what terminology they prefer, and avoid the term transsexual unless they are sure that a client is comfortable with it.[undue weight? ]

Harry Benjamin invented a classification system for transsexuals and transvestites, called the Sex Orientation Scale (SOS), in which he assigned transsexuals and transvestites to one of six categories based on their reasons for cross-dressing and the relative urgency of their need (if any) for sex reassignment surgery. Contemporary views on gender identity and classification differ markedly from Harry Benjamin's original opinions. Sexual orientation is no longer regarded as a criterion for diagnosis, or for distinction between transsexuality, transvestism and other forms of gender-variant behavior and expression. Benjamin's scale was designed for use with heterosexual trans women, and trans men's identities do not align with its categories.

Non-binary identity

Some non-binary (or genderqueer) people identify as transgender. These identities are not specifically male or female. They can be agender, androgynous, bigender, pangender, or genderfluid, and exist outside of cisnormativity. Bigender and androgynous are overlapping categories; bigender individuals may identify as moving between male and female roles (genderfluid) or as being both masculine and feminine simultaneously (androgynous), and androgynes may similarly identify as beyond gender or genderless (agender), between genders (intergender), moving across genders (genderfluid), or simultaneously exhibiting multiple genders (pangender). Non-binary gender identities are independent of sexual orientation.

Related identities and practices

Transvestism and cross-dressing

A transvestite is a person who cross-dresses, or dresses in clothes typically associated with the gender opposite the one they were assigned at birth. The term transvestite is used as a synonym for the term cross-dresser, although cross-dresser is generally considered the preferred term. The term cross-dresser is not exactly defined in the relevant literature. Michael A. Gilbert, professor at the Department of Philosophy, York University, Toronto, offers this definition: "[A cross-dresser] is a person who has an apparent gender identification with one sex, and who has and certainly has been birth-designated as belonging to [that] sex, but who wears the clothing of the opposite sex because it is that of the opposite sex." This definition excludes people "who wear opposite sex clothing for other reasons", such as "those female impersonators who look upon dressing as solely connected to their livelihood, actors undertaking roles, individual males and females enjoying a masquerade, and so on. These individuals are cross dressing but are not cross dressers." Cross-dressers may not identify with, want to be, or adopt the behaviors or practices of the opposite gender and generally do not want to change their bodies medically or surgically. The majority of cross-dressers identify as heterosexual.

The term transvestite and the associated outdated term transvestism are conceptually different from the term transvestic fetishism, as transvestic fetishist refers to those who intermittently use clothing of the opposite gender for fetishistic purposes. In medical terms, transvestic fetishism is differentiated from cross-dressing by use of the separate codes 302.3 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and F65.1 in the ICD.

Drag is clothing and makeup worn on special occasions for performing or entertaining, unlike those who are transgender or who cross-dress for other reasons. Drag performance includes overall presentation and behavior in addition to clothing and makeup. Drag can be theatrical, comedic, or grotesque. Drag queens have been considered caricatures of women by second-wave feminism. Drag artists have a long tradition in LGBT culture.

Generally the term covers men doing female drag, covers women doing male drag, and covers women doing female drag. Nevertheless, there are drag artists of all genders and sexualities who perform for various reasons. Drag performers are not inherently transgender. Some drag performers, transvestites, and people in the gay community have embraced the pornographically-derived term tranny for drag queens or people who engage in transvestism or cross-dressing; however, this term is widely considered offensive if applied to transgender people.

LGBT community

The concepts of gender identity and transgender identity differ from that of sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is an individual's enduring physical, romantic, emotional, or spiritual attraction to another person, while gender identity is one's personal sense of being a man or a woman. Transgender people have more or less the same variety of sexual orientations as cisgender people. In the past, the terms homosexual and heterosexual were incorrectly used to label transgender individuals' sexual orientation based on their birth sex. Professional literature often uses terms such as attracted to men ( androphilic), attracted to women ( gynephilic), attracted to both (bisexual), or attracted to neither (asexual) to describe a person's sexual orientation without reference to their gender identity. Therapists are coming to understand the necessity of using terms with respect to their clients' gender identities and preferences. For example, a person who is assigned male at birth, transitions to female, and is attracted to men would be identified as heterosexual.

Despite the distinction between sexual orientation and gender, throughout history the gay, lesbian, and bisexual subculture was often the only place where gender-variant people were socially accepted in the gender role they felt they belonged to; especially during the time when legal or medical transitioning was almost impossible. This acceptance has had a complex history. Like the wider world, the gay community in Western societies did not generally distinguish between sex and gender identity until the 1970s, and often perceived gender-variant people more as homosexuals who behaved in a gender-variant way than as gender-variant people in their own right. In addition, the role of the transgender community in the history of LGBT rights is often overlooked, as shown in Transforming History.

Sexual orientation of transgender people

In 2015, the American National Center for Transgender Equality conducted a National Transgender Discrimination Survey. Of the 27,715 transgender and non-binary people who took the survey, 21% said the term queer best described their sexual orientation, 18% said " pansexual", 16% said gay, lesbian, or same-gender-loving, 15% said straight, 14% said bisexual, and 10% said asexual. And a 2019 survey of trans and non-binary people in Canada called Trans PULSE Canada showed that out of 2,873 respondents, when it came to sexual orientation, 13% identified as asexual, 28% identified as bisexual, 13% identified as gay, 15% identified as lesbian, 31% identified as pansexual, 8% identified as straight or heterosexual, 4% identified as two-spirit, and 9% identified as unsure or questioning.

Healthcare

Mental healthcare

Most mental health professionals recommend therapy for internal conflicts about gender identity or discomfort in an assigned gender role, especially if one desires to transition. People who experience discord between their gender and the expectations of others or whose gender identity conflicts with their body may benefit by talking through their feelings in depth; however, research on gender identity with regard to psychology, and scientific understanding of the phenomenon and its related issues, is relatively new. The terms transsexualism, dual-role transvestism, gender identity disorder in adolescents or adults, and gender identity disorder not otherwise specified are listed as such in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD) by the WHO or the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) under codes F64.0, F64.1, 302.85, and 302.6 respectively.

The validity of the diagnosis and its presence in the forthcoming ICD-11 is debated. France removed gender identity disorder as a diagnosis by decree in 2010, but according to French trans rights organizations, beyond the impact of the announcement itself, nothing changed. In 2017, the Danish parliament abolished the F64 Gender identity disorders. The refers to the topic as gender dysphoria (GD) while reinforcing the idea that being transgender is not considered a mental illness.

Transgender people may meet the criteria for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria "only if [being transgender] causes distress or disability." This distress may manifest as depression or inability to work and form healthy relationships with others. This diagnosis is often misinterpreted as implying that all transgender people suffer from GD, which has confused transgender people and those who seek to either criticize or affirm them. Transgender people who are comfortable with their gender and whose gender is not directly causing inner frustration or impairing their functioning do not suffer from GD. Moreover, GD is not necessarily permanent and is often resolved through therapy or transitioning. Feeling oppressed by the negative attitudes and behaviors of such others as legal entities does not indicate GD. GD does not imply an opinion of immorality; the psychological establishment holds that people with any kind of mental or emotional problem should not receive stigma. The solution for GD is whatever will alleviate suffering and restore functionality; this solution often, but not always, consists of undergoing a gender transition.

Clinical training lacks relevant information needed in order to adequately help transgender clients, which results in a large number of practitioners who are not prepared to sufficiently work with this population of individuals. Many mental healthcare providers know little about transgender issues. Those who seek help from these professionals often educate the professional without receiving help. This solution usually is good for transsexual people but is not the solution for other transgender people, particularly non-binary people who lack an exclusively male or female identity. Instead, therapists can support their clients in whatever steps they choose to take to transition or can support their decision not to transition while also addressing their clients' sense of congruence between gender identity and appearance.

Acknowledgment of the lack of clinical training has increased; however, research on the specific problems faced by the transgender community in mental health has focused on diagnosis and clinicians' experiences instead of transgender clients' experiences. Therapy was not always sought by transgender people due to mental health needs. Prior to the seventh version of the Standards of Care (SOC), an individual had to be diagnosed with gender identity disorder in order to proceed with hormone treatments or sexual reassignment surgery. The new version decreased the focus on diagnosis and instead emphasized the importance of flexibility in order to meet the diverse health care needs of transsexual, transgender, and all gender-nonconforming people.

The reasons for seeking mental health services vary according to the individual. A transgender person seeking treatment does not necessarily mean their gender identity is problematic. The emotional strain of dealing with stigma and experiencing transphobia pushes many transgender people to seek treatment to improve their quality of life, as one trans woman reflected: "Transgendered individuals are going to come to a therapist and most of their issues have nothing to do, specifically, with being transgendered. It has to do because they've had to hide, they've had to lie, and they've felt all of this guilt and shame, unfortunately usually for years!" Many transgender people also seek mental health treatment for depression and anxiety caused by the stigma attached to being transgender, and some transgender people have stressed the importance of acknowledging their gender identity with a therapist in order to discuss other quality-of-life issues. Others regret having undergone the procedure and wish to detransition.

Problems still remain surrounding misinformation about transgender issues that hurt transgender people's mental health experiences. One trans man who was enrolled as a student in a psychology graduate program highlighted the main concerns with modern clinical training: "Most people probably are familiar with the term transgender, but maybe that's it. I don't think I've had any formal training just going through [clinical] programs ... I don't think most [therapists] know. Most therapists - Master's degree, PhD level - they've had ... one diversity class on GLBT issues. One class out of the huge diversity training. One class. And it was probably mostly about gay lifestyle." Many health insurance policies do not cover treatment associated with gender transition, and numerous people are under- or uninsured, which raises concerns about the insufficient training most therapists receive prior to working with transgender clients, potentially increasing financial strain on clients without providing the treatment they need. Many clinicians who work with transgender clients only receive mediocre training on gender identity, but introductory training on interacting with transgender people has recently been made available to health care professionals to help remove barriers and increase the level of service for the transgender population. In February 2010, France became the first country in the world to remove transgender identity from the list of mental diseases.

A 2014 study carried out by the Williams Institute (a UCLA think tank) found that 41% of transgender people had attempted suicide, with the rate being higher among people who experienced discrimination in access to housing or healthcare, harassment, physical or sexual assault, or rejection by family. A 2019 follow-up study found that transgender people who wanted and received gender-affirming medical care had substantially lower rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts.

Autism is more common in people who are gender dysphoric. It is not known whether there is a biological basis. This may be due to the fact that people on the autism spectrum are less concerned with societal disapproval, and feel less fear or inhibition about coming out as trans than others.

Physical healthcare

Medical and surgical procedures exist for transsexual and some transgender people, though most categories of transgender people as described above are not known for seeking the following treatments. Hormone replacement therapy for trans men induces beard growth and masculinizes skin, hair, voice, and fat distribution. Hormone replacement therapy for trans women feminizes fat distribution and breasts. Laser hair removal or electrolysis removes excess hair for trans women. Surgical procedures for trans women feminize the voice, skin, face, Adam's apple, breasts, waist, buttocks, and genitals. Surgical procedures for trans men masculinize the chest and genitals and remove the womb, ovaries, and fallopian tubes. The acronyms " GRS" and " SRS" refer to genital surgery. The term " sex reassignment therapy" (SRT) is used as an umbrella term for physical procedures required for transition. Use of the term " sex change" has been criticized for its emphasis on surgery, and the term "transition" is preferred. Availability of these procedures depends on degree of gender dysphoria, presence or absence of gender identity disorder, and standards of care in the relevant jurisdiction.

Trans men who have not had a hysterectomy and who take testosterone are at increased risk for endometrial cancer because androstenedione, which is made from testosterone in the body, can be converted into estrogen, and external estrogen is a risk factor for endometrial cancer.

Legal procedures exist in some jurisdictions which allow individuals to change their legal gender or name to reflect their gender identity. Requirements for these procedures vary from an explicit formal diagnosis of transsexualism, to a diagnosis of gender identity disorder, to a letter from a physician that attests the individual's gender transition or having established a different gender role. In 1994, the DSM IV entry was changed from "Transsexual" to "Gender Identity Disorder". In many places, transgender people are not legally protected from discrimination in the workplace or in public accommodations. A report released in February 2011 found that 90% of transgender people faced discrimination at work and were unemployed at double the rate of the general population, and over half had been harassed or turned away when attempting to access public services. Members of the transgender community also encounter high levels of discrimination in health care.

36 countries in Europe require a mental health diagnosis for legal gender recognition and 20 countries still require sterilisation. In April 2017, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that requiring sterilisation for legal gender recognition violates human rights.

Since 2014 it has been possible for adults without the requirement of a psychiatric evaluation, medical or surgical treatment, divorce or castration, to after a six-month 'reflection period' have their social security number changed and legally change gender.

In November 2017, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the civil status law must allow a third gender option. Thus officially recognising "third sex" meaning that birth certificates will not have blank gender entries for intersex people. The ruling came after an intersex person, who is neither a man nor woman according to chromosomal analysis, brought a legal challenge after attempting to change their registered sex to "inter" or .

Jurisdiction over legal classification of sex in Canada is assigned to the provinces and territories. This includes legal change of gender classification. On June 19, 2017, Bill C-16, having passed the legislative process in the House of Commons of Canada and the Senate of Canada, became law upon receiving Royal Assent, which put it into immediate force. The law updated the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code to include "gender identity and gender expression" as protected grounds from discrimination, hate publications and advocating genocide. The bill also added "gender identity and expression" to the list of aggravating factors in sentencing, where the accused commits a criminal offence against an individual because of those personal characteristics. Similar transgender laws also exist in all the provinces and territories.

United States

In the United States, transgender people are protected from employment discrimination by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Exceptions apply to certain types of employers, for example, employers with fewer than 15 employees and religious organizations. In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that Title VII prohibits discrimination against transgender people in the case R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Nicole Maines, a trans girl, took a case to Maine's Supreme Court in June 2013. She argued that being denied access to her high school's women's restroom was a violation of Maine's Human Rights Act; one state judge has disagreed with her, but Maines won her lawsuit against the Orono school district in January 2014 before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. On May 14, 2016, the United States Department of Education and Department of Justice issued guidance directing public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identities.

On June 30, 2016, the United States Department of Defense removed the ban that prohibited transgender people from openly serving in the US military. On July 27, 2017, President Donald Trump tweeted that transgender Americans would not be allowed to serve "in any capacity" in the United States Armed Forces. Later that day, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford announced, "there will be no modifications to the current policy until the president's direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the secretary has issued implementation guidance." Joe Biden later reversed Trump's policy when he became President in 2021.

In April 2014, the Supreme Court of India declared transgender to be a 'third gender' in Indian law. The transgender community in India (made up of Hijras and others) has a long history in India and in Hindu mythology. Justice KS Radhakrishnan noted in his decision that, "Seldom, our society realizes or cares to realize the trauma, agony and pain which the members of Transgender community undergo, nor appreciates the innate feelings of the members of the Transgender community, especially of those whose mind and body disown their biological sex", adding:

Non-recognition of the identity of Hijras/transgender persons denies them equal protection of law, thereby leaving them extremely vulnerable to harassment, violence and sexual assault in public spaces, at home and in jail, also by the police. Sexual assault, including molestation, rape, forced anal and oral sex, gang rape and stripping is being committed with impunity and there are reliable statistics and materials to support such activities. Further, non-recognition of identity of Hijras/transgender persons results in them facing extreme discrimination in all spheres of society, especially in the field of employment, education, healthcare etc.

Hijras face structural discrimination including not being able to obtain driving licenses, and being prohibited from accessing various social benefits. It is also common for them to be banished from communities.

The Roman Catholic Church has been involved in the outreach to LGBT community for several years and continues doing so through Franciscan urban outreach centers, for example, the Open Hearts outreach in Hartford, Connecticut. The Vatican, however, holds that transgender people cannot become godparents and compares transitioning to self-harm.

Some feminists and feminist groups are supportive of transgender people, but others are not. Though second-wave feminism argued for the sex and gender distinction, some feminists believed there was a conflict between transgender identity and the feminist cause; e.g., they believed that male-to-female transition abandoned or devalued female identity and that transgender people embraced traditional gender roles and stereotypes. Many transgender feminists, however, view themselves as contributing to feminism by questioning and subverting gender norms. Third-wave and contemporary feminism are generally more supportive of transgender people.

Discrimination

Employment discrimination

Transgender individuals experience employment discrimination at considerably higher rates than gays and lesbians. Forty-seven percent of employees have encountered an unfriendly occupation result including 44% who were disregarded for a job, 23% who were denied a promotion, lastly 26% who were terminated on the grounds that they were transgender.

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Cisgender women are more likely to be accepting of trans people than cisgender men.

Scientific studies of transsexuality

A study of Swedes estimated a ratio of 1.4:1 trans women to trans men for those requesting sex reassignment surgery and a ratio of 1:1 for those who proceeded.

An observational study revealed that transgender people receiving hormone therapy from the Amsterdam University Medical Centre in the Netherlands had higher mortality rates than the general population, and that this did not decrease during the duration of the study (1972 to 2018). Other studies have also found increased mortality in transgender people.

Population figures

Little is known about the prevalence of transgender people in the general population and reported prevalence estimates are greatly affected by variable definitions of transgender. According to a recent systematic review, an estimated 9.2 out of every 100,000 people have received or requested gender affirmation surgery or transgender hormone therapy; 6.8 out of every 100,000 people have received a transgender-specific diagnoses; and 355 out of every 100,000 people self-identify as transgender. These findings underscore the value of using consistent terminology related to studying the experience of transgender, as studies that explore surgical or hormonal gender affirmation therapy may or may not be connected with others that follow a diagnosis of "transsexualism", "gender identity disorder", or "gender dysphoria", none of which may relate with those that assess self-reported identity. Common terminology across studies does not yet exist, so population numbers may be inconsistent, depending on how they are being counted.

European Union

According to Amnesty International, 1.5 million transgender people live in the European Union, making up 0.3% of the population.

A 2011 survey conducted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the UK found that of 10,026 respondents, 1.4% would be classified into a gender minority group. The survey also showed that 1% had gone through any part of a gender reassignment process (including thoughts or actions).

North America

LGBT community

The 2017 survey of Canadian LGBT+ people called LGBT+ Realities Survey found that of the 1,897 respondents 11% identified as transgender (7% binary transgender, 4% non-binary transgender) and 1% identified as non-binary outside of the transgender umbrella. The 2019 survey of the Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ population in the Canadian city of Hamilton, Ontario, called Mapping the Void: Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ Experiences in Hamilton showed that 27.6% of the 906 respondents identified as transgender.

Canadian population

The Trans PULSE survey conducted in 2009 and 2010 suggest that as many as 1 in 200 adults may be trans (transgender, transsexual, or transitioned) in the Canadian province of Ontario.

According to the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces by Statistics Canada in 2018, 0.24% of the Canadian population identified as transgender men, women or non-binary individuals. With 95% confidence interval applied, this figure changes to a range of 0.16% to 0.36%.

United States

The Social Security Administration, since 1936, has tracked the sex of citizens. Using this information, along with the Census data, Benjamin Cerf Harris tracked the prevalence of citizens changing to names associated with the opposite sex or changing sex marker. Harris found that such changes had occurred as early as 1936. He estimated that 89,667 individuals included in the 2010 Census had changed to an opposite-gendered name, 21,833 of whom had also changed sex marker. Prevalence in the States varied, from 1.4 to 10.6 per 100,000. While most people legally changed both name and sex, about a quarter of people changed name, and then five years later changed sex. An earlier estimate in 1968, by Ira B. Pauly, estimated that about 2,500 transsexual people were living in the United States, with four times as many trans women as trans men.

One effort to quantify the population in 2011 gave a "rough estimate" that 0.3% of adults in the US are transgender. More recent studies released in 2016 estimate the proportion of Americans who identify as transgender at 0.5 to 0.6%. This would put the total number of transgender Americans at approximately 1.4 million adults (as of 2016).

A survey by the Pew Research Center in 2017 found that American society is divided on "whether it's possible for someone to be a gender different from the sex they were assigned at birth." It states, "Overall, roughly half of Americans (54%) say that whether someone is a man or a woman is determined by the sex they were assigned at birth, while 44% say someone can be a man or a woman even if that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth."

Latin America

In Latin American cultures, a travesti is an individual who has been assigned male at birth and who has a feminine, transfeminine, or "femme" gender identity. Travestis generally undergo hormonal treatment, use female gender expression including new names and pronouns from the masculine ones they were given when assigned a sex, and might use breast implants, but they are not offered or do not desire sex-reassignment surgery. Travesti might be regarded as a gender in itself (a "third gender"), a mix between man and woman ("intergender/androgynes"), or the presence of both masculine and feminine identities in a single person ("bigender"). They are framed as something entirely separate from transgender women, who possess the same gender identity of people assigned female at birth.

Other transgender identities are becoming more widely known, as a result of contact with other cultures of the Western world. These newer identities, sometimes known under the umbrella use of the term "genderqueer", along with the older travesti term, are known as non-binary and go along with binary transgender identities (those traditionally diagnosed under the now obsolete label of "transsexualism") under the single umbrella of transgender, but are distinguished from cross-dressers and drag queens and kings, that are held as nonconforming gender expressions rather than transgender gender identities when a distinction is made.

Deviating from the societal standards for sexual behavior, sexual orientation/identity, gender identity, and gender expression have a single umbrella term that is known as sexodiverso or sexodiversa in both Spanish and Portuguese, with its most approximate translation to English being "queer".

Non-western cultures

The cultures of the Indian subcontinent include a third gender, referred to as hijra in Hindi. In India, the Supreme Court on April 15, 2014, recognized a third gender that is neither male nor female, stating "Recognition of transgenders as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a human rights issue." In 1998, Shabnam Mausi became the first transgender person to be elected in India, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

North America

In what is now the United States and Canada, some Native American and First Nations cultures traditionally recognize the existence of more than two genders, such as the Zuni male-bodied , the Lakota male-bodied , and the Mohave male-bodied alyhaa and female-bodied hwamee. These traditional people, along with those from other North American Indigenous cultures, are sometimes part of the contemporary, pan-Indian Two-Spirit community. Historically, in most cultures who have alternate gender roles, if the spouse of a third gender person is not otherwise gender variant, they have not generally been regarded as other-gendered themselves, simply for being in a same-sex relationship. In Mexico, the Zapotec culture includes a third gender in the form of the Muxe.

Among the ancient Middle Eastern Akkadian people, a salzikrum was a person who appeared biologically female but had distinct male traits. Salzikrum is a compound word meaning male daughter. According to the Code of Hammurabi, salzikrūm had inheritance rights like that of priestesses; they inherited from their fathers, unlike regular daughters. A salzikrum's father could also stipulate that she inherit a certain amount. In Ancient Rome, the Gallae were castrated followers of the Phrygian goddess Cybele and can be regarded as transgender in today's terms.

In early Medina, gender-variant male-to-female Islamic people were acknowledged in the form of the Mukhannathun.

Mahu is a traditional third gender in Hawai'i and Tahiti. Mahu are valued as teachers, caretakers of culture, and healers, such as Kapaemahu. Also, in Fa'asamoa traditions, the Samoan culture allows a specific role for male to female transgender individuals as Fa'afafine.

Transgender people vary greatly in choosing when, whether, and how to disclose their transgender status to family, close friends, and others. The prevalence of discrimination and violence (transgender people are 28% more likely to be victims of violence) against transgender persons can make coming out a risky decision. Fear of retaliatory behavior, such as being removed from the parental home while underage, is a cause for transgender people to not come out to their families until they have reached adulthood. Parental confusion and lack of acceptance of a transgender child may result in parents treating a newly revealed gender identity as a "phase" or making efforts to change their children back to "normal" by utilizing mental health services to alter the child's gender identity.

The internet can play a significant role in the coming out process for transgender people. Some come out in an online identity first, providing an opportunity to go through experiences virtually and safely before risking social sanctions in the real world.

Media representation

As more transgender people are represented and included within the realm of mass culture, the stigma that is associated with being transgender can influence the decisions, ideas, and thoughts based upon it. Media representation, culture industry, and social marginalization all hint at popular culture standards and the applicability and significance to mass culture as well. These terms play an important role in the formation of notions for those who have little recognition or knowledge of transgender people. Media depictions represent only a minuscule spectrum of the transgender group, which essentially conveys that those that are shown are the only interpretations and ideas society has of them.

However, in 2014, the United States reached a "transgender tipping point", according to Time. At this time, the media visibility of transgender people reached a level higher than seen before. Since then, the number of transgender portrayals across TV platforms has stayed elevated. Research has found that viewing multiple transgender TV characters and stories improves viewers' attitudes toward transgender people and related policies.

International Transgender Day of Visibility

International Transgender Day of Visibility is an annual holiday occurring on March 31 dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide. The holiday was founded by Michigan-based transgender activist Rachel Crandall in 2009.

Transgender Awareness Week

Transgender Awareness Week is a one-week celebration leading up to Transgender Day of Remembrance. The purpose of Transgender Awareness Week is to educate about transgender and gender non-conforming people and the issues associated with their transition or identity.

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is held every year on November 20 in honor of Rita Hester, who was killed on November 28, 1998, in an anti-transgender hate crime. TDOR serves a number of purposes:

it memorializes all of those who have been victims of hate crimes and prejudice,

it raises awareness about hate crimes towards the transgender community,

and it honors the dead and their relatives

Trans March

Annual marches, protests or gatherings take place around the world for transgender issues, often taking place during the time of local Pride parades for LGBT people. These events are frequently organised by trans communities to build community, address human rights struggles, and create visibility.

Pride symbols

A common symbol for the transgender community is the Transgender Pride Flag, which was designed by the American transgender woman Monica Helms in 1999, and was first shown at a pride parade in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2000. The flag consists of five horizontal stripes: light blue, pink, white, pink, and light blue. Helms describes the meaning of the flag as follows:

The light blue is the traditional color for baby boys, pink is for girls, and the white in the middle is for "those who are transitioning, those who feel they have a neutral gender or no gender", and those who are intersex. The pattern is such that "no matter which way you fly it, it will always be correct. This symbolizes us trying to find correctness in our own lives."

Other transgender symbols include the butterfly (symbolizing transformation or metamorphosis), and a pink/light blue yin and yang symbol. Several gender symbols have been used to represent transgender people, including ⚥ and ⚧.

References

Further reading

Bettcher, Talia Mae; Lombardi, Emilia (2005). "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender/Transsexual Individuals". In Levy, Barry; Sidel, Victor (eds.). Social Injustice and Public Health. Oxford University Press.

Sellers, Mitchell D. (2011). "Discrimination and the Transgender Population: A Description of Local Government Policies that Protect Gender Identity or Expression". Applied Research Projects. Texas State University-San Marcos. Archived from the original on 2012-03-11.

Thanem, Torkild; Wallenberg, Louise (2016). "Just doing gender? Transvestism and the power of underdoing gender in everyday life and work". Organization. 23 (2): 250-271. doi:10.1177/1350508414547559. S2CID 144150015.

External links

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Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from the sex that they were assigned at birth. Some transgender people who desire medical assistance to transition from one sex to another identify as transsexual.

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Here' re some stories to understand these people and all they have to go through. Use it as an evidence for main essay.

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Opinion | Transgender Lives: Your Stories

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As part of a series of editorials about transgender experiences, we are featuring personal stories that reflect the strength, diversity and challenges of the community.

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Organizations that support the Transgender community and also give them resources to have a better life.
Information about how the state California supports this specific community.

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Transgender Community Coalition and Transgender Health and Wellness Center are two sister organizations with a similar mission statement as to put the needs of the transgender, intersex, and gender diverse community first. These two symbiotic organizations work in congruence with each other to achieve total health and wellness for this underserved community. Transgender Health and Wellness Center offers medical treatment for gender dysphoria such as laser hair removal and electrolysis as well as mental health, while the Transgender Community Coalition offers the wrap-around services such as crisis and case management, pet assistance, navigation to health care and more!

Support group for family members of transgender & non-binary people

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Transgender Community Coalition and Transgender Health and Wellness Center are two sister organizations with a similar mission statement as to put the needs of the transgender, intersex, and gender diverse community first. These two symbiotic organizations work in congruence with each other to achieve total health and wellness for this underserved community.