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The rights of transgender students

Discussion in 'Gender Identity and Expression' started by love dont judge, Dec 20, 2016.

  1. love dont judge

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    Hey guys! So I'm going to be doing basically a persuasive essay for this speech competition. They provide like five topics for us to choose from and one of the topics is what rights transgender students should have in public schools. I really want to hear everyone's opinion on this. I'd like to stay away from the bathroom debate and focus more on names/gender expression, etc. Things like that. So what do you guys think? What rights should we have in the public school system?
     
    #1 love dont judge, Dec 20, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2016
  2. anthracite

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    The right to stay hidden. I have this problem that I will have to fear people talking about me the day I get my school documents changed even though I'm already out of this shit. I'd feel a lot safer if outing someone was a crime.

    Also I don't know if girls and boys are seperated in sports, but I'd like all students to pick where they wanna go. Not just so I could have been with the boys and not feel so humiliated also that the tomboy from next door can stay with her friends.
     
  3. AnAtypicalGuy

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    I agree with the stuff Anthracite said. I want to expand on his second point by saying that it would be good reduce the amount of times in which boys and girls are needlessly separated. I know that certain things can't be changed without causing a fuss, but during activities where classes have to get divided into groups or teams (for example), I have to deal with getting stuck in "the girls team" far too often. It makes me incredibly uncomfortable. What's more is that my genderfluid best friend simply gets confused by the whole dividing-classes-by-gender thing.
     
  4. Mihael

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    The right to dress according to the dress code of the gender they identify with. Or even not. Everyone should be able to wear whatever they want as long as it's appropriate for the situation, no matter how they identify. Plus like Anthracite said. Teaming up with whoever you want. The right to be addressed and sign with chosen name. No "boys only" or "girls only" clubs, activities and so on. Anti-discrimination policies. The right to transition. The right to do the things assigned to the gender the student identifies with. Going to prom dressed how you want and with who you want.
     
  5. anthracite

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    These are good ones. But I don't know how necessary they are. I went to get my school report in suit and tie. No one said a thing even when most of the boys didn't wear a tie. But yes, a chosen name is good. Some language teachers let the kids choose new names in that language. It was unconfortable because I liked a lot of the boys names but knew I couldn't use them so I ended up refusing to do the task.
     
  6. Mihael

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    So let's sum it up so far:
    1. Teaming up, grouping, division by gender
    2. Gender presentation: name and dress code
    3. Access to the same anti-discrimination policies as other minorities
    4. The right to transition and get your papers changed without difficulties

    Well, I never really dared to dress like a male at school, because nobody did that. I did it only in uni, but unis are a different story because they are more liberal and students have more to say. Also, while nobody might pick on a trans dude in slacks and a tie, trans girls have it more difficult.

    Being outed when stealth... ideally people wouldn't have a problem with trans folk. It's like all other papes and records probably. I'm not sure how it works generally in terms of being confidential, e.g. If you supply the school with papers about learning or health difficulties. Or reading grades in public. That should be similar, and that problem could be tied to minority rights.
     
  7. Kasey

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    Well... technically under title 9 a student should have access to a sporting team if there is not a boys or girls team. The reason sports are separated by sex (notice I did not use gender) is due to biological dimorphisms at the age and that makes sense.

    BUT a male has the right to join the field hockey team and a female has the right to join the football team. This is a federal law in the US. Not sure about elsewhere.

    In terms of gender specificity, you should be able to dress and present how you want and also be able to use the bathroom you want. Obama made this a presidential mandate, but it isn't a law and places are fighting it.

    My own school is very open and accepting of trans people as far as students go.

    For faculty such as me... this will be at the forefront of the situation very soon as I am coming out at the end of the year. My principal already knows and a few teachers know but how faculty will be treated is entirely different and I'm not sure how it will be going for me in the next year.
     
  8. Dachs

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    All students should have the right to private, gender-neutral changing rooms and toilets without being questioned or needing to prove they are trans. They should be as prominent and accessible as all equivalent gendered facilities, and they should be in addition to facilities for disabled students (at my uni, there are gender-neutral toilets in most areas, but they can be hard to find and sometimes it's just the single-stall disabled toilets with a gender-neutral sign, which takes away facilities from disabled students). This protects trans people at all stages of transition, from someone stealth who might be outed by their genitals to someone closeted who doesn't want to be around the wrong gender, and it is important for genderqueer and questioning people too.

    All students should have the right to use a preferred name which is not their legal name. Wherever possible, the preferred name should be listed instead of the legal name (for most students, of course, the two names will be the same). The legal name should only be accessible to admin staff enquiring for a specific purpose, and should definitely not be accessible to fellow students. Students should be able to update their preferred name when they wish. Since this system could be abused by students giving a joke name or using it to cheat, there could be some limits on names, but students should nonetheless be able to change it a reasonable number of times to any reasonable option.