Transgender Discrimination

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer explains that atypical gender identity is a bona fide sexual identity that is no different from traditional identification with one's biological gender. The writer discusses that in many respects, transgender individuals are subjected to intense social discrimination including discrimination in the workplace. THe writer maintains that federal law prohibits vocational discrimination based on gender, but transgender orientation is not specifically included in the definition of gender or sex in federal statutes or those of many states. The writer discusses that contemporary American business is now faced with a similar dilemma capable of being redressed by just policies established voluntarily by human resource managers and business administrators even before anti-discrimination by virtue of transgenderism is included within the protections recognized by formal laws and acts of Congress.
Ultimately, this is more a matter of human morality and ethical values than a matter of formal legislation and government policy.

From the Paper:

"A few states have amended their employment discrimination laws, but other only provide relief predicated on violations such as discrimination by virtue of characterizing transgenderism as political activism triggering statutes prohibiting discrimination against political activism. Other states have provided relief based on existing state statutes prohibiting discrimination by virtue of sexual preference, but that avenue is not available to transgender individuals who are not homosexual. Similarly, transgender individuals in certain jurisdictions must resort to laws prohibiting discrimination based on disabilities, by characterizing transgenderism as a psychological disability.
"Only very recently have courts begun to recognize that transgenderism is neither an illness nor a valid basis for discrimination, but merely a relatively rare manifestation of otherwise normal human sexual development with roots in the same biological mechanism that, much more often, result in the traditional gender orientation that
comports with social expectations of gender, gender identity, and human sexuality."

Sample of Sources Used:

• American Civil Liberties Union (2006) Federal Court Rules Transgender Discrimination Lawsuit Against Library of Congress Can Proceed. Retrieved July 3, 2008, from: http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/transgender/24851prs20060331.html
• Friedman, L. (2005) A History of American Law 3rd ed. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Gerrig, R, Zimbardo, P. (2005) Psychology and Life. 17th Edition. New York: Allyn & Bacon.
• Koch, K., Bales, R. (2008) "Transgender Employment Discrimination." UCLA Women's Law Journal, Vol. 17, No. 2,
• Nuttbrock, L., Rosenblum, A., Blumenstein, R. (2002) Transgender Identity Affirmation and Mental Health National Development and Research Institutes (NDRI). Retrieved July 1, 2008 from: http://www.symposion.com/ijt/ijtvo06no04_03.htm

More papers on Transgender Discrimination:

• Term Paper # 113999 : "Protection of Transgender Rights"
• Research Paper # 112932 : "Transgender Individuals and Western Society"
• Essay # 62338 : "The Gender Recognition Act 2004"

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