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Understanding the Transgender Community

 

            In recent years, exposure to the transgender community in recent years can be credited to such influential individuals as Caitlin Jenner, Laverne Cox, and Janet Mock, but there is still so much to the growing community that the general public is unaware of. It is much more common to personally know someone who identifies as gay than to know someone who identifies as transgender. In fact, only sixteen percent of adults in the United States personally know someone who is transgender, while ninety percent of Americans know someone who identifies as gay1. Since information about the transgender community is not as commonly known, it is imperative to make sure that there is a way for information to reach a wide array of individuals. With the increased need for change in governmental legislation, general awareness to reduce violence and stigma against the community, and to inform the public on the struggles connected to accessing health care, the transgender community oftentimes uses written reports to identify issues at hand and how they can be solved. .
             One goal for the community is to reform governmental policy and create change in laws so that the transgender community is protected and valued. People in this community, especially sex workers, are at the highest risk for police violence and violence in general.2 To initiate reform and lower the rate of violence in the trans community, detailed reports are used to give accurate data and representation of the problem at hand. Reports such as "A Blueprint for Equality" by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and "An Ally's Guide to Talking About Transgender-Inclusive Non-Discrimination Laws" by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) provide insight into what issues in the law people in the transgender community are subject to and solutions to how the government can reform these existing policies to become more inclusive and create a safer and more aware environment.


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