The struggles of transgender individuals

Source: The post the struggles of transgender individuals has been created, based on the article “Being ‘trans’ is being human” published in “The Hindu” on 14th August 2024

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper2- Governance- mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Context: The article discusses the struggles of transgender individuals facing violence and denial of rights. It shows how questioning their existence is harmful, like past human rights issues. The focus is on affirming transgender identities as real and deserving of equality.

For detailed information on Challenges faced by transgender people in India read this article here

What Are the Challenges Faced by Transgender Individuals?

1. Family Rejection: Many transgender teenagers, especially from rural and working-class communities, face brutalization and eviction by their families.
2. Violence and Persecution: Transgender persons often endure violence and persecution on the streets, surviving harsh conditions and even suicide attempts.
3. Social Discrimination: The ongoing debate about transgender rights often treats their existence as a “question”, like past issues like racial segregation and women’s suffrage. This creates an environment of hostility and exclusion.
4. Legal and Policy Challenges: In 2022-23, a bill in the U.S. Congress sought to prohibit schools and libraries from keeping materials on sexual orientation or gender identity, showing how legislation can further marginalize transgender persons.

How Is Transgender Rights Debate Similar to Historical Civil Rights Issues?

1. Historical civil rights debates, like the “woman question” or “segregation question,” treated human rights as problems to be debated, much like transgender rights today.
2. Bathroom segregation once targeted Black men, just as today’s bathroom bills target transwomen.
3. In 1940, Nazi Olympic officials required women athletes to prove their sex, similar to modern efforts to deny trans identities.
4. Far-right and gender-critical groups frame transgender rights as a debate, justifying exclusion, similar to historical justifications for denying civil rights to marginalized groups.
5. Past civil rights movements faced similar accusations of being unreasonable or violent.

How Do Philosophical Views on Gender and Sexuality Influence This Issue?

1. Simone de Beauvoir challenged the idea that gender is purely biological, stating that “one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” She argued that the sexed body does not determine gendered consciousness, emphasizing that our understanding of the body is shaped by social experiences.
2. J.K. Rowling’s gender-critical view defines women by biological traits, like producing large gametes, contrasting with de Beauvoir’s approach.
3. This debate mirrors past struggles, such as the racial and gender segregation questions, where “scientific detachment” was used to deny marginalized groups’ rights and humanity.

What Does This Debate Say About Society?

1. Society’s character is questioned when it decides how to treat marginalized groups like transgender individuals.
2. Dehumanizing transgender people by questioning their “realness” fragments the concept of an integral human self, revealing a flawed societal character.

Question for practice:

Examine the challenges faced by transgender individuals in society.