Transgender Awareness Week starts on November 13 to raise public awareness of the diverse challenges that individuals with transgender identities face so that people can participate more meaningfully in the Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20. This day was founded in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a trans writer and activist, to commemorate the life of Rita Hester, a Black Transwoman who lost her life to cruel violence.This day then became an annual observation that honors many other transgender individuals who lost their lives to anti-transgender violence each year. The violence and harassment of transgender people is disproportionately directed at transwomen and especially Black transwomen,1 revealing that anti-transgender actions interact with the violence associated with racism and sexism in our society. This week, as allies for transgender individuals, we will focus on learning about very simple but fundamental steps for creating an inclusive and safe workplace as a way of preparing to commemorate the Transgender Day of Remembrance next week.
Stories of Transgender People
Although it is important to raise awareness about anti-trans violence, the media’s monolithic portraits of transgender people as victims of such violence and harassment acts confine our awareness and consideration of who they are and can be. For instance, there are examples of accomplished trans women in various fields, such as Anya Marino and Alejandra Caraballo, trans women of color teaching at Harvard Law School. However, the stories about trans women’s resilience, talents, and professional contributions are eclipsed by the other stories that describe them only as victims and lead with negative messages about violence and mental health struggles. The individuality of the women involved is unnecessarily buried in common rhetoric.
Importantly, the absence of diverse representations of trans women in the media can result in cisgender individuals broadly and implicitly questioning the expertise and quality of work done by transgender women.2 The implicit bias against transgender people has been demonstrated in both the hiring and promotion process: transgender adults are twice as likely to be unemployed or passed over for promotion when compared to cisgender adults.3 This menacing fact leads transgender employees to avoid opening up and revealing their identities at work and constantly indulge in options for leaving their work.4 These findings highlight how important it is for cisgender allies to proactively create feelings of inclusivity and belonging in their organizational environment, an environment where transgender individuals can feel open to sharing their identities without fear of judgment and one in which they can feel confident in showcasing their contributions to their institutions and professional fields. This, in turn, will allow even more diverse stories about transgender professionals to be circulate.
Action Tips for Allies
Respecting chosen names: One’s name is more than just a name for transgender individuals. A name is a fundamental aspect of one’s identity and "embodies who they are at their essence” especially for transgender individuals. Because many names are gendered and are assigned based on birth sex, trans people often change their name to match their gender. For example, “Jenny” identifies as a transwoman. Her birth sex was male, and her birth name (also her “dead” name) was “James”. Transgender people can affirm their gender identity in many ways, but one way is to use a name that is congruent with their identity. A study found that calling trans individuals by their chosen names (in the example above, “Jenny”) reduces their mental health risks as this practice can affirm their transgender identities and decrease the emotional toll of having to correct the misuse of their birth name (in the example above, “James”; also called “deadnaming”) and pronouns. As allies, you can be proactive in making sure to check the preferred names and pronouns of students and individuals you work with on campus. You can also share this detailed information on changing one’s name or adding a preferred name to the university system at IU.
Respecting identities and pronouns: Transgender identity is also considered gender nonconforming. In lots of cases, birth sex has little to do with gender identity. However, society has insisted that sex and gender be conflated. Thus, if someone is identified as female at birth (=sex) and then acts as a woman (=gender), based on the societal expectation of gender, this conforms with our societal expectation. A woman in this situation often doesn’t think in terms of conformity, but if she did, she would likely identify herself as a gender-conforming woman. As illustrated in the previous sentence, in this case, society automatically endows her with the pronouns “she/her.” On the other hand, someone identified at birth as male, but who self-identifies as a woman, could also identify as gender nonconforming and may choose to be referred to by “she/her” pronouns. Like names, pronouns are an important part of one’s identity, and transgender people often use different pronouns than the ones automatically assigned/assumed based on their birth sex.
In addition to expectations about congruence of sex and gender, society also dictates that the two norms are male/man and female/woman. This is called gender binarism, and although it is a norm that is deeply embedded, it defies the scientific evidence. It is known that there is considerable variation in sex characteristics within the birth-assigned binary categories of male and female5 and there is possibly even more variation in the distribution of masculinity and femininity. For instance, it has been known for decades that when people are asked to rate their masculine and feminine traits, the ratings break down into more than two binary categories. What this means is that only some people feel like they conform to the societal expectations as men and women, but many don’t. For example, someone is identified at birth as male, but doesn’t identify as a man or as having many masculine traits. Within the gender binary, the only other option is woman. But what if that doesn’t match? What if they feel they associate with aspects of both the man and woman categories or neither man nor woman? Obviously, these genders are nonconforming, but they are also non-binary, and a person who identified this way may want to refer to oneself as a gender nonconforming, nonbinary gender, or both. They may also choose the pronouns “they/them.” Although it is not common yet in English, in many other languages, it is normal to use plural pronouns when gender is unknown or ambiguous.
Finally, the most important lesson is that words that are part of one’s identity matter and what matters most is respecting individuals by using the words they identify with, whether it is their given name, gender identity, pronouns, or other words. As an interviewer describes, misgendering—incorrect use of pronouns—is an active form of disrespect, and allies should honor the chosen pronouns of individuals. It is tempting to think that the labels we’ve provided here are exhaustive and that everyone will fit neatly into a few categories. Facebook offers a list of 58 gender optionsfor their users, which is just a small indication of the incredible individual diversity of gender identities that we should be celebrating and honoring.
Utilize resources from the LGBTQ+ Culture Center at IU for your education: You may not have colleagues or students who are transgender in your proximity, such as your unit. However, there are transgender members on our campus that we should support. Learn more about the stories and challenges of transgender members on campus by signing up for the LGBTQ+ Cultural Center newsletter. The center shares various resources on the LGBTQ+ affirming student housingoption and all-gender restroom availabilityon campus. Your unit can also host a customized workshopthat can help your unit to be more conscious of daily practices that create a more transgender-inclusive work climate. In addition, the center has produced a phenomenal public training series of workshops that explain gender-inclusive language, discrimination that the LGBTQ+ communities experience, and the intersectionality of gender and race. Lastly, utilize these resources to equip yourself and help others navigate and address the anti-DEI policies at your work and local communities.
Weekly Resources
Book: How to They Them – Stuart Getty provides a visual guide for the “hows” and “whys” of singular they/them pronoun use while explicating gender expression and the freedom to choose an expression that feels right for the individual. You can learn how an individual describes who they are.
Video: Debunking Myths about Transgender Athletes –Schuyler Bailar is a transman and was the first openly transgender NCAA Division I swimmer for Harvard Men’s Swimming. He argues that at the core of controversies around transgender athletes is the dehumanization of transgender individuals.
Article: Transgender Inclusion in the Workplace: Recommended Policies and Practices – This article lists various elements at the workplace to be evaluated to enable transgender employees to feel included and safe to be themselves.