Those who do not conform to gender stereotypes are often the most vulnerable in the GBLTQ community to discrimination and violence. But, though gender deviant people have always been a large part of our community, surprisingly little research has been done on trans discrimination.
That’s why the new study being conducted on transgender experiences of discrimination with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) is an important step in the right direction.
I encourage anyone who identifies as trans, genderqueer, or otherwise non-gender conforming in any way, to take it.
From the NGLTF:
In the wake of one of the most violent years on record of assaults on transgender people, the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force have teamed up on a comprehensive national survey to collect data on discrimination against transgender people in housing, employment, public accommodations, healthcare, education, family life and criminal justice.
To date, in 2008, several young gender non-conforming people of color have been murdered, including California junior high school student Lawrence King, who was shot in public during the school day. King’s murder, and the murders of Simmie Williams in South Carolina and Angie Zapata in Greeley, Colorado come in a year in which we are still working to include transgender provisions in a federal bill to protect lesbian, gay and bisexual workers from discrimination in employment…
…Jaime Grant, director of the Task Force Policy Institute, noted, “There is so little concrete data on the needs and risks associated with the widespread discrimination we see in the lives of the transgender people we know. This data will help point the way to an appropriate policy agenda to ensure that transgender people have a fair chance to contribute their talents in the workplace, in our educational systems and in our communities.”
