Civil Rights of Transgendered Persons

It is somewhat ironic that the same parameters that help to define transgendered persons are also what hinders the ability to develop and enforce strong legal and civil rights for those who are transgendered. Transgenderism is not necessarily a sexual (that is, biological) definition.

Transgenderism is primarily determined by the way a person feels about his or her gender identity -- whether that person feels more comfortable being considered a male or a female. This is not the same as sexual orientation, which has to do with whether a person is attracted to a male or a female (or both). It is a very open and inclusive method of definition. The law, by contrast, is most effective when clear, evidential limits and rules can be observed.

There is still much to study regarding transgenderism, which is made all the more difficult by the private nature of this culture. But broadly speaking, most educated people believe that transgendered persons have more than likely existed as long as the history of mankind.

 

UNIQUE STRUGGLES FOR TRANSGENDERED CITIZEN RIGHTS

One should not confuse the discriminatory struggles of homosexuals as the same struggles that transgendered people face. While many of these legal struggles are shared, there are additional struggles that transgendered persons uniquely deal with.

To test the extremes on the concept of the legalities of wedded union, one could consider the marriage between a transgendered female who is biologically consider a male, and a transgendered male who is biologically considered a female. This couple chooses to get married out of convenience, to take advantage of a country or state's legal marital status rights, while the transgendered female is actually sexually oriented toward females, and the transgendered male is sexually oriented to males. In other words, the law has a long way to go in order to address all the possibilities of transgendered legal rights.

On a very serious nature, the legal rights of public bathroom usage is a specific area that legal rights advocates have focused on, as it is one of the most difficult. Since transgendered persons are not defined by their biological definition but rather by their gender preference, it is all the more difficult to enforce the rights for those that may be perceived as using the "wrong" bathroom. This is on top of asserting the personal rights regarding general discrimination against persons not defined by the "norm."

COUNTRIES WITH LEGAL ADVANCES

In terms of legal rights for transgendered people, the western cultures have made the most organized advances. The United States and Europe have several well-established support groups and citizen rights advocate organizations. There are lawyers that specialize in the practice of law protecting transgendered persons. As a recent example of transgendered consciousness in action, Italy opened its first transgendered prison, rather than sending criminals to lesbian prisons. In such countries, it is noteworthy that the legal rights of transgendered criminals are being considered and new concepts are being addressed.