WHAT IS TRANSGENDER?
A transgender person is anyone who feels as though their sex that was assigned as birth does not match their gender identity. The transgender label not only applies to FTM (female to male) and MTF (male to female) individuals - trans people can be gender fluid, agender, or anything that goes beyond the gender binary. 1.4 million adult Americans - or 0.6% of the American population - identify as transgender. Like biological sex, gender identity is something one is born with and transgender people do not choose to be transgender. Transgender people make various life changes when they choose to live as their authentic selves - they may dress differently, change their names and/or their pronouns to fit their gender identity, and some may choose to take hormones or undergo medical transitions to make their body match their gender identity. No matter how a trans person identifies and expresses themselves, their identity is VALID and they have the right to live as their true selves.
FAMOUS TRANSGENDER PEOPLE & ADVOCATES
ABOUT TRANSGENDER DISCRIMINATION
Transgender people are extremely at risk for harassment and discrimination in schools, their workplaces, and in public areas. Title IX (the civil rights law that protects people from sex-based discrimination in schools) and Title VII (the civil rights law that protects people from sex-based discrimination in employment) does not fully protect the transgender community because the discrimination they face is gender-based. This leaves the trans community without sufficient protection and human rights.
