The world "Transgender" seems like strange for most of Americans, they know very little about transgender people's life, and they even cannot answer any questions about gender identity.Due to the lack of understanding, gender discrimination is common exist in our living environment. Transgender people often suffer from violence. Transgender people's unemployment rate is double of other people, and the unemployment rate of transgender people of color is especially high. Moreover, transgender and transsexual people are more likely to commit suicide.
Nowadays, more and more LGBT members are working to reduce gender discrimination, violence, and wish to be respected by other people. Communicating with transgender people openly and respectfully is the first step to change the current situation.
Elliot Fukui, TransJustice Coordinator at the Audre Lorde Project said in CBS News interview "A lot of it isn't as complicated as folks feel like it is. It's really just about asking questions in ways that aren't triggering or harmful to folks." There are many different ways for people to describe themselves, never judge other people's way of life. "The best practice if you're not sure of someone's pronoun is just to ask in a respectful way. I usually ask when I meet someone for the first time: What is your preferred gender pronoun?" Fukui added.
Fukui was born as female, and he has a trans man now. Fukui also says he doesn't like to dress and act in conventional and normal ways, he wears whatever he likes.
Transgender people are those who's gender identity is different from their birth gender. A common misunderstanding about transgender people is that they all undergo surgery to change their bodies, medical interventions like surgery is very expensive and many transgender people cannot afford the surgery.
'cisgender' is the opposite of 'transgender', it means people live and act as their birth gender. "Transgender means 'across' and cis means 'same.' It's a way to talk about gender issues without making cisgender 'normal,'" Fukui says.
According to Fukui, transgender people are creating many new terms to expand gender system, so that it can includes all sexual preference and gender identity, and they want to be accepted and respected by this way.
Life is hard and the world isn't safe for transgender people. Seven transgender women were killed in the US this year, and this kinds of things are happening everyday and everywhere.
They may also be treated as sex workers. According to a report about Transgender Equality, there are one in sex transgender people are incarcerated in their lives, and the number of black transgender people is even more.
However, it's better than before. Due to constantly hard working of transgender people, more and more people start to pay attention to transgender equality, many famous people in American start to share their stories. People's view on transgender people is more positive than before.
As the increasing number of transgender people in the world, they are accepted by most of people new. According to a survey commissioned by the Human Rights Campaign, the number of transgender people in the US is increasing, they are acceptable and even treated friendly by other people.