The articles during the Wednesday reading tackle discrimination against black male transgenders. They expose the fears and insecurities of the male trans community that arise from the society’s violence, indifference and opposition against their sexual preference.
“The Peculiarity of Black Trans Male Privilege” is a personal narrative of the transgender Kortney Zieglar. It is an account of his life and the experiences of his fellow male transgenders whom he refers to as “chosen brothers.” Zieglar tells the readers that their public trans status is both a privilege and a risk. While it reduces their chances of experiencing public assault from other men, their status makes them a visible subject of racism. “Fear and violence in transgender Baltimore: 'It's scary trusting anyone'” is news story about the consecutive murder of two African American black transgender men.
Ed Pilkington exposes the sufferings and miserable experiences of the members of the transgender community through testimonials, real life stories and results of surveys. “A separate survey by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, focusing specifically on violence against LGBT people, found that of 18 homicides motivated by hate in 2013, 72% of the victims were trans women, and 78% were black.” (Pilkington, The Guardian)
“Injustice at Every Turn” is a report regarding the results of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. The results reveal that transgender respondents suffer from harassment, physical and sexual assault at work. Additionally, the report reveals that 41% of the survey participants are victims of homelessness while 20% are positive of HIV. Lastly, the article “How to Gender” asserts that gender is a conscious choice and everyone has the right to be the person- feminine or masculine (regardless of their biological make up) that they wanted to be. This article reflects one of our topics in class discussion that focus on gender equality and freedom of choice.
Work Cited
Pilkington, Ed. Fear and Violence in Transgender Baltimore. Web. 15 Oct 2014.
Retrieved <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/01/murder-transgender-women
baltimore heighten-fears-mia-henderson>
