ABSTRACT
Transgenderism is a topic of heated and continuous debate for some time. There are people all around the world every day who are struggling with their gender identity. For adults it is hardly easy, for youths who experience this issues it can be mentally and physically harmful as they struggle. Transgendered youths are a group deemed to be at great risk of depression and suicide. Research shows that much of their issues they face include lack of acceptance, exclusion, physical abuses and discrimination that lead these youths into patterns of social anxieties, self harm and even suicide. The statistics show that transgendered youths are multiple times more likely to suffer from anxieties, feelings of isolation, depression and attempt or succeed in committing suicide. Many experts argue that much of what causes so many too often mock, mistreat, ignore, bully or harm transgenders is based on misconceptions and a lack of education. That said many favor that transgender education is made more available for transgendered youths, as well as, their non-transgendered counterparts and the other adults in their lives.
INTRODUCTION
In the modern era there are so many issues facing unending debates and arguments, from many different sides. One of those more controversial topics is transgenderism. To most of the general public transgender is anyone who has on type of sex organ, male or female, but behave, dress and identify with the opposing gender. However, that is an oversimplified explanation. The reality is that transgenderism is more complex that sex organs and “feelings.” While this modern era encourages people to express themselves as they see fit, even if it included things that are mainstream; like gender identification. However, while the era embraces the spirit of the first Amendment, freedom of speech and expression, it does not mean that, they are accepted in their everyday world. Many transgendered individuals are often isolated, excluded, bullied, mentally abused and, even, physically assaulted because of their expression of their gender identity. This kind of treatment and lack of acceptance can lead to a psychological issues like depression, which place these youths at a much higher risk of suicide.
BACKGROUND
Again transgenderism is not simply a matter of cross-dressing or preferring one gender over another. It is a deeply rooted element of many people’s psyches and has a huge impact on the health and well-being of these individual’s lives. Many people misinterpret what it is and therefore judge transgendered individuals based upon it. According to the American Psychological Association in 2016, transgendered youths are not homosexual; they are not attracted as a male or female to the same sex. They are not cross dresser, men who dress in women’s clothing for fun or entertainment. For some transgenders the best description is being a straight person trapped in the wrong body. Males who identify with being female want to live their lives as a female; in the case of females that identify as being male want to live their life as a man.
One of the greatest misconceptions regarding transgenderism in the modern era is that it is a byproduct of an overly liberal society. Insinuating that the instances of homosexuality and transgenderism or any other gender related issues are not medical, biological or physiological, but more a mental disease. The reality is that transgenderism has been around throughout the ages; but people did not express it and were forced to live in secret. There are many ancient cultures that did not see variations of sexual identity as taboo, including the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Even the Native Americans of North America accepted the idea. The Navajo acknowledged five genders, not just two. There was, of course, male and female, but there were also, feminine-men, masculine-women and those who were without or had both genders. They were accepted by their people and had important places in society. That said transgenderism has likely always existed among humans and therefore it existence is more complex than the consequence of an overly liberal society (American Psychological Association, 2016). There are distinct physical, mental and emotional elements that cannot be ignored when discussing transgenderism.
DISCUSSION
Again, individuals who identify as transgender may not be forced to hide from society as they once did, that does not mean that all of the people within that society are going to be understanding, compassionate or accepting, This is unfortunate because transgendered individuals need all of those things just as anyone else does. Human beings are communal animals by nature; they thrive and prosper within groups. When someone cannot find the psychological and developmental understanding, compassion and acceptance that they need then it can have a very negative impact on their psyche, as explained by Clara Moskowitz in her 2013 article for Live Science Magazine.
One can only imagine that it is difficult for adults to come to terms with the acceptance and transition from the sex they were given to the gender they are most identify with. But today we see younger and younger children already beginning to manifest transgenderism. The difficulty and confusion experienced by children in environments where there is often little support and little acceptance must be unimaginable. Transgender youths often do not have familial acceptance by their parents, inclusion by their peers and by many other persons of authority in these youth’s lives, including the medical community and education. These youths may suffer from discrimination and victimization at school and in the community as detailed in a Harvard University article in 2016 discussing a current study. “Transgender Youth at Risk for Depression, Suicide.” Members of the transgender community have been treated unfairly within the job market and by authority figures, including school staff and police officers. Many may argue that the question should not be why transgendered youths are so depressed, it should be why wouldn’t they be? There are a number of contributors that can lead to transgender youths and unhealthy mental states worth discussing in greater detail.
Anxiety: Because transgender youths struggle with their gender identity it is also likely they suffer from a great deal of anxiety, especially in social settings, because they fear that lack of acceptance and live with a constant worry of being pointed out from the crowd of their peers. According to a study that compared 180 transgender youths with their non-transgender peers, 26.7 percent of transgender youths were found to be suffering from anxiety, while the non-transgender group was far less at 10 percent (Harvard University, 2016).
Abuse: There are many transgender youths in schools all across the country and they are often faced with a great deal of cruelty from their peers and the general population. Some of those cases go further than bullying, further that defaming them and mocking them, but to a level that includes violence. Many transgendered youths are attacked and beaten by their school mates and others for no other reason than their status as transgendered. Transgendered youths are 12 percent to 29 percent more likely to suffer from peer violence, as detailed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2014.
Depression: Mental health is not a static concept. Some people handle stress, anxiety and abuse differently. But for many transgender youths the negative attention, the fear, anxiety and abuses can lead to transgender youths into very serious issues with depression. In the aforementioned study, more than 50 percent of the transgender youths suffer from depression compared to a considerably lower 20 percent for the non-transgendered youths (Harvard University, 2016).
Self Harm: Transgender youths suffering from depression absorb all of the hatred and loathing they reviewed in the world back onto themselves. Many of these youths are prone to self harm as a means of release. One of the most common forms of self harm among many youths is called “cutting.’ This is when the depressed individual using a sharp object to slice into their own skin, often superficially and repetitively; the pain aids them in releasing the anxieties and feelings of depression. More than 16 percent and as high as 44 percent of transgendered youths participate in self harm (Harvard University, 2016).
Suicide: According to several sources, the rate of suicide among transgender and other youths within the LGBT community are far more likely to attempt or succeed in committing suicide than there non-transgendered and non-LGGT counterparts. In the aforementioned study, more than 17 percent of the transgendered youths admitted to having attempted to suicide, their counter parts, only 2 percent (Harvard University, 2016). On a much broader scale experts, as detailed by the authors of an article for “The American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, that more than 40 percent of transgendered people in the United States have attempted suicide at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, there many transgender youths whose suicide attempts, which is something 25 percent more than it is among any member of the non-gender population; they are also more likely to attempt suicide more than once in their lifetime as explained by the authors of the A.P. Haas, R.L Philip, and J. Herman, in their 2014 article for The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Again, there are many people, among the general public, professionals in the medical fields and a number some psychologists who deny that transgenderism is an actual gender classification; they find it to be more of a mental aberration that prevents one from associating with the gender they possess, but it should not be supported or encouraged for them to yield to it and allow them to embrace this antithetical identity, as explained by Chapman, M.W., a psychiatrist for John Hopkins, in a 2015 interview, that Transgenderism is 'mental disorder;' Sex change 'biologically impossible. However, many of these experts are quick to deny contrary evidence and it appears to conclusions that are drawn on some bias perspectives and less on the current investigations and studies dedicated to understanding transgenderism and aiding youths who are struggling with their gender identity (Haas, Rodgers and Herman, 2015).
Fortunately, there are efforts being made to provide support, physical and psychological that allows them to express their gender identity in healthy ways and to avoid many of the emotional and mental pitfalls that will lead many down a path of depression, anxiety, discrimination and potential suicide attempts. There are a few specific things that society, government, educational institutions and the general public can do to lessen and even prevent the present and future youths who struggle with their gender identity, explains W. Bockting, in 2015, the psychology of transgender for the American Psychological Association.
Education is paramount when it comes to the transgendered community; many do not understand it and therefore fear it, which only makes it more difficult to gain acceptance. Transgendered individuals make up a very small percent of the overall population, approximately, .03 percent, but that does not mean that they can be overlooked or disregarded (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). In order to facilitate the a more positive learning environments for all students, transgendered and non-transgendered alike, it will be necessary to educate all students on the reality of transgenderism in order to prevent the kinds of discrimination and abuses currently being seen. That being said it is entirely possible for the perceptions of and attitudes towards transgenderism to be changed. This would help transgendered youths to avoid many of the contributors to depression that is placing them at greater risk for suicidal thoughts or actions. In the mean time, transgendered youths should seek counseling and therapies to help them through their struggles and with ways to cope with the all too common unethical and discriminatory treatment they receive (Haas, Rodgers & Herman, (2014).
CONCLUSION
Given the number of reliable studies and scholarly discussions it becomes clear that transgendered youths face much higher risks of unhealthy depression and suicide because of the levels of discrimination, violence, self harm and rejection that they are faced with every single day, when they enter schools, workplaces and social events. The issues of high depression and suicide statistics among transgendered youths are a matter of cause and effect. If the elements that lead to the depression and potential suicide risks are eliminated then those high statistics should drop. It is not the responsibility of the transgendered youths to fix the problem; it is a societal issue that must be addressed so that such youths have the same opportunities and welcoming environments that are beneficial for all human beings mental health. This issues is serious, effecting too many youths in the world today for it be ignored. Research into understanding transgendered youths better and developing the means to help create healthier environments for such youths are necessary, worthwhile and are intrinsic to improving the very poor statistics associated with depression and suicide among transgendered youths.
REFERENCES
Bockting, W. (2015). The psychology of transgender. APA. 1. Retrieved July 17, 2016, from
http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2015/11/psychology-transgender.aspx
Chapman, M.W. (2015). Johns hopkins psychiatrist: Transgender is 'mental disorder;' Sex
change 'biologically impossible.' CNS News. 1 Retrieved July 16, 2016, from http://cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/johns-hopkins-psychiatrist-transgender-mental-disorder-sex-change.
Haas, A.P., Philip, R.L. and Herman, J.L. (2014). Suicide attempts among transgender and
gender non-comforming adults: Findings of the national transgender discrimination survey. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: The williams institute. 1-18. Print.
Moskowitz, C. (2010). High suicide risk, prejudice plague transgender people. Live Science
Magazine. 1. Retrieved July 17, 2016, from http://www.livescience.com/11208-high-suicide-risk-prejudice-plague-transgender-people.html
American Psychological Association. (2016). What does transgender mean? APA. 1. Retrieved
July 17, 2016, from http://www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/transgender.aspx
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). LGBT Youth. CDC. 1. Retrieved July 17,
2016, from http://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/youth.htm.
Harvard University. (2016). Transgender youth at risk for depression, suicide. Harvard
