Professional Documents
Culture Documents
David Garibay
Professor Granillo
English 101
19 November 2018
Is there really a light at the end of a tunnel when you change genders?
When you change genders your chances of physical harm and getting bullied significantly
increase. Transgender people are one of the groups who are most of risk at being harmed by
society, being discriminated against and not accepted in public. Laurie Frankel the author of
“From He to She in the First Grade” who is also the mother of this young six year old boy argues
that society should be more inclusive to young children transitioning genders at a young age. By
focusing on transgenderism, Frankel overlooks the deeper problem of the possible violent attacks
and mental health affects Trans children and adults receive. Transgender people are affected by
this such as discrimination, abuse, and depression and higher suicide rates. A solution to this
problem is by educating the public more on how to be inclusive and respectful rather than just
sweeping it under the rug. If society continues to treat this matter with a grain of salt there could
Frankel is the mother of a transgender child and the author of the article “From He to She
in the First Grade”, Frankel who is going through this experience with her son is wanting to
teach the public on how her son was mistreated in school for being a different gender. What
Frankel also wants is to make this experience known that its not only older people who are being
abused and bullied its also transgender children. In the article “From He to She in the First
Grade” by Laurie Frankel she is explaining her story of how her son has changed genders.
Frankel also goes on to explain how her son expresses himself when they return home “He put
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on the sparkly green dress right away […] he wore the dress only when we were at home”
(Frankel 583). In this quote she is saying how her son is portraying himself as a female in the
household while in public he is a normal boy. This is showing that her son is possibly afraid of
how others will react out in public if he is seen in a dress. In society many transgender people are
seen as odd as if they weren’t “normal” since they are dressing or have dressed as the opposite
sex. Although to the mother and father it doesn’t make them feel uncomfortable although they
are afraid how society may treat him when he is out in public dressing differently. Throughout
the article Frankel is questioning if this is just an idea he had or her son will commit to wearing
the dresses for now on. Frankel mentions, “I envisioned a scenario in which he wore a skirt the
first day, got made fun of, and never wore the skirt again” (585). Frankel is trying to predict
different outcomes of how the public will treat her son because she wants to be prepared for the
worst rather than being afraid of not knowing what will happen. In the transgender community
people who are trying to transition go through a struggle because society either will not accept
them because it is seen as not normal and or possibly rejected by loved ones, or possibly being
accepted but will have to face the rest of society and will be judged by their choices. Frankel
tries to see if her son has changed his mind of wearing the dress to school in an attempt to
eradicate her fears. Frankel mentions in the article “Do we love our children best by protecting
them at all costs or by supporting them unconditionally” (586). She is questioning herself does
she want to protect her child from the harsh reality of the real world or does she just support her
son all the way. Although Frankels protection won’t stay with her son when he goes to school in
a dress. Upon arrival Frankel notices how the children are bullying him and judging him “But
there were a few who pestered him on the playground and in the hallways, who teased or pressed
[…] and would not be dissuaded by our carefully rehearsed answers” (587). The author wants to
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inform society on how her son was treated at his school although Frankel had only experienced a
minor encounter of discrimination. There are other schools that have much worse conditions
In many other schools nationwide it’s not just a few laughs and finger pointing
transgender children receive it is also abuse and bullying from other children. In the article
Students: Legal Issues for North Carolina Schools” by Hall, They will go on to explain on how
people who are transgender are being bullied and discriminated in schools. In the report it states
that “While existing statewide laws and policies do not effectively protect LGBT youth in
school, several federal statutes are described in relation to protection of LGBT students from
harassment, bullying, and discrimination” (pp1 abstract) as stated in “Harassment, Bullying, and
Discrimination of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students: Legal Issues for North
Carolina Schools” What this means is that there are a few schools who don’t have polices or
laws that protect the LGBT community. Thus without these rules people can disrespect trans
people without any consequences. If the community does not see any rules that is protecting
trans people western culture will continue treating them in poor conditions rather than
supporting. Furthermore in the article . "LGBTQ Adolescents’ Positive and Negative Emotions
and Experiences in U.S. High Schools." It states in the abstract that through their study they have
taken on a national level of 16,000 high school students and asked a question if lgbtq people had
positive or negative emotions, from their peers. In this study it has indicated that “LGBTQ
adolescents reported significantly more frequent negative emotions and bullying, consistent with
previous research” this goes to show that many students who are part of the lgbtq group do not
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feel as though their fellow school members which can lead them to being excluded or even
ignored to the point that society sees them as inferior to the community.
This is crucial about societies beliefs because it can mean a few things the state does not
accept the lgbt people or it is not a high priority for them. This is a serious matter because there
are large amount of children who are trans and do not get the protection they need when they are
harmed in schools as stated in the article “Harassment, Bullying, and Discrimination of Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students: Legal Issues for North Carolina Schools”.
Transgender people get rejected a lot in school for being different. Since this school does not
have a policy where it protects special populations like this these children can go into depression
over time because of the violent attacks they encounter. Consequently these children will slip
into depression when they get older in life from not being accepted by society. If this problem
continues the Transgender community will go farther into depression and also fear how society
will think of them. This can and possibly will lead to abuse from others or even ultimately they
People who are transgender or in the process of transitioning genders possibly have
already experienced depression. The causes for depression are from abuse from societies that
don’t accept their beliefs or have also physically abused them thru out their life time.
Transgender People who go into depression have the sense of not being important or relevant to
significant others. Also transgender people also face rejection by loved ones because their views
aren’t normal to them. Both young and mature ages of transgender people experience depression
although the older people who are transgender have a much harder time. While children get
bullied for whom they are adults are excluded from certain events or gatherings. While society
claims they are inclusive reality is that through the experience of transgender people they say
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otherwise. Many of the work places have a unsettling feeling about transgender people. While
this is very discriminatory because you can lose your job just for being transgender this is not
fair. Society as we know it must be more inclusive because without this many transgender people
can fall into deeper depression some may very well take their own life because people don’t treat
When the public acts against something they believe or don’t believe in it can have sever
affect with what they are trying to communicate. In the article “Why Can’t We All Just Get
Along: How the U.S. And Netherland Governments Respond to Social Issues and Change - the
Transgender Community” by HYSLOP, Chelsea. She goes on to explain on the survey that the
national center for transgender equality and the national gay and lesbian task force found that
around 60% of transgender people have experienced discrimination. The study from the article
“Why Can’t We All Just Get Along: How the U.S. And Netherland Governments Respond to
Social Issues and Change - the Transgender Community” has also collected information that
over 41percent of transgender people have attempted suicide which is 25 time higher than the
general public. This stats are important because this is a large amount of life that has been lost no
human should be taking their own life because they aren’t accepted by a certain group or the
public. In another report by the American foundation for suicide prevention found in their studies
that not only transgender people have been attempting or committing suicide at higher rates, as
well as being rejected from certain services when they need them. According to their research
over 60% of transgender people are rejected by doctors to receive care from them. This is
outrageous nobody should be subject to being rejected for health care just because of their
thought process is different from another person. With this rejection from the public many go
into depression and they have the feeling of nobody helping them in the end. Transgender people
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clearly face many barriers in their life its not just the act of transitioning that makes it difficult
it’s how the society treats it. When a person is transitioning genders they don’t only go through a
sex change and physical dress style and much more it is also how society will portray them.
Some parts of the society view transgenderism as something that is not needed in their
community. While others believe it is needed so people can express them self’s freely without
any barriers. Eventually society much change their ways and learn to accept or even just cope
with people who have different mindsets than others and also educate the public about this.
Our society is to blame for these loses of life to people who have done nothing wrong.
But it is our lack of being inclusive that is withholding us from moving on in the future. The
public should be open to teaching young children to be inclusive of people who have different
mind sets than us. We as humans naturally freak out and deliberately attack anything that is
unknown to us and when transgenderism came along people where scared because they didn’t
know what it was. Thus people where dehumanizing transgenders because of their different
thought process. This should stop because this will not be going any time soon so as society
transforms they should learn to how to accept trans people because they are humans as well after
all. Furthermore the work places should have a non-discriminatory policy in their work area. The
reason for this is because people may feel uncomfortable when working with a person who has a
different way of thinking but this should be eradicated. Work places should not have a bias
toward transgender people even if they are doing their jobs correctly. If the person feels
uncomfortable about being near a trans person they shouldn’t be able to complain to their boss to
fire the transgender person instead they should hold meetings in order all the workers are on the
As a result if the trans gender community will continue being mistreated by western
culture and there will be severe repocutions. Transgender children may face bullying out in
public or schools which will cause some depression in the few. Which will later on lead to abuse
when they get older and thus will fall into deeper depression. Society will be at fault when there
is a loss of life because of the mistreatment the transgender community receives. Although is
society des change its tradition of abuse and ridiculing they can ultimately be united and have a
Works Cited
Frankel , Laurie. “From He to She in First Grade”. They say/I say, edited by Gerald Graff, Cathy
Birkenstien, Russel Durst , 4E, W.W Norton & company , 2018, pp 583-588.
HYSLOP, CHELSEA. “Why Can’t We All Just Get Along: How the U.S.
And Netherland Governments Respond to Social Issues and
Change - the Transgender Community.” Indiana International &
Comparative Law Review, vol. 28, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 31–62.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.18060/7909.0055.
White, Arielle E., et al. "LGBTQ Adolescents’ Positive and Negative Emotions and Experiences
in U.S. High Schools." Sex Roles, vol. 79, no. 9-10, 2018, pp. 594-608. ProQuest,
http://ezproxy.canyons.edu:2048/login?url=https://ezproxy.canyons.edu:2457/docview/1985754
651?accountid=38295, doi:http://ezproxy.canyons.edu:2069/10.1007/s11199-017-0885-1.
American foundation for suicide prevention “suicides attempts among transgender and gender
https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/AFSP-Williams-Suicide-
Report-Final.pdf
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