Primary and Secondary Dimensions of Diversity
Discuss about the Theories of Difference and Diversity.
The world has made progress in the field of treating all people equally. In spite of this there are few areas where the world has not made development in the field of difference and diversity. This is more evident in the field of giving rights to transgender. Giving the legal rights to the Trans people is not globally accepted. It has been observed that in order to strip the transgender from attaining their rights and to limit their access to attaining justice is still prevalent in many countries. This include the gross violations of human rights. The transgender were targeted by changing their identification documents. They experience social exclusion all over the world. The essay identifies a part of the theories that are related to difference and diversity. The aim of the essay is to analyse the deprived condition of the transgender. The essay analyses different viewpoints related to the theory. In order to so the essay analyses few theories that are related to the concept. The essay is argumentative in nature. It presents the argument in favour of the protection of the transgender. It tries to establish the fact that the transgender should be given the right to equality in order to enjoy the human rights (Bryson 2016).
According to de Vries (2015), the increasing amount of globalization requires an increased amount of interaction among the diverse cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds. The people are now part of the globalization. They do not live in an insular market place. The people should be educated and they should build knowledge on treating every person of the society equally. The people should be educated enough to value multiculturalism. The increasing differences in the population of the countries. The different theories of diversity opine the fact that the primary influence on the identities are gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, age and mental or physical abilities and characteristics. The primary dimensions helps in shaping the basic self-image as well the fundamental views of the world. This is the concept that is related to the primary dimension. Dill and Zinn (2016), argued that there is a secondary dimensions of diversity. It is not that visible as compared to the primary dimension. It exerts a more variable influence on the personal identity and it add a more subtle richness to the primary dimensions of diversity. This usually include the educational background, geographical location, religion, first language, family, status, work style, work experience, organizational role and the style of communication. This have an impact on the self-esteem and the self-definition of an identity. It is a matter of fact that the transgender faces an unequal protection. There are different misconceptions related to the concept of transgender. It is presumed that transgender person is a gay. Being transgender concentrates on gender identity and not sexual orientation. A transgender person might be identified with any sexual orientation. There is usually a misconception that individuals who cross dress are transgender (Jones et al. 2016).
Misconceptions Related to Transgenderism
It has been argued by many critics like Fros and Elichaoff (2014), that transgenderism is a mental disorder. The transgender usually suffer from a gender predicament. It is argued that the transgender people are unable to relate with one specific gender. They are unable to establish a relation between the assigned sex at birth and the gender that the person identifies himself with once he is grown up (Stryker 2013). This is the reason they face a different behaviour from the individuals of the society. They face this behaviour from their family members itself. They face this kind of behaviour within the governmental settings. They are prohibited from using the public washrooms, they are prohibited from getting employed in the public sectors. It is because of their non-conformity of gender that the transgender are not given the health facilities as well (Kumra and Manfredi 2012).
Many critics of feminism theory argued the fact that it is problematic from a feministic point of view. Macapagal, Bhatia and Greene (2016), states that each and every individual develops a sexual orientation as part of general identity development. It is usually proposed that the theory of sexual orientation is stable after initial formation in early adolescence. In order to understand the problems faced by the transgender it is important to understand the difference between sex and gender. McCann and Kim (2013), has commented that the former one refers to a person’s characterisation as female or male at birth. It is typically based on the appearance of the external genitalia or other biological characteristics including chromosomes. On the other hand gender refers to the social characteristics that can be aligned with the sex of the person. Gender is broadly used to include the gender identity and gender expression. In this context the concept of sexual fluidity can be brought into the picture. It is usually related to the use of the binary that is the Trans feminine or Tran’s masculine (Sue and Sue 2012). The individuals that can be related to the binary identities the sexual orientation identity for them might change during the gender transition as their gender identity. During the process of being a transgender involves the change in their attractions or sexual orientation identity during the process of gender transition (Meyer 2012).
Over the past few years the access to the bathrooms, locker rooms and availing other facilities has erupted as a diverse and sensationalized issue in the political debates and in the communities across the world. This had a particular focus on the public schools and universities. Critics like Richardson (2013), have pointed out that such a legislation makes the lives of the trans people more difficult. The difficulty lies in the fact that the trans people are not assigned with a particular bathroom. This meant that the transgender people are required to either use the bathroom that matches the gender they were assigned at their birth or they were supposed to avoid the public bathrooms altogether (Singh, Richmond and Burnes 2013). In many instances it has been observed that the transgender has been stated to be pervert. They were stated as dangerous by the people. In the past records there has been no cases where the transgender was seen as harassing someone. The critics who followed the androgynous model claimed the fat that the trans people were treated as the other people of the society and this was the reason of the increased amount of suicide among the transgender. There was an increased amount of social pressure on the trans people. They feel rejected from the society (Ryan Patraw and Bednar 2013).
Feminism Theory and its Problematic Aspects
In the recent years, the accessibility of bathrooms for transgender people has become a common debate topic. According to Testa et al. (2017), in the matter of rights and provisions for transgender people, the American people have faced certain issues. One of the most popular issues is the use of bathroom for the transgender people. Westbrook and Schilt (2014) is of the opinion that the public bathrooms that are used by the transgender people come into close proximity with the privacy rights of the other people. In countries like New Zealand, transgender people employed in different work place have rights that can be exercised by them.
As observed by Quinn et al. (2017) the transgender people are provided with the right to exercise specific needs so that transgender employees feel welcome in the office premise or any other place that require interaction with the public. The Human Right Acts 1993 provides for a provision that every employee working in particular organisations can have the opportunity to use every facility that is provided. For example, it has been observed by Winter et al. (2016) that the law allows Trans women to use the washrooms dedicated for women and the Trans men to use the washrooms dedicated for men. This provides an opportunity for the transgender people to stop being ridiculed in public.
Despite this Wylie et al. (2016) is of the opinion that the transgender people prefer to use gender-neutral facilities so that they can be more comfortable in the work that is being done by them. In this regard, an example can be given by analysing a case study of Lauren a Trans woman studying in New Zealand. In her opinion, the preference to use gender-neutral facilities can help in be the first step towards implementing proper work conditions for the transgender people. However, Reisner et al. (2015) is of the opinion that such provisions may not happen for over a 100 years and it can be difficult to convince the Government to ensure that such facilities for the proper life of the transgender people can be implemented.
Reports have shown that in countries belonging in Europe, the rights of the transgender people are protected so that any discrepancies can be avoided. As stated by Westbrook and Schilt (2014) there have been various incidents that have shown that people attacking one another or ridiculing the transgender people due to their physical problems. At the same time, incidents have been seen in which people have tried to gain access in the restrooms belonging to an opposite gender by claiming to be transgender. Hence, the law of enforcement officers and the sexual assault advocates have been appointed in every country, state and county to mitigate such discrimination against the transgender people (Quinn et al. 2017).
Access to Public Bathrooms for Transgender People
In the modern world, it is expected that any type of false believes of the people need to be abolished so that harmony between the communities can be maintained. Despite this, many people feel uncomfortable due to the presence of the transgender people among them. According to Reisner et al. (2015), this is the reason behind many people wanting to have separate bathroom and other facilities. The transgender people need to be treated in an equal manner so that every provision is available to them. As stated by Testa et al. (2017) here have been various suggestions and solutions that have related the use of public facilities for the transgender people.
For example, employment law and human rights law of every country states the fact that the transgender people need to be provided with equal treatment rather than any special treatment. Thereby Quinn et al. (2017) stated that forcing the transgender people to account for separate washroom facilities is not an ideal solution to protect their rights. At the same time, forcing the transgender people to use bathrooms already frequented by the public may cause harm or rebel among the transgender people. Winter et al. (2016) stated that legal provisions need to be maintained separately for the transgender people so that they can enjoy the right and freedom that are related to the use of public facilities.
At the same time, Westbrook and Schilt (2014) are of the opinion that the claims made by the normal people about the unprotected privacy during the existence of transgender people can be false. This is because, even before, the debate related to the transgender people, the public had felt unsafe about their privacy. It is to be considered that the transgender people also require privacy in the bathroom with the reason being similar to that of the other people. Testa et al. (2017) observed that one of the reasons for the lack of facilities for the transgender people is that men and women fear that they may have to share the same bathroom with the passing of such laws.
Despite the problems related to the transgender people, steps have been taken by certain countries to ensure that the transgender people have separate bathroom facilities. In Bhopal, India, the chief minister of the state has opened a transgender bathroom for these people (Wylie et al. 2016). This is a huge step for the people in the country as the issues such as privacy that exists in other countries, can be mitigated and used as a source of example. The claim that has been made in this regard is that the transgender people are a part of the society and therefore, the rights and policies that are enjoyed by every people in the society need to be provided to the transgender people as well (Reisner et al. 2015).
Therefore, it can be said that the transgender people need to be provided with facilities that can help them to remain a part of the society. The fear of being mentally and physically harassed is one fear that exists among the transgender people and due to this, the changes in the legislation need to be made. Westbrook and Schilt (2014) is of the opinion laws and regulations alone cannot protect the transgender people hence, public awareness, outspoken allies and value of the society need to be implemented.
Conclusion
Therefore while concluding it can be stated that in spite of the formation of different laws for the protection of the rights of the transgender it is not well executed. The other reason that can be stated for it is the lack of the participation of the society to abide the laws related to the protection of the rights of the transgender. In order to bring a solution to this it can be said that the new policy should include the factors that would support the transgender individuals in the working sectors and that would foster an environment of inclusion and mutual respect. In order to eradicate it from the root it is important to understand the theory of sexual orientation. It has been rightly stated by many researchers that the different forms of sexual orientation are biologically based and they are dependent on the way a person was born. The social stress that is resulted from the stigma and the discrimination is considered to be the root cause of the poor mental health of persons who are identified as transgender, gay or lesbians. In order to solve this the issue it is important to normalize the heterosexual behaviour. The individuals should be given education about the fact that the gender identity of a person does not match the sex of the person during his birth. Therefore it can rightly be stated that the society should show an ethically correct behaviour towards the transgender as their identity is based on their identity that was developed during their birth itself. This is the reason to bring equality in the society all the people of the society including the transgender should be treated equally. This will remove the difference from the society
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