Transgender vs Cisgender Rights

Transgender and non-binary rights have always been unequal to cisgender rights. As a perceived minority, both are marginalised daily, and to a shocking extent. Our world leaders, predominantly in Western countries constantly belittle the experiences of transgender individuals - non-binary individuals are also treated as if they don’t exist and like most of the LGBT community, face the fear of society that they’ll be shunned or treated unfairly just because they identify as who they truly are.

This discrimination needs to stop. Transgender men and women should be able to use the bathroom of their own choosing while out in public, without backlash or judgement. Non-binary people should be able to wear whatever they want without being perceived as ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ for wearing clothes that society has dictated belong to men and women. Clothing does not equal gender. Having a vagina or a penis does not equal gender.

As a cisgender bisexual woman, I myself have no experience of the discrimination that these individuals face on the daily, and I would never claim to understand to know how it really feels to be in their shoes. But as an ally to my trans and non-binary friends, it truly is time that equality for all is obtained. They are all just as valid and as human as the rest of us, and deserve the same respect.

- Jas

GLOSSARY

Transgender - An umbrella term for anyone whose gender identity does not match their sex and/or gender assigned at birth.

Non-Binary - Existing or identifying outside the sex/gender binary, being neither man nor woman, or being on partially or a combination of these things.

Cisgender - A person whose gender identity is the same as their sex and/or gender assigned at birth.

Gender Identity - The identifier (or lack of identifier) someone uses to communicate how they understand their personal gender, navigate within or outside our societal gender systems, and/or desire to be perceived by others.

Bisexual - Being attracted to two or more genders.

Ally - Someone who does not identify as LGBT+, but actively supports the community.

Definitions sourced from "The ABC's of LGBT+" by Ash Hardell