Transgender Rights Research Articles

Activists, Parties, and the Expansion of Trans Rights in Bolivia

Bolivia prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and passed a ground-breaking gender identity law. These laws had little support among voters and passed along with heteronormative measures. Why did activists succeed in proposing and passing legislation that most voters did not support? Why were Bolivia’s advances in LGBTQ+ rights accompanied by heteronormative laws? We argue that parties with deep ties to social movements are more likely to advance legislation that expands LGBTQ+ rights than other parties and that contradictory laws emerge where both organized religion and LGBTQ+ activists are party constituents. We describe how Bolivian trans activists leveraged their access to ruling party legislators, using interviews with activists and officials, and briefly discuss the cases of Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Colombia.

Cultural Threat, Outgroup Discrimination, and Attitudes toward Transgender Rights

AbstractScholars often highlight the roles that group threat and intergroup solidarity play in shaping attitudes toward outgroups. Competition among social groups, including over values and culture, can underlie negative attitudes toward outgroups. Meanwhile, perceptions of discrimination against outgroups can drive feelings of solidarity, sympathy, or empathy, which may foster more positive attitudes. These social identity concepts are often studied in the context of racial, ethnic, and religious prejudice, with less attention to how they apply to attitudes toward transgender and gender diverse people. Using a 2022 national survey, we assess how respondents’ perceptions of cultural threat from the LGBTQ community and perceptions of discrimination among a range of outgroups are related to attitudes about transgender rights policies, including access to public restrooms, participation in school sports, and medical transition care. We find that cultural threat is consistently associated with support for policies that restrict the rights of transgender people, but perceived outgroup discrimination tends not to show a significant relationship with these attitudes.

NAVIGATING LEGAL IDENTITY: THE IMPACT OF LEGISLATIVE REFORMS ON TRANSGENDER RECOGNITION AND RIGHTS

This study examines how recent legislative changes have affected transgender rights and recognition, with a particular emphasis on the effects on social inclusion and legal identity. Examining how legislation pertaining to gender identification have changed over time in different jurisdictions, the research shows both progress and enduring difficulties. It looks at how laws might better support transgender people by increasing their legal recognition, preventing discrimination, and facilitating their access to necessary services. The success of these reforms in meeting the demands of the transgender community is also assessed in this report, and gaps where more legislative and policy changes are needed are highlighted. The results highlight the need for comprehensive legal frameworks and ongoing legislative lobbying in order to guarantee equality and safety for transgender individuals.

Breaking Barriers: Transgender Visibility and Passing in Kerala

In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of transgender rights and visibility around the world. Kerala, a state in southern India, has been at the forefront of this movement, with several individuals and organizations working to promote transgender visibility and rights. However, despite the progress made, there are still significant barriers that transgender people face in Kerala and in India as a whole. One of these barriers is the concept of "passing" - the idea that transgender individuals need to conform to societal norms and expectations in order to be accepted. In this study, we will explore the concept of passing in Kerala, the challenges that transgender individuals face, and the steps being taken to break down these barriers and promote greater acceptance and visibility for the transgender community.

FROM DISCRIMINATION TO INCLUSION: LEGAL PERSPECTIVES ON PROTECTING TRANSGENDER RIGHTS IN THE WORKPLACE

Emphasising the legal, ethical, and social challenges faced by transgender employees, this paper examines the development and current situation of transgender rights in the workplace. Starting with the historical evolution of transgender rights, it moves to important legal events such as Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins (1989), Macy v. Holder (2012), and the key Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) ruling thereby affording Title VII protections to transgender persons. Notwithstanding these developments, research reveals ongoing disparities in legal protections between many nations motivated by tensions between transgender rights and other human rights concerns including freedom of expression and religious views. The paper also covers the moral consequences of workplace discrimination and the major part companies play in creating inclusive surroundings. Legal and policy proposals demand Title VII to be changed to particularly safeguard transgender people, improve enforcement policies, and apply thorough federal statutes offering consistent protections. The last point emphasises the need of improving legal rights and building inspiring environments to achieve real inclusion for transgender people, therefore promoting a more fair and equal society.

Subsidiarity v. Pan-europeanism: LGBTQ and Transgender Rights in the EU and under the European Convention of Human Rights

The European Union and the Council of Europe were supposed to create continent-wide standards and rules for governance, commerce, and human rights. Yet subsidiarity remains an important principle respecting state-specific policy. Occasionally Pan-Europeanism and subsidiarity conflict and this is the case with LGBTQ and transgender rights. This Article examines the legal tensions surrounding the protection of human rights as it addresses transgender individuals and members of the LGBTQ community. It argues that the current framework of law supporting subsidiarity is inconsistent with the broader goals of non-discrimination at the heart of the values of both the European Union and the Council of Europe.

Populist political masculinities, gender equality, and norm contestation in Armenia and Georgia

ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, the literature on norm diffusion in the post-Soviet space has grown dramatically. Increasingly, scholars have stressed the role of geopolitical competition between powerful international actors, notably Russia and the European Union (EU), in achieving and/or resisting liberal-democratic reform in the region. This article contributes to this recent research by adding a corrective to the literature, exploring the agency of local rather than external actors in the contestation of global gender equality norms through the high-value cases of Armenia and Georgia. By uncovering taken-for-granted gendered power dimensions in local norm contestation – a subject barely addressed in the norm diffusion literature – the article offers an explanation for the persistence of non-democratic trends in the post-Soviet space as a whole. Specifically, the article examines populist political masculinities contesting EU gender equality policies and related norms concerning violence against women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) rights, arguing that in Armenia and Georgia, it is local populist actors, using taken-for-granted patriarchal and heterosexual discourses to reclaim local masculinities and their political legitimacy, who represent a major challenge to gender equality norms.

Trans feminism and the women's liberation movement in Britain, c. 1970–1980

AbstractThe history of the British women's liberation movement (WLM) is a growing field of study, but it has had little to say about trans participants in the movement. Drawing on feminist and LGBT+ archives and interviews, this article argues that while trans acceptance in ‘women‐only’ groups was not guaranteed during the period between 1970 and 1980, trans and cis feminists worked together to advance feminist positions on bodily autonomy and to develop critiques of medical authority. In doing so, this article demonstrates that it is ahistorical to approach trans rights and women's liberation as distinct from one another.

Transgender rights under us law and experience in building transgender rights in Vietnam

Gender transition is an issue related to individual human rights, both a legal and social issue. For a long time, the rights of transgender people have received attention from many countries around the world. The United States and the Netherlands are two countries where the fight for transgender rights is strong and there are laws regulating gender transition. This article focuses on analyzing the legal provisions of the United States and the Netherlands on the rights of transgender people and suggests some solutions for building and perfecting the law on transgender rights for Vietnam.

Depressive symptoms and associated factors among travestis and transsexuals: a cross-sectional study.

to estimate the prevalence of depressive levels and their associated factors among transvestite and transsexual individuals. this cross-sectional study involved 58 participants assisted by non-governmental organizations. The Beck Depression Inventory was utilized to assess levels of depression, complemented by a sociodemographic questionnaire and a questionnaire on experiences of violence. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Poisson regression with robust variance. a prevalence of 27.6% (95% CI = 11.50-39.10) for moderate to severe levels of depression was observed. This prevalence was associated with being unmarried (PR = 1.19; 95% CI = 1.10-1.28) and experiencing violence in healthcare services (PR = 2.30; 95% CI = 1.10-4.81). the absence of a partner and experiences of violence in healthcare settings negatively impacted mental health, leading to an increased prevalence of depressive symptoms among transvestite and transsexual individuals. Advocating for transgender rights and providing ongoing education in health care for professionals are critical strategies in promoting the mental health of this population.

Ação política em saúde de pessoas trans em Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil

Abstract This article describes the political action repertoire mobilized in the construction of public health policy for trans persons in the Manaus, capital city of the state of Amazonas, in northern Brazil. It is based on ethnographic research combining participant observation in the multiple sites where these policies are constructed and interviews with members of two transgender rights organizations in Manaus, between January 2016 and July 2018. Four modes of political action were reconstructed, as ideal types, named after native categories: those of confrontation, others of “articulation”, the ones seeking visibility and others collaboration. Each mode has the local society as public and agents of the municipal and state Judiciary, Legislative and Executive bodies sometimes as adversaries, sometimes as allies.

Political action in the health of transgender people in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.

This article describes the political action repertoire mobilized in the construction of public health policy for trans persons in the Manaus, capital city of the state of Amazonas, in northern Brazil. It is based on ethnographic research combining participant observation in the multiple sites where these policies are constructed and interviews with members of two transgender rights organizations in Manaus, between January 2016 and July 2018. Four modes of political action were reconstructed, as ideal types, named after native categories: those of confrontation, others of "articulation", the ones seeking visibility and others collaboration. Each mode has the local society as public and agents of the municipal and state Judiciary, Legislative and Executive bodies sometimes as adversaries, sometimes as allies.

Interview with Erin Reed, journalist and transgender rights activist (May 7, 2024)

Interview with Erin Reed, journalist and transgender rights activist (May 7, 2024)

'Sing me a lullaby': Tenderness and Trans Mothers in the Work of Camila Sosa Villada

ABSTRACT: This article examines Camila Sosa Villada's book Las malas (2019), a tale of trans or travesti sex workers in Córdoba, Argentina. Sosa is perhaps the most recognized trans writer in Argentina, and a notable feature of her writing is its portrayal of trans maternity. This essay addresses the depiction of tenderness in Sosa's work in the context of questions about motherhood and trans rights in contemporary Argentina. The formal and technical choices made in her work offer insights into the political potential of creative writing to destabilize literary genres while engaging in pressing debates about gender and human rights.

Intersectional examination of transgender women in South Korea: a case study of the dismissal of the first transgender officer by the Ministry of National Defense

This paper presents an intersectional examination of transgender women in South Korea, focusing on the dismissal of the first transgender officer, Hee-soo Byun (who committed suicide later after the dismissal), by the Ministry of National Defense in 2021. Drawing on the principles of Korean feminism and the third-wave feminist emphasis on intersectionality, the study examines the intersecting factors of gender identity, military service, and institutional policies that contribute to the marginalization and mistreatment of transgender individuals. By investigating the multifaceted challenges experienced by transgender women in South Korea, this paper highlights the complex dynamics of discrimination, taking into account the unique cultural and socio-political context of Korean society. This article aims to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on transgender rights, gender equality, and feminist activism in South Korea, providing insights to inform future discussions, policies, and actions aimed at promoting inclusivity and equal opportunities for transgender individuals within the context of military service and beyond.

Charles Silverstein (1935-2023).

Memorializes Charles Silverstein (1935-2023). One of Charles's most important contributions to the field of psychology and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in particular was his testimony in 1973 opposing the classification of homosexuality as a mental illness. His testimony, along with that of several others, led to the removal of homosexuality in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. He was also the founding editor of the Journal of Homosexuality, which began publication in 1976. Charles maintained a private practice in Manhattan for many years and was an advocate against conversion therapy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Who drives news coverage of trans issues? Intermedia agenda setting dynamics in Spanish digital press

The newsworthiness of trans issues has increased over the last two decades, resulting in unprecedented media visibility of trans people. However, there is still a long way to go in the study of the Agenda Building factors that have influenced this media attention. The aim of this article is to analyze the Intermedia Agenda Setting (IAS) dynamics on the coverage of trans issues in the Spanish digital news media landscape during the period 2001–2020. A quantitative content analysis was conducted, using the Granger Causality test for both issue-salience and attribute-salience IAS dynamics between different types of news media. In general, news flows have been observed from national-to-local, from progressive-to-conservative, and from legacy-to-digital-native media at the issue-salience level. However, from 2016 onwards, progressive and conservative media influence one another. This can be attributed to the generation of an alternative agenda on trans issues by the anti-trans rights movement in recent years. As a consequence of the presence of these competing trans rights and anti-trans rights agendas, media coverage of trans issues has become polarized. In contrast, IAS dynamics at the attribute-salience level are not clear. These findings suggest IAS dynamics have played an essential role in the increasing media attention on trans people. However, the decline in the media delegitimization of trans rights cannot be attributed to IAS dynamics. This study highlights the dynamic nature of IAS, which can evolve based on the agenda and degree of eliteness of each media outlet at any given time.

Shifting equality from the margins: the Common European Asylum System and the making of trans rights in the European Union

This article investigates the role played by the main European cooperation mechanism on asylum, the Common European Asylum System, in the making of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex rights in the European Union. Based on a one-year qualitative inquiry in Brussels and online, it shows that European Union asylum policies were a key arena for the consolidation, invention and renegotiation of European Union lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex rights, especially concerning trans recognition. This pioneering role, far from being fortuitous, was part of the conscious strategy of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex movement to use asylum as a ‘side door’ to the creation of a de facto recognition of ‘gender identity’ as a protected characteristic. Characterising this phenomenon as a ‘politics of interstices’ and analysing the importance of ignorance (and not just knowledge) as a tool for policy change, this article makes the case for an analysis of policymaking that acknowledges the importance of non-equality-specific arenas in the making of equality norms.

'I'm Real, Not You': Roles and Discourses of Trans Exclusionary Women's and Feminist Movements in Anti-gender and Right-wing Populist Politics

This article offers a comparative inquiry concerning the rise in visibility, relevance, and power of trans exclusionary women’s and feminist movements in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) between 2015 and 2022.  It focuses on two case studies concerning trans rights: the successful campaign for Bill C-16 in Canada, and failed reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 in the UK. In both cases, key streams within trans exclusionary women’s and feminist movements increasingly engage in collaborative action with right-wing populist-centered anti-gender coalitions, which include right-wing religious, conservative, and right-wing extremist actors, from approximately 2016. It argues that a key role of women’s and feminist actors in these coalitions is to help legitimize, amplify, and give meaning to anti-gender and right-wing populist appeals and, therein, the politics of exclusion they promote. This occurs in part, it is argued, through symbolic appeals concerning authenticity and the non-materiality of trans lives; the promotion of narratives concerning conflicts in rights; and the provision of strong imagery, narrative, and emotional appeals concerning threat. These broad developments have had various important effects. In the UK, the combination of so-called ‘radical’ as well as ‘traditional’ actors within anti-gender coalitions, has been critical in challenging progress towards trans and broader (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Intersex, and Queer) LGBTIQ+ rights. In Canada, although anti-gender movements have enjoyed less policy success during this period, women’s and feminist actors have helped popularize and provide legitimacy to wider coalitions. 

Transgender activism in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

ABSTRACT Although the lives of LGBT people in Central Asia have recently received scholarly attention, authors do not pay due attention to transgender (trans) issues. This paper explores living conditions of trans people in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as trans organizing in these countries. Semi-structured interviews with 11 trans activists were conducted in March–April 2022. According to the respondents, trans people in Central Asia face pervasive discrimination, harassment and rejection on behalf of society at large and their families. Many live in a desperate economic situation. Access to legal gender recognition aimed to align the person’s legal gender with their gender identity is limited; the process requires psychiatric evaluation, medical interventions and/or going to courts. A limited number of doctors can provide transition-related medical care (hormone replacement therapy, surgeries). Trans activists self-organize to address these issues and promote trans rights in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Their areas of work include providing direct support, educating doctors, and conducting advocacy with state institutions and international actors. The political environment is hostile towards trans activism. Organizations face problems receiving official registration; in Tajikistan, state pressure on civil society is especially severe. Anti-gender movements are another obstacle for trans activists. Political instability often disrupts activists’ advocacy efforts.