Discrimination and transgender Dr Robin S Bradbeer Department of Electronic Engineering City University of Hong Kong

What this lecture IS NOT about Sexual deviance What this lecture IS about Dispelling misunderstanding, ignorance and prejudice

Outline Definitions Sex Gender Transgenderism Transvestites Drag queens Transsexuals Aetiology Transsexualism Discrimination References

Definitions Before embarking on a detailed discussion of transgenderism, it is important to define some terms; Sex and Gender are two important and different concepts that are frequently confused.

Sex Sex refers to someone's anatomical sex --- in other words, which type of genitals they possess. Except in very rare cases of hermaphroditism, anatomical sex is well- defined and easy to interpret.

Gender Gender refers to the person's own self-identity as a male, female or something else. The overwhelming majority of the population have a gender that accords with their anatomical sex. Gender is less clearly defined than anatomical sex, and does not necessarily represent a simple binary choice: some people have a gender identity that is neither clearly female nor clearly male. (Gender is a spectrum)

Gender identity and gender role Gender consists of two related aspects: Gender Identity, which is the person's internal perception and experience of their gender, and Gender Role, which is the way that the person lives in society and interacts with others, based on their gender identity.

Transgenderism A 'transgendered' person is someone whose gender identity differs from conventional expectations of masculinity or femininity. Their gender identity differs from their physical sex as assigned at birth. Transgendered people are born this way and have no choice in who they are. They are generally referred to as ‘gender dysphoric’.

Who are Transgendered People? Trangendered persons can be female-to-male (transsexual or transgendered men) as well as male-to-female (transsexual or transgendered women).

Are Transgendered People Gay? Most transgendered persons identify themselves as heterosexual. Their intrinsic difference is their gender identity, not their sexual orientation: these are two different things altogether. However, transgendered people are perceived by most people as homosexuals, and thus are discriminated against in similar ways.

Transvestites Apart from their occasional crossdressing, they lead lives that are quite ordinary in all other respects. Most crossdressers are married and many have children, so they have much to lose from their transgendered state being revealed. They also wish to remain in the sex they were born, unlike transsexuals.

Transvestites Transvestites are relatively common: some estimates would have several percent of the male population showing some degree of transvestite behaviour

Homosexuality and Bisexuality. This has little or no connection at all with transgenderism --- gay men and lesbians are generally totally happy with their anatomical sex, and their gender identity is in accordance with it. They are merely attracted to persons of their own anatomical sex, or to both sexes in the case of bisexuals. However, some gay men and lesbians may exhibit gender dysphoria.

What about the Transsexuals? Transsexual persons differ from the majority of transvestites in that they come to feel they can no longer continue to live their lives in the gender associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Why do they feel that way? The overall psychological term is called gender dysphoria, an intense feeling of pain, anguish, and anxiety from the mis-assignment of a transgendered person's sex at birth. All transgendered people suffer from it, but the feeling becomes more acute for transsexuals, usually in the middle of their lives. These feelings lead many transgendered people into depression, anxiety, chemical dependencies, divorces and other family problems, even suicide.

Gender dysphoria It is now accepted by all reputable professionals in the field that gender dysphoria stems from a physiological cause, and is in no way a mental illness, perversion or 'lifestyle choice'. The consensus of opinion is that gender identity is determined before birth and is unchangeable thereafter.

Aetiology All human foetuses start off in a female configuration, and in the absence of biochemical instructions to the contrary, will develop into baby girls --- irrespective of their chromosomal sex . This 'female by default' development is overridden in normal male foetuses by a complex sequence of hormonal processes.

Aetiology Some weeks later, the primitive testes start working, and secrete a large dose of testosterone (the principal male hormone), which causes the foetal brain to differentiate into the male pattern.

Aetiology At this point the brain structure responsible for gender identity, as well as all the other well-known (and measurable) brain differences between men and women, is laid down.

Aetiology Gender dysphoria is caused by that second burst of hormones failing to happen, or only happening very weakly (many male-to-female transsexuals do exhibit some masculine mental tendencies, but retain the feminine gender identity, suggesting that the masculinisation of the brain went part of the way and then failed).

Transsexualism Transsexualism is the most pronounced form of Gender Dysphoria.

Transsexualism A transsexual is someone who experiences a deep and long-lasting discomfort with their anatomical (genital) sex, and wishes to change their physical characteristics, including genitals, to the opposite of those usually associated with their anatomical sex, and to live permanently in the gender role opposite to that normally associated with their anatomical sex.

Transsexualism Transsexualism is a fairly rare condition. About one person per thousand is gender dysphoric to some extent, although around one person per 25,000 (some research indicate 1 in 10,000) is a transsexual. After genital reassignment surgery (sex-change) most, but by no means all, transsexuals are heterosexual, although the usual spectrum of human sexuality can be found.

Social and cultural differences In ‘the West’ ratio of FtM:MtF having SRS is 1:10 In Hong Kong it is 60:40 In China it is 10:1 WHY???

It is not easy to have gender reassignment surgery

How are Transgendered People Discriminated Against? Transgendered people face employment and housing discrimination. They are also potential targets for hate crimes: verbal harassment, hate mail, harassing telephone calls and acts of violence committed by the same persons who hate homosexuals and bisexuals.

How are Transgendered People Discriminated Against? Unlike gay men, lesbians and bisexuals, transgendered people are much more likely to fall victim to discrimination and hate crimes, because most of them possess physical or behavioural characteristics that readily identify them as transgendered.

What about their Privacy? The majority of transgendered persons strongly desire to keep their transgendered states secret. Transgendered people are vulnerable to their sexual minority status being revealed against their will, i.e., being "outed".

What about Hong Kong? Post-op transsexuals cannot marry ‘opposite sex’, (e.g. domestic violence debate – see SCMP articles, BA complaint etc.) Passport and HKID can be reissued with new name and sex, New sex recognised for identity reasons but still ‘legally’ pre-op sex. (TS women could theoretically be put in men’s prisons!) Birth certificate cannot be changed.

What about Hong Kong? Hospital Authority has closed Gender Identity Clinic at Queen Mary Hospital. No more Specialist Clinic with Gender Identity Team consisting of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, surgeons, lawyers etc. Sex reassignment surgery carried out at public hospitals at low cost, but may be cut in future.

References Sunday Morning Post 30.5.99 http://www.ee.cityu.edu.hk/~rtbrad/tgif/scmp.html South China Morning Post 25.1.03 Article http://www.ee.cityu.edu.hk/~rtbrad/tgif/scmp article.html Editorial http://www.ee.cityu.edu.hk/~rtbrad/tgif/scmp editorial.html Letter from Prof Ng, QMH http://www.ee.cityu.edu.hk/~rtbrad/tgif/GITHK.html And others on web site login page Youtube videos