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Essay / Persuasive Speech on Transgender Rights - 1177
Over the past few years, the transgender movement has become more prominent than ever. With TV shows like "RuPaul's Drag Race," "Keeping It Up With Cait" and "I Am Jazz," the voices of transgender people are more public than ever. Celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner and Laverene Cox are changing the face of the movement by showing people that it's never too late to be themselves. American laws recognize the rights of transgender people, but not in a positive way. They're just people trying to give their best. Transgender people deserve to have all the rights that a non-transgender person has. As a person who assigns their gender, I can go to the doctor at any time if I have a problem and I can get it. Unfortunately, people who identify as transgender do not have the same rights as me. A transgender person is by definition: "someone whose gender identity, that is to say an individual's internal feeling of being a man or a woman, does not correspond to the sex that they were assigned attributed” (Barry). Transgender people may be denied access to a doctor simply because they are transgender. A study on how transgender people were discriminated against by medical providers was done and the study showed: "Nineteen percent were denied treatment by a doctor or other provider because of their transgender or gender non-conforming status” (). Broken down by race, the most refused ethnic group was: Native American (36%), multiracial (27%), Hispanic (22%), black (19%), white (17%), Asian (15%), then 19% (total sample). Not only can they be denied medical treatment, but doctors and medical professionals can also be verbally abusive! “More than a quarter of respondents (28%) reported verbal harassment in a doctor's office, emergency room or other medical facility and 2% of respondents reported that celebrities such as Bruce Springsteen, Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato have canceled their North Carolina tour dates. pro-trans comments. Springsteen said: “Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and intolerance – which is happening as I write – is one of them. It is the most powerful way I have to raise my voice against those who continue to push us backward instead of forward” (Berman). Jonas and Lovato released a statement together saying, "We know the cancellation of these shows is disappointing for our fans, but we hope you will stand united with us against this hateful law." One of our goals for the tour has always been to create an atmosphere in which every participant feels equal, included and accepted as they are. North Carolina’s discriminatory HB2 law is extremely disappointing and removes some of the LGBT community’s most fundamental rights and protections” (Smith). I completely agree with Jonas, Lovato and Springsteen. This law must be abolished very soon. There should be a law implementing gender-neutral restrooms everywhere, so that a transgender person can feel comfortable and safe no matter where they are. Transgender