Working with and Advocating for Transgender Persons

Make your Agency or Office a Safe Place for Transgender Persons

·        Train all staff (receptionist to director) on Homophobia and Transphobia issues

·         Use gender-neutral language and open-ended questions during intake or interviews.

·         Respect a person’s right to privacy about their past and their body.

·         Treat knowledge of a person’s transgender status as confidential.

·         Remember that many transgender and gender variant people have had negative experiences with social service providers.  It is not possible for you to undo this history, only to acknowledge it and work to establish trust.

·         The language transgender people use to describe themselves, their bodies, their gender and their sexuality varies from person to person.

·        Protect the confidentiality and privacy rights of transgender persons

·         Use language that is inclusive and gender appropriate when addressing gender issues, sexual behavior and relationships

·        Designate a resource person who will be available to transgender persons.  This person should be knowledgeable about existing services and able to make support referrals

·         Make policies, procedures, and resources visible and accessible.  Post a nondiscrimination policy in the waiting room that explicitly includes sexual orientation and gender identity.

·         Do not make the transgender client educate the staff.

·        Allow transgender clients to use bathrooms and showers based on their gender identity.

Examine Your Biases and Values

·        Be aware of your own Transphobia and prejudices.  We are all products of a transphobic society which is influenced by fear and ignorance

·         Become informed and work to eliminate any biases or prejudice you find. Get to know transgender people as people first

·         Be sensitive to the situations transgender individuals face in society

·         Do not make assumptions about transgender person’s sexuality

·        Do not make assumptions about the gender identity of transgender persons

Know Your Limitations

·        If you don’t know, say so.

·         If you are not transgender, acknowledge that you may have blind spots about what it’s like to be transgender.

Be Informed and Supportive

·         There are as many ways to be transgender as there are transgender people.  While you may hear the phrase ”transgender community”, it should not be taken to mean that all transgender people are identical, that they have the same experience or understanding and view of gender.

·         You may be called upon to act as educators with clients, families, and communities unfamiliar with transgender persons

·         Have accurate and up to date knowledge regarding gender identity issues and transgender sexuality

·         Deal with the feelings first of the transgender persons, so that they do not feel alone, afraid, or ashamed

·        Listen to the transgender persons allowing them to release feelings and thoughts that are in conflict

·        Dispel myths about transgender, especially that they are “the only ones”

·         Medical and surgical treatments are part of some, but not all transgender people’s expression.

·        Dealing with gender issues is difficult and there may be no easy and fast answers

·        Keep the door open for more conversations and assistance

Anticipate Some Confusion

·        Some individuals may be confused or unsure what their gender identity is and what this means for them

·        Let individuals work through their own feelings and insights

·         Let them know that transgender support groups can help people see different transgender paths and ways to cope with gender issues

Things you do not say to a transsexual, because they indicate that you actually do not accept the transsexual as a man/woman.

·        “You look just as good as I do.”

·          “Well, I want you to know that I certainly consider you a man/woman.”

·          “I think you are as much a woman/man as any of my friends.”

·          “I would never have guessed you were a transsexual.”

·        “I think transsexuals are just men/women in drag.”

·          “I think of transsexuality as a kind of birth defect.”

·          “How did you know you are a woman/man?”

·         “Is it true that transsexuals are ‘trapped in the wrong body’?”

·          “You look just like a ‘REAL’ woman.”

·          “You look just like a ‘REAL’ man.”

Transphobia