A Transformation for Transgender

I was recently eating lunch with a colleague, a bisexual professor of higher education in a graduate school setting, when the topic of transgendered individuals came up. “I don’t really focus on transgendered individuals that much,” my colleague told me. “I mean, I definitely look at lesbian/gay/ bisexual/stuff, but the transgendered thing isn’t really applicable. I mean, there are hardly any transgendered kids out there, and I want to make sure I cover what my students are going to use right away.” The topic of conversation was politely changed.

I left lunch with my mind whirling. “...the transgendered thing isn’t really applicable...” I began to question that statement. Was that statement what educators and higher education staff were saying about the LGB population ten years ago? Because there were not many gay or lesbian or bisexual students that were “out” in the 1980s and early 1990s, did colleges and universities think that there weren’t any of these students out there? I began to think about how many transgendered students are out there and don’t come forward because they’re simply scared to approach their university’s faculty and staff. Many staff and university may claim to be LGBT-friendly, but are they really approachable for all four letters...or really just three?

For example, do university administrators know that transgendered youth have one of the highest statistical percentages of suicide and/or HIV/AIDS infection? When a transgendered student walks into his/her study abroad advisor’s office, does the study abroad advisor have any idea what it’s like for the student who doesn’t know which box to check on the application¼male now, but female yesterday? My guess is probably not. With these ideas in mind, my questions became statements, and statements joined to form paragraphs. I write this short blurb with hope that its reader might begin to re-examine its services for transgendered-identified individuals.

“Re-examine?” you’re saying. “Why? I’m completely comfortable with everything!” I have to tell you that I’m wary of anyone who is completely comfortable with everything...in fact, I pride myself on NOT being comfortable with everything because it gives me the opportunity to learn and question and grow. For example, you’re comfortable with the word “transgendered”¼but are you comfortable with the idea that ‘transgendered’ is an umbrella term for many different gender identifications, such as butch, femme, drag kings, drag queens, masculine women, feminine men, gendervariants, transsexuals and many many others? If the word “transgendered” sends questions through your brain, don’t be scared of it...simply acknowledge that the questions exist and start finding some answers.

Another way to re-examine our services might be to look at our special interest group within NAFSA. The Lesbigay SIG, we call ourselves. Is it me, or are we missing something? This topic was brought up at our last Lesbigay meeting, and again I began to think of more questions. If a transgendered-identified student is to look at our Web site, what message does that student receive? If a transgendered-identified member of NAFSA wants to join our interest group, how does the member know that (s)he will feel welcome and included? As the struggle for civil rights for sexual minorities continues, it’s apparent we need all the community we can muster...if we as an interest group are not inclusive of transgendered individuals, why should we expect them to endure our struggle?

The list goes on and on. As the twenty-first century continues to unfold, perhaps it’s time for a little spring cleaning, a transformation for pro-transgender. Let’s include and build community rather than divide and waste energy. Let’s not tack the “T” on the end of “LGB” as window dressing, but rather really educate ourselves on supporting the rights of transgendered students. With our self-education and growth as the world around us grows, I hope to make the comments like the one made by my colleague obsolete.

NOTE: Ted Burnes is a Ph.D. student of Counseling Psychology at the University of California at Santa Barbara with a concentration in counseling sexual minority adolescents. Always willing to answer questions about everything from his study abroad experience in Spain to the true meaning of “transgendered,” Ted can be reached at tburnes@education.ucsb.edu.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Ted Burnes is curently conducting assessment research to construct scales for competency with LGBT-identified persons. Upon completion, one will be able to use these scales in the future with counselors, administrators, and other providers to ensure that they are competent in providing services to LGBT students, clients, etc, and to point out areas of growth for existing providers. While background research for competency with transgendered-identified individuals is not as strong as its lesbian/gay/bisexual counterparts, Ted hopes to develop beginning scales so as to make the research as inclusive as statistically possible.

Also, Ted would would like to thank many Lesbigay-SIG members who contributed information about their experiences with LGBT issues in curricula through anecdotes, research, and course curricula throughout the '00-'01 academic year. This information was used in a manuscript entitled "Incorporating LGBT Issues into Higher Education Curricula" and was well-received by its funding source. Quotes and curricula from various SIG contributions were incorporated into the project, giving readers a great overall perspective of USA-wide curriculum options.