Sunday, May 1, 2011
Gearing towards dignified life
Title Re-imaging - People with Gender non confirmity/Transgender Existence; Bringing Dignity and Good will
Thematic area/programme Mainstreaming of gender equality, giving priority to the participation through, involve Children with GID and transgender women in socio-development activities.
By: Olga.B.Aaron,
B-13/14, Eri scheme, Industriaql Estate, Mgappair East,
Chennai – 600 037-
Mob:09840446137, 044- 22452438
Re-imaging People with Gender Identity Disorder Existence;
Bringing Dignity and societal concern to their life.
-----------
“Inner strengths, experiences, and truths cannot be lost, destroyed, or taken away. Every child has an inborn worth and can contribute to the human community. All can treat one another with dignity and respect, provide opportunities to grow towards fullest lives and help one another discover and develop our unique gifts. Everyone deserves this and all should extend it to others.”
“Trans-gender, which gender expression can occur independently of biological sex, it's quite understandable that transgendered people are wrestling within this culturally imposed conflict in very personal and profound ways? The processes of gender transgression are simply a way for Spirit to transcend the passing whims and dictates of human cultures in order to more freely manifest its glorious diversity in Nature-and in our very flesh”.
It’s a unique awareness and rare opportunities to enrich our world. But the existence of transgendered people is despised, denied and trivialize.
------------------------------------
Introduction:
Childhood:
Gender may well be the most basic thing in the elements that make up human personality. In fact, gender is so basic to our identity, most people mistakenly assume our sense of being male or female is defined with absolute certainty by our anatomical sex. Contrary to popular belief, one's sense of gender and one's anatomical sex are two distinct elements: each developing at different times in different parts of the body.
Gender appears to be a continuum with most people gathered at either end, the rest being somewhere in between. Feelings of discomfort or complete inappropriateness about one's assigned sex, does not mean the individual is wrong or ill. It simply means that the original assignment was made based on an absolutism that is inconsistent with the possibilities of human development.
For children (person), whose sex and gender map are congruent, this insight typically goes unnoticed. However, if there is a sex/gender map incongruency, the child is left perplexed about his or her gender status and begins a lifelong, often compulsive search for resolution of the discrepancy.
Adolescents:
The arrival of adolescence increases the difficulties for children with gender identity disorder. Without fail, the subsequent development of secondary sex characteristics counter to the individual's desires increases anxiety. Often, frustration sets in, and determination to finally resolve the problem becomes the individual's driving force in life.
Since enforced outward behavior has no permanent influence on internal gender understanding, these activities serve only to complicate the individual's social involvement, resulting in anxiety about expressing his/her true felt gender.
This anxiety state is characterized by feelings of confusion, shame, guilt, and fear. These individuals are confused over an inability to handle their gender identity problem in the same way they readily handle other problems in life. They feel shame over an inability to control what they believe society considers to be sexually perverse activities. Even though cross-dressing and cross-gender fantasies provide much-needed temporary relief, these activities often leave the individual profoundly ashamed of what she or he has done. Closely associated with shame is guilt over being dishonest by hiding secret needs and desires from family, friends, and society.
Gender Identity Disorder is a real and serious problem. Due to lack of awareness, the cause or causes of the problem that these individuals feel toward their assigned sex, can be reasonably certain that it is connected with either a congenital irregularity, an irregularity that occurs in the first few years of childhood or some combination of the two.
Parents need to be concerned when a child openly expresses dissatisfaction with his or her sex. Such as when a boy says "I want to be a girl" or when a girl insist she is a boy.
Children are born with a drive to seek love and acceptance by each parent, siblings and peers. If this need is met, children develop an acceptance of their masculinity or femininity. When this developmental task is successfully completed, the child is free to choose gender atypical activities.
Unfortunately in Indian context the help one get depends almost entirely on the attitude of the society.
The national level policies that make transsexual people's lives pluralized with the society should be made.
Social structure enforcing and reinforcing children with GID (Education and standard living):
Since culturally/mythologically perpetuating gender identities to sustain the patriarchal structure of the society, it makes the family vulnerable to discriminate the children with GID, which leads to make them dropout from schools and other social activities , make them evacuate themselves from the biological family/society and lead towards group living which is closed and uninstituionalised.
Health aspect:
Since outward behavior has no permanent influence on internal gender understanding, these activities serve only to complicate the individual's social involvement, resulting in anxiety about expressing the true felt gender.
Unfortunately in Indian context the help one get depends almost entirely on the attitude of the medical professionals take at the outset. Some people do not get a referral to any service and some people get referred to the wrong service. No medical service is adequate in that it doesn't and cannot at the present moment do anything about the worst problem, which is the ignorant and prejudiced treatment that children with GID and transsexual adults receive from society at large. That includes children with CONGENITAL ADRENAL HYPOPLASIA (Hermaphrodites-Born with genital deformity).
Community (Group living):
Somewhere, there are people to whom they can speak with passion without having the words catch in throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive , eyes will light up as enter, voices will celebrate with each other, whenever gather into own power. Community means strength that joins everybody’s strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where felt to be free.
But the actual scenario is completely different :Exploitation and manipulation is the existing nature in Trans people’s community.
Its found that person one in 400, identified with GID.
Intervention among Transgender women towards bringing adequate values of rights to people with Gender identity disorder
Conversations with Transgender women towards recollecting their childhood memories:
Out of hundred Transpeople (M to F),
65% of them told that their family members were trying to correct their behavior (not to behave like a girl) but it was very difficult for them to do and couldn’t explain to the family members about their orientation.
60% of them express the discrimination by teachers in schools.
10% of them revealed that they were sexually abused by their relatives, teachers, seniors and class mates.
80% of them lost trust in future and showed less interest in studies.
70% of them walked out of the family before 18, and there was no track from either from family or legal system.
95% of them joined in group living system and pursued sex change and involved in commercial sex work and begging.
80% of the people involved in commercial sex work were booked under legal action in various levels.
3% of them involved in HIV/AIDS activities.
98% told that ‘if they given an opportunity to reunite with the family, they would do that’.
60% of them are in touch with the family indirectly.
5% showed interest in redoing their education.
90% of them are in stress being out casted from mainstream.
99% of them expressed that their childhood has been ruined.
Recommendation:
• National child policy should include CGID and address their issues on participation, protection and child tracking system when they go missing.
• Children with GID need a provision to access formal education would lead to dignified standard
• of living and livelihood.
• Research need to be conducted towards unethical treatment of Children with GID in the society.
• Strengthen children with GID/Family, participation in education by facilitating processes of collective reflection/assessment, agenda building and re-orientation of strategies for their empowerment.
• Contribute to current discussions and debates that reflect on the state, dilemmas and trajectory of the Transgenderism.
• Facilitate a series of semi-structured group discussions and individual interviews (called “conversations”) with familes/Transgender women. Some of the broad themes towards explore in these conversations would be:
Experience sharing about childhood, evacuation from the family.
Difficulties and challenges faced by them in this arena
Insights and recommendations
Review of local literature on Children with GID/Transgender women in general.
Conduct case studies to highlight the Children with GID/Transgender women’s strategies in engaging in routine life.
Long term plans:
Strengthening Transgender women:
Focus on the quality of participation rather than the quantity of Transgender women participating, women’s concerns/voices are visible, taken seriously and addressed, whether they are in key positions in decision-making groups, they should also be “mainstreaming” social issues.
Participation:
Physical presence, voice and ability to influence outcomes of decision-making spaces in the public sphere like education to dignified life.
• Family level, school level counseling exclusively given by the trained counselors.
• Particular guidelines should be made which could prevent stigmatizing the children with GID and the family children belong.
• Since this natural status is very sensitive and involves more psychological dealings, whatever the process involves GID, like disclosure, investigation, counseling and social inclusion activities should be handled carefully, and confidentiality should be maintained throughout the process.
• Enroll in informal education for drop outs due GID.
• Training accordingly for illiterate, semi literate and literates.
• Create awareness in educational institutions for inclusive education (Enabled environment)..
• Create awareness among main stream (doctors, parents and teachers) to be aware and motivate them to bring up the children with gender identity disorder.(to create enable environment)
• Influencing child protection and education policies of the state.
• Unique policy to enroll in education after the change of identification (sex change).
• Create international classifications of functioning through psychological analysis, cognitive rehabilitation and counseling.
• Dcumentation/Research.
Masculine-to-feminine transgendered people share this momentum and are committing their lives to personifying the struggle. Many feminine-to-masculine transgendered people are also striving to bring the best of womanhood into a new sense of what it is to be. This long forbidden cross pollination of gender has the potential to enable all of them to become more fully human. Therefore, just as women are reclaiming their connection with the divine, transgendered people are reconnecting with own rich spiritual heritage and reclaiming sacred space.
Thematic area/programme Mainstreaming of gender equality, giving priority to the participation through, involve Children with GID and transgender women in socio-development activities.
By: Olga.B.Aaron,
B-13/14, Eri scheme, Industriaql Estate, Mgappair East,
Chennai – 600 037-
Mob:09840446137, 044- 22452438
Re-imaging People with Gender Identity Disorder Existence;
Bringing Dignity and societal concern to their life.
-----------
“Inner strengths, experiences, and truths cannot be lost, destroyed, or taken away. Every child has an inborn worth and can contribute to the human community. All can treat one another with dignity and respect, provide opportunities to grow towards fullest lives and help one another discover and develop our unique gifts. Everyone deserves this and all should extend it to others.”
“Trans-gender, which gender expression can occur independently of biological sex, it's quite understandable that transgendered people are wrestling within this culturally imposed conflict in very personal and profound ways? The processes of gender transgression are simply a way for Spirit to transcend the passing whims and dictates of human cultures in order to more freely manifest its glorious diversity in Nature-and in our very flesh”.
It’s a unique awareness and rare opportunities to enrich our world. But the existence of transgendered people is despised, denied and trivialize.
------------------------------------
Introduction:
Childhood:
Gender may well be the most basic thing in the elements that make up human personality. In fact, gender is so basic to our identity, most people mistakenly assume our sense of being male or female is defined with absolute certainty by our anatomical sex. Contrary to popular belief, one's sense of gender and one's anatomical sex are two distinct elements: each developing at different times in different parts of the body.
Gender appears to be a continuum with most people gathered at either end, the rest being somewhere in between. Feelings of discomfort or complete inappropriateness about one's assigned sex, does not mean the individual is wrong or ill. It simply means that the original assignment was made based on an absolutism that is inconsistent with the possibilities of human development.
For children (person), whose sex and gender map are congruent, this insight typically goes unnoticed. However, if there is a sex/gender map incongruency, the child is left perplexed about his or her gender status and begins a lifelong, often compulsive search for resolution of the discrepancy.
Adolescents:
The arrival of adolescence increases the difficulties for children with gender identity disorder. Without fail, the subsequent development of secondary sex characteristics counter to the individual's desires increases anxiety. Often, frustration sets in, and determination to finally resolve the problem becomes the individual's driving force in life.
Since enforced outward behavior has no permanent influence on internal gender understanding, these activities serve only to complicate the individual's social involvement, resulting in anxiety about expressing his/her true felt gender.
This anxiety state is characterized by feelings of confusion, shame, guilt, and fear. These individuals are confused over an inability to handle their gender identity problem in the same way they readily handle other problems in life. They feel shame over an inability to control what they believe society considers to be sexually perverse activities. Even though cross-dressing and cross-gender fantasies provide much-needed temporary relief, these activities often leave the individual profoundly ashamed of what she or he has done. Closely associated with shame is guilt over being dishonest by hiding secret needs and desires from family, friends, and society.
Gender Identity Disorder is a real and serious problem. Due to lack of awareness, the cause or causes of the problem that these individuals feel toward their assigned sex, can be reasonably certain that it is connected with either a congenital irregularity, an irregularity that occurs in the first few years of childhood or some combination of the two.
Parents need to be concerned when a child openly expresses dissatisfaction with his or her sex. Such as when a boy says "I want to be a girl" or when a girl insist she is a boy.
Children are born with a drive to seek love and acceptance by each parent, siblings and peers. If this need is met, children develop an acceptance of their masculinity or femininity. When this developmental task is successfully completed, the child is free to choose gender atypical activities.
Unfortunately in Indian context the help one get depends almost entirely on the attitude of the society.
The national level policies that make transsexual people's lives pluralized with the society should be made.
Social structure enforcing and reinforcing children with GID (Education and standard living):
Since culturally/mythologically perpetuating gender identities to sustain the patriarchal structure of the society, it makes the family vulnerable to discriminate the children with GID, which leads to make them dropout from schools and other social activities , make them evacuate themselves from the biological family/society and lead towards group living which is closed and uninstituionalised.
Health aspect:
Since outward behavior has no permanent influence on internal gender understanding, these activities serve only to complicate the individual's social involvement, resulting in anxiety about expressing the true felt gender.
Unfortunately in Indian context the help one get depends almost entirely on the attitude of the medical professionals take at the outset. Some people do not get a referral to any service and some people get referred to the wrong service. No medical service is adequate in that it doesn't and cannot at the present moment do anything about the worst problem, which is the ignorant and prejudiced treatment that children with GID and transsexual adults receive from society at large. That includes children with CONGENITAL ADRENAL HYPOPLASIA (Hermaphrodites-Born with genital deformity).
Community (Group living):
Somewhere, there are people to whom they can speak with passion without having the words catch in throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive , eyes will light up as enter, voices will celebrate with each other, whenever gather into own power. Community means strength that joins everybody’s strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where felt to be free.
But the actual scenario is completely different :Exploitation and manipulation is the existing nature in Trans people’s community.
Its found that person one in 400, identified with GID.
Intervention among Transgender women towards bringing adequate values of rights to people with Gender identity disorder
Conversations with Transgender women towards recollecting their childhood memories:
Out of hundred Transpeople (M to F),
65% of them told that their family members were trying to correct their behavior (not to behave like a girl) but it was very difficult for them to do and couldn’t explain to the family members about their orientation.
60% of them express the discrimination by teachers in schools.
10% of them revealed that they were sexually abused by their relatives, teachers, seniors and class mates.
80% of them lost trust in future and showed less interest in studies.
70% of them walked out of the family before 18, and there was no track from either from family or legal system.
95% of them joined in group living system and pursued sex change and involved in commercial sex work and begging.
80% of the people involved in commercial sex work were booked under legal action in various levels.
3% of them involved in HIV/AIDS activities.
98% told that ‘if they given an opportunity to reunite with the family, they would do that’.
60% of them are in touch with the family indirectly.
5% showed interest in redoing their education.
90% of them are in stress being out casted from mainstream.
99% of them expressed that their childhood has been ruined.
Recommendation:
• National child policy should include CGID and address their issues on participation, protection and child tracking system when they go missing.
• Children with GID need a provision to access formal education would lead to dignified standard
• of living and livelihood.
• Research need to be conducted towards unethical treatment of Children with GID in the society.
• Strengthen children with GID/Family, participation in education by facilitating processes of collective reflection/assessment, agenda building and re-orientation of strategies for their empowerment.
• Contribute to current discussions and debates that reflect on the state, dilemmas and trajectory of the Transgenderism.
• Facilitate a series of semi-structured group discussions and individual interviews (called “conversations”) with familes/Transgender women. Some of the broad themes towards explore in these conversations would be:
Experience sharing about childhood, evacuation from the family.
Difficulties and challenges faced by them in this arena
Insights and recommendations
Review of local literature on Children with GID/Transgender women in general.
Conduct case studies to highlight the Children with GID/Transgender women’s strategies in engaging in routine life.
Long term plans:
Strengthening Transgender women:
Focus on the quality of participation rather than the quantity of Transgender women participating, women’s concerns/voices are visible, taken seriously and addressed, whether they are in key positions in decision-making groups, they should also be “mainstreaming” social issues.
Participation:
Physical presence, voice and ability to influence outcomes of decision-making spaces in the public sphere like education to dignified life.
• Family level, school level counseling exclusively given by the trained counselors.
• Particular guidelines should be made which could prevent stigmatizing the children with GID and the family children belong.
• Since this natural status is very sensitive and involves more psychological dealings, whatever the process involves GID, like disclosure, investigation, counseling and social inclusion activities should be handled carefully, and confidentiality should be maintained throughout the process.
• Enroll in informal education for drop outs due GID.
• Training accordingly for illiterate, semi literate and literates.
• Create awareness in educational institutions for inclusive education (Enabled environment)..
• Create awareness among main stream (doctors, parents and teachers) to be aware and motivate them to bring up the children with gender identity disorder.(to create enable environment)
• Influencing child protection and education policies of the state.
• Unique policy to enroll in education after the change of identification (sex change).
• Create international classifications of functioning through psychological analysis, cognitive rehabilitation and counseling.
• Dcumentation/Research.
Masculine-to-feminine transgendered people share this momentum and are committing their lives to personifying the struggle. Many feminine-to-masculine transgendered people are also striving to bring the best of womanhood into a new sense of what it is to be. This long forbidden cross pollination of gender has the potential to enable all of them to become more fully human. Therefore, just as women are reclaiming their connection with the divine, transgendered people are reconnecting with own rich spiritual heritage and reclaiming sacred space.
Title Re-imaging - People with Gender Identity Disorder(GID)/Transgender Existence; Bringing Dignity and Good will
Thematic area/programme Mainstreaming of gender equality, giving priority to the participation through, involve Children with GID and transgender women in socio-development activities.
By: Olga.B.Aaron,
B-13/14, Eri scheme, Industriaql Estate, Mgappair East,
Chennai – 600 037-
Mob:09840446137, 044- 22452438
Re-imaging People with Gender Identity Disorder Existence;
Bringing Dignity and societal concern to their life.
-----------
“Inner strengths, experiences, and truths cannot be lost, destroyed, or taken away. Every child has an inborn worth and can contribute to the human community. All can treat one another with dignity and respect, provide opportunities to grow towards fullest lives and help one another discover and develop our unique gifts. Everyone deserves this and all should extend it to others.”
“Trans-gender, which gender expression can occur independently of biological sex, it's quite understandable that transgendered people are wrestling within this culturally imposed conflict in very personal and profound ways? The processes of gender transgression are simply a way for Spirit to transcend the passing whims and dictates of human cultures in order to more freely manifest its glorious diversity in Nature-and in our very flesh”.
It’s a unique awareness and rare opportunities to enrich our world. But the existence of transgendered people is despised, denied and trivialize.
------------------------------------
Introduction:
Childhood:
Gender may well be the most basic thing in the elements that make up human personality. In fact, gender is so basic to our identity, most people mistakenly assume our sense of being male or female is defined with absolute certainty by our anatomical sex. Contrary to popular belief, one's sense of gender and one's anatomical sex are two distinct elements: each developing at different times in different parts of the body.
Gender appears to be a continuum with most people gathered at either end, the rest being somewhere in between. Feelings of discomfort or complete inappropriateness about one's assigned sex, does not mean the individual is wrong or ill. It simply means that the original assignment was made based on an absolutism that is inconsistent with the possibilities of human development.
For children (person), whose sex and gender map are congruent, this insight typically goes unnoticed. However, if there is a sex/gender map incongruency, the child is left perplexed about his or her gender status and begins a lifelong, often compulsive search for resolution of the discrepancy.
Adolescents:
The arrival of adolescence increases the difficulties for children with gender identity disorder. Without fail, the subsequent development of secondary sex characteristics counter to the individual's desires increases anxiety. Often, frustration sets in, and determination to finally resolve the problem becomes the individual's driving force in life.
Since enforced outward behavior has no permanent influence on internal gender understanding, these activities serve only to complicate the individual's social involvement, resulting in anxiety about expressing his/her true felt gender.
This anxiety state is characterized by feelings of confusion, shame, guilt, and fear. These individuals are confused over an inability to handle their gender identity problem in the same way they readily handle other problems in life. They feel shame over an inability to control what they believe society considers to be sexually perverse activities. Even though cross-dressing and cross-gender fantasies provide much-needed temporary relief, these activities often leave the individual profoundly ashamed of what she or he has done. Closely associated with shame is guilt over being dishonest by hiding secret needs and desires from family, friends, and society.
Gender Identity Disorder is a real and serious problem. Due to lack of awareness, the cause or causes of the problem that these individuals feel toward their assigned sex, can be reasonably certain that it is connected with either a congenital irregularity, an irregularity that occurs in the first few years of childhood or some combination of the two.
Parents need to be concerned when a child openly expresses dissatisfaction with his or her sex. Such as when a boy says "I want to be a girl" or when a girl insist she is a boy.
Children are born with a drive to seek love and acceptance by each parent, siblings and peers. If this need is met, children develop an acceptance of their masculinity or femininity. When this developmental task is successfully completed, the child is free to choose gender atypical activities.
Unfortunately in Indian context the help one get depends almost entirely on the attitude of the society.
The national level policies that make transsexual people's lives pluralized with the society should be made.
Social structure enforcing and reinforcing children with GID (Education and standard living):
Since culturally/mythologically perpetuating gender identities to sustain the patriarchal structure of the society, it makes the family vulnerable to discriminate the children with GID, which leads to make them dropout from schools and other social activities , make them evacuate themselves from the biological family/society and lead towards group living which is closed and uninstituionalised.
Health aspect:
Since outward behavior has no permanent influence on internal gender understanding, these activities serve only to complicate the individual's social involvement, resulting in anxiety about expressing the true felt gender.
Unfortunately in Indian context the help one get depends almost entirely on the attitude of the medical professionals take at the outset. Some people do not get a referral to any service and some people get referred to the wrong service. No medical service is adequate in that it doesn't and cannot at the present moment do anything about the worst problem, which is the ignorant and prejudiced treatment that children with GID and transsexual adults receive from society at large. That includes children with CONGENITAL ADRENAL HYPOPLASIA (Hermaphrodites-Born with genital deformity).
Community (Group living):
Somewhere, there are people to whom they can speak with passion without having the words catch in throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive , eyes will light up as enter, voices will celebrate with each other, whenever gather into own power. Community means strength that joins everybody’s strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where felt to be free.
But the actual scenario is completely different :Exploitation and manipulation is the existing nature in Trans people’s community.
Its found that person one in 400, identified with GID.
Intervention among Transgender women towards bringing adequate values of rights to people with Gender identity disorder
Conversations with Transgender women towards recollecting their childhood memories:
Out of hundred Transpeople (M to F),
65% of them told that their family members were trying to correct their behavior (not to behave like a girl) but it was very difficult for them to do and couldn’t explain to the family members about their orientation.
60% of them express the discrimination by teachers in schools.
10% of them revealed that they were sexually abused by their relatives, teachers, seniors and class mates.
80% of them lost trust in future and showed less interest in studies.
70% of them walked out of the family before 18, and there was no track from either from family or legal system.
95% of them joined in group living system and pursued sex change and involved in commercial sex work and begging.
80% of the people involved in commercial sex work were booked under legal action in various levels.
3% of them involved in HIV/AIDS activities.
98% told that ‘if they given an opportunity to reunite with the family, they would do that’.
60% of them are in touch with the family indirectly.
5% showed interest in redoing their education.
90% of them are in stress being out casted from mainstream.
99% of them expressed that their childhood has been ruined.
Recommendation:
• National child policy should include CGID and address their issues on participation, protection and child tracking system when they go missing.
• Children with GID need a provision to access formal education would lead to dignified standard
• of living and livelihood.
• Research need to be conducted towards unethical treatment of Children with GID in the society.
• Strengthen children with GID/Family, participation in education by facilitating processes of collective reflection/assessment, agenda building and re-orientation of strategies for their empowerment.
• Contribute to current discussions and debates that reflect on the state, dilemmas and trajectory of the Transgenderism.
• Facilitate a series of semi-structured group discussions and individual interviews (called “conversations”) with familes/Transgender women. Some of the broad themes towards explore in these conversations would be:
Experience sharing about childhood, evacuation from the family.
Difficulties and challenges faced by them in this arena
Insights and recommendations
Review of local literature on Children with GID/Transgender women in general.
Conduct case studies to highlight the Children with GID/Transgender women’s strategies in engaging in routine life.
Long term plans:
Strengthening Transgender women:
Focus on the quality of participation rather than the quantity of Transgender women participating, women’s concerns/voices are visible, taken seriously and addressed, whether they are in key positions in decision-making groups, they should also be “mainstreaming” social issues.
Participation:
Physical presence, voice and ability to influence outcomes of decision-making spaces in the public sphere like education to dignified life.
• Family level, school level counseling exclusively given by the trained counselors.
• Particular guidelines should be made which could prevent stigmatizing the children with GID and the family children belong.
• Since this natural status is very sensitive and involves more psychological dealings, whatever the process involves GID, like disclosure, investigation, counseling and social inclusion activities should be handled carefully, and confidentiality should be maintained throughout the process.
• Enroll in informal education for drop outs due GID.
• Training accordingly for illiterate, semi literate and literates.
• Create awareness in educational institutions for inclusive education (Enabled environment)..
• Create awareness among main stream (doctors, parents and teachers) to be aware and motivate them to bring up the children with gender identity disorder.(to create enable environment)
• Influencing child protection and education policies of the state.
• Unique policy to enroll in education after the change of identification (sex change).
• Create international classifications of functioning through psychological analysis, cognitive rehabilitation and counseling.
• Dcumentation/Research.
Masculine-to-feminine transgendered people share this momentum and are committing their lives to personifying the struggle. Many feminine-to-masculine transgendered people are also striving to bring the best of womanhood into a new sense of what it is to be. This long forbidden cross pollination of gender has the potential to enable all of them to become more fully human. Therefore, just as women are reclaiming their connection with the divine, transgendered people are reconnecting with own rich spiritual heritage and reclaiming sacred space.
Thematic area/programme Mainstreaming of gender equality, giving priority to the participation through, involve Children with GID and transgender women in socio-development activities.
By: Olga.B.Aaron,
B-13/14, Eri scheme, Industriaql Estate, Mgappair East,
Chennai – 600 037-
Mob:09840446137, 044- 22452438
Re-imaging People with Gender Identity Disorder Existence;
Bringing Dignity and societal concern to their life.
-----------
“Inner strengths, experiences, and truths cannot be lost, destroyed, or taken away. Every child has an inborn worth and can contribute to the human community. All can treat one another with dignity and respect, provide opportunities to grow towards fullest lives and help one another discover and develop our unique gifts. Everyone deserves this and all should extend it to others.”
“Trans-gender, which gender expression can occur independently of biological sex, it's quite understandable that transgendered people are wrestling within this culturally imposed conflict in very personal and profound ways? The processes of gender transgression are simply a way for Spirit to transcend the passing whims and dictates of human cultures in order to more freely manifest its glorious diversity in Nature-and in our very flesh”.
It’s a unique awareness and rare opportunities to enrich our world. But the existence of transgendered people is despised, denied and trivialize.
------------------------------------
Introduction:
Childhood:
Gender may well be the most basic thing in the elements that make up human personality. In fact, gender is so basic to our identity, most people mistakenly assume our sense of being male or female is defined with absolute certainty by our anatomical sex. Contrary to popular belief, one's sense of gender and one's anatomical sex are two distinct elements: each developing at different times in different parts of the body.
Gender appears to be a continuum with most people gathered at either end, the rest being somewhere in between. Feelings of discomfort or complete inappropriateness about one's assigned sex, does not mean the individual is wrong or ill. It simply means that the original assignment was made based on an absolutism that is inconsistent with the possibilities of human development.
For children (person), whose sex and gender map are congruent, this insight typically goes unnoticed. However, if there is a sex/gender map incongruency, the child is left perplexed about his or her gender status and begins a lifelong, often compulsive search for resolution of the discrepancy.
Adolescents:
The arrival of adolescence increases the difficulties for children with gender identity disorder. Without fail, the subsequent development of secondary sex characteristics counter to the individual's desires increases anxiety. Often, frustration sets in, and determination to finally resolve the problem becomes the individual's driving force in life.
Since enforced outward behavior has no permanent influence on internal gender understanding, these activities serve only to complicate the individual's social involvement, resulting in anxiety about expressing his/her true felt gender.
This anxiety state is characterized by feelings of confusion, shame, guilt, and fear. These individuals are confused over an inability to handle their gender identity problem in the same way they readily handle other problems in life. They feel shame over an inability to control what they believe society considers to be sexually perverse activities. Even though cross-dressing and cross-gender fantasies provide much-needed temporary relief, these activities often leave the individual profoundly ashamed of what she or he has done. Closely associated with shame is guilt over being dishonest by hiding secret needs and desires from family, friends, and society.
Gender Identity Disorder is a real and serious problem. Due to lack of awareness, the cause or causes of the problem that these individuals feel toward their assigned sex, can be reasonably certain that it is connected with either a congenital irregularity, an irregularity that occurs in the first few years of childhood or some combination of the two.
Parents need to be concerned when a child openly expresses dissatisfaction with his or her sex. Such as when a boy says "I want to be a girl" or when a girl insist she is a boy.
Children are born with a drive to seek love and acceptance by each parent, siblings and peers. If this need is met, children develop an acceptance of their masculinity or femininity. When this developmental task is successfully completed, the child is free to choose gender atypical activities.
Unfortunately in Indian context the help one get depends almost entirely on the attitude of the society.
The national level policies that make transsexual people's lives pluralized with the society should be made.
Social structure enforcing and reinforcing children with GID (Education and standard living):
Since culturally/mythologically perpetuating gender identities to sustain the patriarchal structure of the society, it makes the family vulnerable to discriminate the children with GID, which leads to make them dropout from schools and other social activities , make them evacuate themselves from the biological family/society and lead towards group living which is closed and uninstituionalised.
Health aspect:
Since outward behavior has no permanent influence on internal gender understanding, these activities serve only to complicate the individual's social involvement, resulting in anxiety about expressing the true felt gender.
Unfortunately in Indian context the help one get depends almost entirely on the attitude of the medical professionals take at the outset. Some people do not get a referral to any service and some people get referred to the wrong service. No medical service is adequate in that it doesn't and cannot at the present moment do anything about the worst problem, which is the ignorant and prejudiced treatment that children with GID and transsexual adults receive from society at large. That includes children with CONGENITAL ADRENAL HYPOPLASIA (Hermaphrodites-Born with genital deformity).
Community (Group living):
Somewhere, there are people to whom they can speak with passion without having the words catch in throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive , eyes will light up as enter, voices will celebrate with each other, whenever gather into own power. Community means strength that joins everybody’s strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where felt to be free.
But the actual scenario is completely different :Exploitation and manipulation is the existing nature in Trans people’s community.
Its found that person one in 400, identified with GID.
Intervention among Transgender women towards bringing adequate values of rights to people with Gender identity disorder
Conversations with Transgender women towards recollecting their childhood memories:
Out of hundred Transpeople (M to F),
65% of them told that their family members were trying to correct their behavior (not to behave like a girl) but it was very difficult for them to do and couldn’t explain to the family members about their orientation.
60% of them express the discrimination by teachers in schools.
10% of them revealed that they were sexually abused by their relatives, teachers, seniors and class mates.
80% of them lost trust in future and showed less interest in studies.
70% of them walked out of the family before 18, and there was no track from either from family or legal system.
95% of them joined in group living system and pursued sex change and involved in commercial sex work and begging.
80% of the people involved in commercial sex work were booked under legal action in various levels.
3% of them involved in HIV/AIDS activities.
98% told that ‘if they given an opportunity to reunite with the family, they would do that’.
60% of them are in touch with the family indirectly.
5% showed interest in redoing their education.
90% of them are in stress being out casted from mainstream.
99% of them expressed that their childhood has been ruined.
Recommendation:
• National child policy should include CGID and address their issues on participation, protection and child tracking system when they go missing.
• Children with GID need a provision to access formal education would lead to dignified standard
• of living and livelihood.
• Research need to be conducted towards unethical treatment of Children with GID in the society.
• Strengthen children with GID/Family, participation in education by facilitating processes of collective reflection/assessment, agenda building and re-orientation of strategies for their empowerment.
• Contribute to current discussions and debates that reflect on the state, dilemmas and trajectory of the Transgenderism.
• Facilitate a series of semi-structured group discussions and individual interviews (called “conversations”) with familes/Transgender women. Some of the broad themes towards explore in these conversations would be:
Experience sharing about childhood, evacuation from the family.
Difficulties and challenges faced by them in this arena
Insights and recommendations
Review of local literature on Children with GID/Transgender women in general.
Conduct case studies to highlight the Children with GID/Transgender women’s strategies in engaging in routine life.
Long term plans:
Strengthening Transgender women:
Focus on the quality of participation rather than the quantity of Transgender women participating, women’s concerns/voices are visible, taken seriously and addressed, whether they are in key positions in decision-making groups, they should also be “mainstreaming” social issues.
Participation:
Physical presence, voice and ability to influence outcomes of decision-making spaces in the public sphere like education to dignified life.
• Family level, school level counseling exclusively given by the trained counselors.
• Particular guidelines should be made which could prevent stigmatizing the children with GID and the family children belong.
• Since this natural status is very sensitive and involves more psychological dealings, whatever the process involves GID, like disclosure, investigation, counseling and social inclusion activities should be handled carefully, and confidentiality should be maintained throughout the process.
• Enroll in informal education for drop outs due GID.
• Training accordingly for illiterate, semi literate and literates.
• Create awareness in educational institutions for inclusive education (Enabled environment)..
• Create awareness among main stream (doctors, parents and teachers) to be aware and motivate them to bring up the children with gender identity disorder.(to create enable environment)
• Influencing child protection and education policies of the state.
• Unique policy to enroll in education after the change of identification (sex change).
• Create international classifications of functioning through psychological analysis, cognitive rehabilitation and counseling.
• Dcumentation/Research.
Masculine-to-feminine transgendered people share this momentum and are committing their lives to personifying the struggle. Many feminine-to-masculine transgendered people are also striving to bring the best of womanhood into a new sense of what it is to be. This long forbidden cross pollination of gender has the potential to enable all of them to become more fully human. Therefore, just as women are reclaiming their connection with the divine, transgendered people are reconnecting with own rich spiritual heritage and reclaiming sacred space.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
hey all i am planning for a "kootanchoru" activity with Aranvayal children from Thiruvallur district. Sponsors and participatns are welcome. one day activity making food with freshly harvested grains and vegtables from the farm and do some play activities with children till evening. this is purely a program with fun, just to make the children relax after their school finals.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Children/People with gender nonconfirmity
hi guys,
this is olga. want to give a different dimension to transgenderism. so i have gender identity disorder advocacy consortium. along with me the members are eminant psychologists, social activists, academicians, policy makers and ofcourse my trans friends. people who have queries regarding GID/transgendrism you can buzz me any time. regards. olga.
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