Expanding Gender and Expanding the Law

Expanding Gender and Expanding the Law: Toward a Social and Legal Conceptualization of Gender that is more Inclusive of Transgender People. Was written by Dylan Vade in 2005. The central theme of the paper falls around gender rights. The author emphasized, there is a need for better rights in regards to transgender people.  They are being murdered, discriminated against and are denied access to schools and health benefits. An alarming fact is that each month a transgender is murdered (Dylan 2006). Police brutality is not uncommon especially in the city of San Francisco. Not a whole lot is doing to help these people advance in life. A significant amount of transgender is homeless and most are denied access into shelters. The most common reason this group is subject to this mistreatment is because of their gender identity. The author expresses how there is a need for more than just two genders.

After reading this article I quickly could relate it to a week three reading in JS 132. The article was written by Anne Fausto – Sterling. It lists several explanations why there should be more emphasis on viewing sex as a social construct. Currently our society bases sex on biological factors. The author explained how she wanted to turn everyone’s focus away from the genitals. There is much emphasis placed on labels and generalizations in regards to people who are transgender. In Expanding Gender and Expanding the Law the author states that being transgender is being diverse. Not all people fit the same mold. Some are gay, heterosexual or lesbian that fit many descriptions. Many do not identify as a boy or girl but as a third gender.

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