Transgender men and women are finally getting recognition in today’s society with the help of trans people like Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner and also through of new shows such as "Transparent and I am Cait." But with this newfound recognition that transgender people have, there is discrimination for some odd reason. I have seen countless people state how the transgender people are still the same sex as their birth sex or that they still call trans woman a he or a trans man a she. The pronoun game is often played, and it is despicable because it is a way to show to the trans community that they do not exist. If you didn’t know transgender means, one’s gender does not correspond with their sex, which is an alien aspect to some because the meanings of sex and gender have been thought to coincide. But let me tell you that gender and sex are two different concepts. Gender is more social while sex is more scientific, which could be why Facebook uses gender instead of sex so transgender, agender, or gender fluid people can show who they are.

But where is the need to discriminate against transgender citizens? We should see them as their gender, and if they are happy with the way they are, then we have no business intruding in their happiness; but other people disagree with me. Ideologies of others prevent them from accepting transgender people, whether it is due to religious beliefs or thinking the idea is just “weird.” But think of it this way: transgender people may not have the same values as you, which is why it is unfair to push your practices on them and prevent them from being happy. Trans men and women feel trapped in bodies that they do not believe fit them and would do anything to change their situation. Now they have the ability to change their gender physically, and there is backlash against them, saying it is going against God because God made them in his light. But if God made them, then God also made them wanting to change their gender because transgender individuals do not wake up one day and feel that they are in the wrong body; this is a continuous feeling that is always there. The way a lot of our fellow members of society treat the members of the transgender community does not help the 41 percent suicide rate of transgender citizens in the United States. These are people, and we should treat them with the respect they deserve because they have done nothing wrong to be discriminated against.

I do not get why transphobia is a thing in our culture. From saying that they should not be role models to saying that they are still the gender they had been previously, I have seen a lot of discrimination of transgender people. But why? Caitlyn Jenner won an award for courage, and there was controversy because people believed that a soldier or a child with cancer deserved it more. Frankly, all these people are courageous, and no award determines if they are or not. I have seen people say they do not deserve to be role models, but Laverne Cox from the hit TV show Orange is the New Black is known for her activism in the LGBT community. Others abuse the concept of being transgender so they can go in the other genders' bathroom.

There needs to be education to prevent transphobia in our society because 41 percent is a lot, and that number is a spotlight that is showing how our culture treats transgender individuals. There needs to be more representation of transgender individuals because having a few shows and movies is not enough. Putting transgender people in the media is not forcing an agenda down society’s throat; it is simply showing that these people exist and are a part of society. Reparative therapy, which is an attempt to try and make a trans individual’s gender identity match their sex, is another form of intolerance towards the transgender community and needs to end. The old ideals about gender need to be updated because we live in a constantly changing society, and we need to adjust values to the times. It will take a long time, but an attempt to be open and understand transgender individuals is a start.