About a hundred years ago, cases of trans people, including Lili Elbe, came about. Born in Denmark, Elbe was a Danish painter. She was the first woman to have a sex reassignment surgery, and be successfully identified as a trans-woman. Almost a century later, trans people are being noticed more. Transgender is a general term for an individual who does not associate with the sex they were born with. Societal attitudes, the media and basic education about the characteristics of trans individuals, show a new found visibility.
To start off, societal attitudes are the main influence of this new exposure of transgenders. Society has indeed became more accepting of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities. Politicians have also made their mark by voicing their own opinions, mostly positive and accepting. Recently, President Obama has voiced his thoughts on marriage equality, which included the action of new bills being written. These bills outlined the protection of trans individuals from any discrimination in the workplace. The campaigning politicians, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, have also actively spoken about LGBT individuals and have began to base their campaigns around these communities.
The contribution of the media gives a multitude of support to trans individuals: Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, even Facebook. Not only is there support coming from these social media outlets, a lot of "media stars" are announcing their sexual orientation such as Gigi Lazzarato and Ingrid Nilson. Television shows like "Orange is the New Black", have also represented trans individuals.
Education also plays a role for transgender visibility. Caitlyn Jenner has been a monumental advocate by using her celebrity status to educate people all over the world about transgender and LGBT individuals. Caitlyn was recently recognized for the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Caitlyn gave an acceptance speech, and here are a couple notable mentions.
"Trans people deserve something vital — they deserve your respect."
"It's about all of us accepting one another. We're all different — it's not a bad thing."
Caitlyn Jenner's show, "I Am Cait", is a documentation of her journey of transitioning into a woman, while educating everyone else in society.
Undoubtedly, there are positive and negative effects of this particular exposure. For instance, one positive effect is easily noticed as a decrease in suicide rates among the transgender communities.
One negative effect is an increase of hate crimes or murders of transgender individuals. For instance, reports in the Time magazine show the rate of hate crime at its highest, 15, and has never historically been higher.
The more representation and recognition of transgender people will slowly but surely allow hate and ignorance of society to subside and eventually bring acceptance of everyone. It is important to educate yourself on the new norm and become knowledgeable of the facts.
