Have you ever felt discriminated against at your doctor’s office? Do you feel uncomfortable identifying yourself as singularly ‘male’ or ‘female’ on forms and applications? The Rainbow Pride Union held a forum Tuesday on gender biases that addressed issues of sexual identity.
The discussion was attended by about 30 students of varying sexual orientations and gender identities.
Deborah Elliston, professor of anthropology at Binghamton University, began the forum with a discussion of her work in queer anthropology.
‘Gender binary in the United States and Western societies is closely tied with biology. This is not so in non-Western societies,’ Elliston said.
She explained that although all cultures have a concept of gender difference, many societies assign gender roles based in what type of labor someone does, not an individual’s anatomy.
According to Ellison, this concept of gender identity exists in stark contrast to modern American society, where transsexuals must be clinically diagnosed as gender dysphoric in order to undergo a surgical gender transition.
‘There is no room for the shades of gray that people live their lives in,’ Elliston said.
Another issue addressed was that of ‘women’s gender non-conformity,’ which, according to several attendees, is not taken as seriously as men’s.
When girls dress up as boys, society sees it as endearing, but when boys wear non-gender-typical attire, it is frowned upon.
‘Women are given more leeway than males,’ said sophomore Ethan Lewis.
Some participants said issues of gender identity and sexual orientation can cause awkwardness and confusion in medical situations. Several students cited instances in which their doctors’ personal prejudices against non-heterosexuals was exhibited during health examinations.
Elliston pointed out that in the past, it was common for doctors to inquire what type of birth control a woman was using at the beginning of a consultation, implying that doctors assumed female patients were straight.
Biases against women in health care can also be seen in the types of contraceptives available for women, Elliston added. There are 11 different kinds of contraceptives for women while there are only two available for men. Avoiding pregnancy is seen as an issue that is largely the female’s responsibility.
Members in attendance suggested that it is biases such as these that have contributed to the failure of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. At the moment, there is no federal law prohibiting discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Many supporters of ENDA hope that the American government can be convinced to change this prejudice.
The Human Rights Campaign, a national gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender civil rights organization, has been accused of being narrow-minded for only supporting a limited version of this act. While HRC currently supports the prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation, they are not officially supporting the section of ENDA that protects an employee’s gender identity. This means that transgendered people can be fired based on their physical presentation.
‘People are not protected unless their gender expression is protected,’ said Gender Community Outreach Coordinator and BU alumnus Alistair Krempel.