Discrimination Against Transgender People
The ACLU champions the rights of transgender people to live their lives freely and with respect. We fight for protections against discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations (including schools), and health care. We also challenge obstacles to people obtaining government identity documents respectful of their gender identity, as well as barriers to transgender parents seeking continuing relationships with their children.
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Many Americans are profoundly uncomfortable with transgender people. Gender norms are deeply imbedded in our collective psyche, and transgender people directly challenge them. Transgender and gender-nonconforming people often face difficulties meeting their basic needs (getting a job, housing, or health care) or in having their gender identity respected (like in the simple act of going to a public restroom).
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Much of the discrimination that transgender people face mirrors that experienced by lesbian, gay and bisexual people, but is often more severe. Additionally, transgender people face a range of legal issues that LGB people rarely do: identity documents not reflective of one’s gender, sex-segregated public restrooms and other facilities, dress codes that perpetuate traditional gender norms, and barriers to access to appropriate health care.
Despite these differences, the ACLU believes that it’s essential to work jointly on anti-gay and anti-transgender discrimination because they are directly linked. Much of the discrimination faced by gay people occurs not because of the nature of their sexual attraction, but because they are challenging society’s norms on how men or women “should” act (in part through the relationships they form, in part by their gender expression). Truly eliminating LGBT discrimination depends on eradicating gender stereotypes, and fighting gender identity discrimination does that directly.
Additional Resources
ACLU Challenges Unconstitutional Illinois Requirements For Correcting Transgender Birth Certificates (2011 press release)
Transgender Rights: Illinois Birth Certificates (2009 video): Victoria Kirk and Karissa Rothkopf are plaintiffs in a lawsuit the ACLU filed to change a provision of Illinois law that makes it difficult for transsexual individuals to change the gender markers on that state's birth certificates. Both plaintiffs were born in Illinois but, because they chose to have their gender confirmation surgeries performed by doctors outside of the U.S., the state has refused to change the gender markers on their birth certificates to reflect their gender identity.
Grey v Arnold (2011 Video): Lauren Grey, Victor Williams, and Nicholas Guarino are plaintiffs in a lawsuit the ACLU filed to change a provision of Illinois law that makes it difficult for many transsexual individuals to change the gender markers on their birth certificates. All three plaintiffs were born in Illinois and had some form of gender confirmation surgery, but the state has refused to change the gender markers on their birth certificates to reflect their gender identity because they have not undergone the specific surgery required by the state.
Alaska Requirements for Correcting Transgender Driver’s Licenses are Unconstitutional, Says ACLU (2011 press release)
Handy Tips for Transgender Travelers (2010 blog post)
A Landmark Decision on Job Rights for Transgender Federal Employee
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Know Your Rights - Transgender People and the Law (2009 resource)
