The Complexities Of Transgender Mental Health - 953 Words

NPR 1 – Probing the Complexities of Transgender Mental Health A man and a woman get pregnant and decide that they are going to learn the sex of the baby as soon as they can. Neither really care the sex of the child as long as the child is healthy. However, the man would not mind a boy who can carry on the family name, while the woman sees visions of pink. During the sixteenth week of pregnancy, the doctor preforms a blood test and the parents find out they are having a boy. How excited they both are. They prep the room by painting it blue and get linens for the bed in a sports theme. The baby shower comes and everything they registered follows symbolic interactionist - items are blue, sports, dump trucks, etc. After months of†¦show more content†¦They are counseled on how to help a child who is transgendered. Transgender is a topic that many are uncomfortable to address. However, in a society that is evolving individuals need to be equipped with tools on how t o except diversity and embrace unique characteristics of all people. Transgendered individuals feel shame and guilt for not fitting into the expectations of norms that society creates. Society needs to be educated and there needs to be awareness risen regarding transgender individuals. Without awareness, many fall victim to social problems such as mental health, poverty, and discrimination. For a person who is transgender, gender dysphoria sets in at a young age. The individual is uncomfortable and displeased with their biological sex because it does not match their gender identity. This is compounded with societal norms that use symbolic interactionism to show what the gender expression should look like. The pressure from family, friends, and society can cause discomfort and disappointment with the biological sex they are born, which results in anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems. The dysphoria often is a promoter to make the individual change their body and gender expression to be more in line with what is felt to be their gender identity. A lot of the trauma that gender dysphoric children particularly experience is the lack of validation, the kind of ongoing, No, you re not what you say you are; you are what the