These days we seem to talk a lot about the LGBT community, but there is one group that tends be missed when talking about LGBT rights. This group is referred to by many as transexuals. They are defined as people who identify as a different gender than the biological sex he or she was born. Many transgenders claim they feel like they were put in the wrong body at birth and were meant to be the opposite sex. In other words, they possess a self-identity that does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender. 

According to Sciencedaily.com, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine suggest there are biological attributions for transexuality.

Since the findings “suggest” there are  biological reasons, there are still many in the medical community who doubt the biological explanation. Many physicians are huge skeptics on the subject. They believe that it is not at all related to biological processes and is strictly psychological. In fact, when asked to provide care for such patients, many immediately direct them right to a psychologist as opposed to treating them as people with biological conditions. That’s another thing. A lot of people categorize transexuality as a disorder than just a way of life. Many people believe it is just something that needs to be treated instead of a person’s way of life that needs to be embraced.

For example, social and religious conservatives believe that the transexual “condition” can all be cured with some treatment (therapy) and religion (praying). Actually, it’s the exact opposite. People need to embrace who they are or else they will never truly be happy. If this type of unhappiness continues, it can lead to severe depression and possibly suicide.

According to Thinkprogress.org, The 2011 National Transgender Discrimination Survey showed “that in the U.S., 41 percent of transgender and gender nonconforming people had attempted suicide, compared to a national average of just 4.6 percent.”

Researchers found that the more discrimination a transgender encountered, the higher the risk of suicide. Some conservatives believe that transexuals commit suicide because they are mentally ill and therefore, have a psychological disorder. This is an extremely false categorization considering the fact that it has been many years since gender dysphoria was officially no longer considered a mental disorder.

The only forms of treatment transgenders want is sex reassignment surgery and hormone therapy. This is useful to people who feel they no longer want to be the gender he or she does not identify with. For example, a man might decide he wants to receive the surgery in order to truly make the transition into becoming a woman. Hormone therapy is sometimes used after surgery as well as by people who want to slowly transition to the gender they identify most with. However, not all transgenders get surgery or hormone treatments. To some, it’s just simply a state of mind.

So America let’s ask ourselves, do we really want to keep putting people down who just want to be accepted, or are we going to move towards a brighter future that allows everyone to be who they are?