Achievements of the Transgender Movement

During the past 30 years, the transgender movement achieved significant progress in the United States.  Transgender activists have successfully gained footing in the legislative arena. Transgender rights and identity have become a topic of serious inquiry in virtually every academic field, from psychology to political theory. 

In the legislative arena, transgender activists have suceeded in adding transgender groups into nondiscrimination and hate crime laws in several states and dozens of municipalities.  Non-discrimination policies for over 200 corporations, including Fortune 500 companies and academic institutions, now include gender identity.(1)  In 2004, for the first time ever, a federal court of appeals ruled that transgender people who are discriminated against in the workplace are protected under Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.

In the social arena, transgender activists have founded numerous social services and advocacy organizations, such as Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, International Journal of Transgenderism, and Transgender Law and Policy Institute.  At this point, almost every lesbian/gay/bisexual organization has begun to include transgendered people in its mission statements.

 

 

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Resources

(1) Currah, P., Juang, R.M., and Minter, S.P. (2006) Transgender rights Minneapolis, MN: The University of Minnesota Press.