Institutionalization of Workplace Discrimination of Trans Persons
There are two main forms of institutionalization I have come across so far in researching for my project. The main one I have also read about and seen in the news and other forms of media. There are some states that do refuse to pass legislation that protects the rights of transgender individuals and allows them to be fired for their gender identity. Since the government itself refuses to pass legislation it sends the message that they are viewed as less important and can become the target of discrimination at work since there are no repercussions to their actions. Everyone should be concerned about this because it says that the government is allowed to determine some people as being less valuable than others. The people behind these laws should also be worried because the Supreme Court has ruled that transgender are protected under the law nationwide and hence they can, and should, face fairly substantial punishments.
Another place I have seen this discrimination is in teaching positions, though the cause of it differs between the actual school and parents. This discrimination happens in all levels of schooling, from elementary school to college. Some parents think the teachers gender shouldn’t be a distraction while others identity trans individuals as sex offenders. Sometimes the school also decides to remove a teacher from their position after they return, presenting as a different gender than before. The problem with this is it sends a message to kids that trans individuals are wrong and without having any experience or knowledge about them can cause kids be confused later on in life with gender binary non-conforming persons.
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/07/the-k-12-binary/398060/
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/04/29/3432042/texas-transgender-teacher-klug/