An Invisible Population

There is a group that meets the first Monday of every month. This week brings a rather large turn out of twelve. One man with slicked back hair is from Colorado and says he comes because he does not have anyone to communicate with here in Tucson. One woman wearing metallic silver shoes is from Chicago. It is her first time attending. She says curiosity has brought her. Another woman with bright teal toenails arrives late but is unable to contain her excitement as she announces to the group she is legally changing her name to Jennifer and she is nervous about the process. These three individuals share a commonality with the rest of the group. They are transgender men and transgender women working to blend with the rest of society.
            Transgender people face discrimination that is double the rate of the general population, with transgender people of color up to four times the national unemployment rate, according to a 2008 report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey that included 6, 450 transgender participants from all 50 states. Like any one of us, without employment they are faced with adverse outcomes. These outcomes range from homelessness to black market lifestyles or even suicide. “The job market is hard for everyone these days with this economy. For people of transgender its that much harder,” says Erin Russ, a transgender woman and director for the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance. “Employers choose from a large pool of employees. They owe nothing to people who are transgender. They don’t have to pick us, even if we may be better qualified for a position.”
            Some transgender men and women have also faced serious discrimination within the workplace. Jillian Barfield, now director of  an online trans-friendly website Job Bank, says even though she was vice president of her company she was fired by her boss and then threatened she would be punched in the face if she did not leave. All as a result of  her decision to change her biological gender. “I worked at Mastercard afterwards. Employees wanted to fight me so I had to quit that too.”
            The rate of acceptance is often a slow one. However, the more visible a problem the more the public recognizes the need for a solution. Transgender people are a minority and many know they have a long road ahead however, hope and the idea of training the mind of ignorance is what keeps this population pushing for equality.