Gender identity not quite cut and dry
Lecturer discusses difficulties of expression in third world countries
By Lauren McLendon
Published: Friday, October 8, 2010
http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/gender-identity-not-quite-cut-and-dry-1.1673325 (http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/gender-identity-not-quite-cut-and-dry-1.1673325)
When international development practitioner Chloe Schwenke asked 27 people gathered in Van Munching Hall Wednesday whether they had ever gotten to know a transgendered person, just three people raised their hands.
Schwenke's discussion, "Human Dignity Denied: Gender Identity and Expression in Developing Countries," addressed that unfamiliarity. But while the struggle of transgendered people to be recognized is alive and well in the United States, Schwenke explained, the situation is far more dire in Third World countries, where most transgendered people are beaten, abused and castrated for trying to live their lives.