Today’s post on Change.org, titled “The Road To Transgender Equality is Long. Help Shorten It” explains how transgender people are still facing more discrimination than even gays.

there’s new evidence that the “T” has seen the least progress of the other three letters of that oft-used acronym

While I am privileged enough to have never faced harsh discrimination for being trans, gay, or queer, I realize it’s not that easy for many others. Some people don’t have the choice or the means to get up and move to another city, or to “just look for another job” where they won’t be harassed. They are forced to deal with, and according to the article, overcome, everyday discrimination. Moreover, being transgender is usually much more salient, given the physical nature of it, than say being gay. If you never mention your partner, nobody has to know. However, if you are transitioning at 30, 40, or even 50, it’s more likely you won’t “pass” all the time, wearing your transgender status on your sleeve, face, and pants all the time. Furthermore, publicly discriminating against someone who is visibly disabled is not only illegal, it is perceived as being politically incorrect, as being wrong, so people avoid doing it. But discriminating against someone who is transgender is not only (usually) quite within the legal scope, it is also not perceived as wrong, because hey, everyone else does it! Hence why laws are very important, and so is increasing visibility, awareness, and understanding of transgender people.

The article is based on The National Transgender Discrimination Survey Report which you can peruse at: http://endtransdiscrimination.org/report.html. Read the full Change.org post here.