Psychopathology, Discrimination and Gender Issues
Scenario: Generally, we have considered sexual harassment actions or verbal abuse of women to be done by men. Over the past several decades, the culture of society has evolved. The diversity of sex and gender has erupted from male abuses of females based on their biology. Now, there are gender reassignments which allow for persons with the psychological inclination to be the gender other than what they were born as being possible. Further, there are a number of transgender persons who, while retaining their biological configuration, adopt the psyche and outward appearance through dress and mannerisms of what is considered to be the traditional opposite gender of their physiology.
Recently, a newly assigned outwardly female officer was found out by her teammates in a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit to actually be a biological male. Several of the SWAT team members have come to you as the SWAT Command Leader and have voiced their concern because the transgender officer uses the ladies room, wears makeup, and dresses as a woman in her civilian attire at the end of the shift. The officers making the complaint are claiming that someone with a psychopathological problem should not be in the SWAT unit. You go to the Deputy Chief with their concerns and she tells you to prepare a briefing for the SWAT members concerning the requirements for SWAT team membership and that if an officer makes the grade, he or she has the opportunity to be a SWAT officer.
In a 3–5-page paper, you must explain to the officers, including those who complained as well as those who did not complain, that the department supports the assignment of the new officer and that according to law, she must be accepted as a valid member of the team so long as she is qualified. Further, explain that transphobia is not an acceptable attitude for members of the team and that any discriminatory action on the part of officers concerning the new officer would not be tolerated and would be met with appropriate disciplinary action.
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Abstract
The world today is experiencing significant changes within society, and one of the sectors affected is gender. People are beginning to reassign their genders to reflect what they feel and not what they were assigned when born. However, the larger part of society has not been easy to conform to these changes. Take the example of a SWAT team that has recently discovered one of their female members has male genitals. It is typical for the team to be shocked and look for means of harassing the individual. This paper looks into the response of the Command Leader to the teammates to help them understand the psychopathology behind transgender. Not only is the mental state of such individuals looked into, but also the laws that protect them within the work environment.
Psychopathology, Discrimination, and Gender Issues
Transgender people face discrimination in a society based on their gender orientation. This could lead to mental issues, making them psychopathological. Due to everyday hate, lack of trust, and teasing, these individuals exhibit heightened stress levels that are not healthy for any human being. The case of the female team member in SWAT who has recently been discovered to have male genitals is an example of how people react to transgender. It is therefore essential to understand such individuals and the laws that protect them from discrimination since transphobia could have an impact on how the individuals perform at work. In today’s world, equality is vital regardless of an individual’s gender orientation.
Psychopathology of Transgender People
Transgender means that someone is not comfortable with the sex that they were assigned at birth. Which explains why the teammate feels more comfortable dressing up as a lady. Not everyone changes their genitals whereas these changes can be done through surgery or hormones can be used to bring about other bodily changes. Transgender people have exhibited signs to be psychopathological since they undergo a lot of discrimination in society (Muleiro and Pinto, 2015). Besides the bias, they also face social exclusion and stigma. Since society sees them to be not healthy, they are often victims of bullying, teasing mand economic segregation. This then leads to mental illnesses characterized by anxiety depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, and suicide. However, those who are transitioned within the society with the support of the gender they prefer do not exhibit these symptoms. They have normative levels of depression and only minimum standards of anxiety (Olson and Durword, 2016). Therefore, it is easy to say that transgender people can or cannot be psychopathological. Not everyone who is transgender has mental issues.
Transphobia and Discrimination
The attitude of transphobia is composed of fear, lack of trust, hate, and disbelief towards transgender people by those who do not understand why such people want to change their gender. This is because the case was not typical traditionally but has recently been on the rise due to human rights that protect the choices people make. Such circumstances have led to discrimination at the workplace, making it hard for people to fit in; an example is the SWAT transgender person discriminated since she uses the ladies washrooms but has male genitals. The negative attitudes for transgender cause rumors to spread at the workplace about the individual. The scenario shows how the SWAT members were uncomfortable with their colleague since they were not used to having such cases. Their actions were severe towards the transgender since they voice their concerns to the Command Leader and Deputy Chief. The stigma within the individual at the SWAT team will become enhanced due to the discrimination (Muleiro and Pinto, 2015). Transgender people are already a stigmatized group; therefore, the bias at work only contributes to their mental disorder.
Transgender People and the Law
The most important thing for the SWAT team to understand is that the Federal Law protects employees who are transgender. SWAT is also governed by these laws. Therefore, it would be impossible to take action against the teammate who considers herself female. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects discrimination against work, which makes the teammate protected under this Act. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 prohibits discrimination of conduct unless it interferes with performance. In this case, using the ladies bathroom does not affect the performance of the team member and proves no grounds to confront the individual. Executive Order 13087 and Executive Order 13672 also prohibit discrimination against the sexual orientation of individuals based on their sexual orientation by their federal contractors (NCTE 2019). The law requires that these people be treated with respect since they have the right to carry out their duties as all other employees.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Command Leader is obliged to inform the team that the female teammate makes the grade and should not be discriminated. She has an equal opportunity to carry out her life as before as long as her performance is not affected. It is also essential to know that the law demands equal rights for transgender and requires discrimination against the population to be done away with at the workplace.
References
Muleiro, C., & Pinto, N. (2015). Sexual orientation and gender identity: review of concepts, controversies and their relation to psychopathology classification systems. Frontiers In Psychology. doi: 0.3389/fpsyg.2015.01511
NCTE. (2019). Employment (Federal). Retrieved 3 August 2019, from https://transequality.org/know-your-rights/employment-federal
Olson KR., & Durwood, L. (2016). Mental Health of Transgender Children Who Are Supported in Their Identities. Pediatrics. 137(3):e20153223
