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TRIGGER-WARNING: This article contains mentions of suicide. The episode contrains mentions of suicide, body-disphoria & pedophelia.
Last week the bi-sexual Kaia Manoeli joined me on The Slut Show to discuss her sexuality. We talked about the male dominated porn industry, cum on your face and questioning your sexuality growing up in a heteronormative society. Today transman Deen is back in the studio with me to talk about the current mental health and criminalisation crisis transgender people are currently facing.
Slutty Science
This weeks Slutty Science builds on the Slutty Science from the second episode of this season, in which we defined what transgender means. Defining this can only be done if you understand and can make a difference between sex and gender.
A quick recap: I was born with the sex of a woman. My gender identity is female too and therefore I am a cis Woman.
Deen was born with the sex of a woman, he however identifies as transmasculine/ non binary. Therefore Deen is a transgender man.
That being said, let’s talk statistics. Brunei, Indonesia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malawi, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, The Gambia & the United Arab Emirates all have one thing in common: they make up for the 15 countries in which expression of being transgender is illegal.
The punishment that follows if, in those countries, you do express being transgender varies to a maximum of lifelong imprisonment, fines and even the deathpenalty.
But don’t be fooled. Those 15 countries that have made being transgender illegal openly, do not add up to all the countries where same-sex, private, consensual, sexual activity is criminalised.
72 jurisdictions around the globe still criminalise private, consensual, same-sex sexual activity.
A study from 2018 shows that on average nearly 14% of adolescents have previously attempted suicide.
Less than 1 in 5 cis female adolescents attempted suicide. Amongst cis male adolescents this is an amount of less than 1 in 10 attempted suicides.
The amount of suicide attempts amongst transgenders sky rockets in comparison to those among cis gender folks:
27% of adolescents questioning their gender attempted suicide. 29% of adolescent transgender women have attempted suicide. 41% of adolescent non-binary folks have attempted suicide. And a baffling 50% of adolescent transgender men have attempted suicide.
Concluding this week's Slutty Science; both criminalisation and mental health amongst transgenders are urgent international issues that require immediate resolution within every area of society.
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I hope to see you on my socials until next week and for now: Sluts Out!
Lots of love,
Sources
Abramowitz, J. (2018). Transgender medicine- transitioning transgender children to adulthood. Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders, 19(3), 227–230. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11154-018-9458-z
Bradford, N. J., DeWitt, J., Decker, J., Berg, D. R., Spencer, K. G., & Ross, M. W. (2018). Sex education and transgender youth: ‘Trust Means Material By and For Queer and Trans People’. Sex Education, 19(1), 84–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2018.1478808
Cavalcante, A. (2016). “I Did It All Online:” Transgender identity and the management of everyday life. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 33(1), 109–122. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295036.2015.1129065
DuBois, L. Z., Powers, S., Everett, B. G., & Juster, R.-P. (2017). Stigma and diurnal cortisol among transitioning transgender men. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 82, 59–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.05.008
LGBT & The Law. (z.d.). Geraadpleegd op 22 december 2020, van https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/
#OUTLAWED: “The love that dare not speak its name”. (z.d.). Geraadpleegd op 22 december 2020, van http://internap.hrw.org/features/features/lgbt_laws/
Proulx, C. N., Coulter, R. W. S., Egan, J. E., Matthews, D. D., & Mair, C. (2019). Associations of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning–Inclusive Sex Education With Mental Health Outcomes and School-Based Victimization in U.S. High School Students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 64(5), 608–614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.11.012
Toomey, R. B., Syvertsen, A. K., & Shramko, M. (2018). Transgender Adolescent Suicide Behavior. Pediatrics, 142(4), e20174218. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-4218