CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECTS - TRANSGENDER/SEXUAL INMATE RIGHTS
Channel: Círculo Bohemio
Date: 27/04/2020

Outline Speech Communication
George Alberto Gonzalez Jr
West Coast University

 
Thesis Statement: 
Transsexual inmates need their hormonal medication and treatment should be paid by the state, like it is the responsibility of the Institution to pay medical treatment to all of their inmates as required by law.
OUTLINE:
       A short story was published in 1972 by Louis Gould The Story of Baby X (Gould, L. 1972) and it reminded me of a song written by S. Silverstein A Boy Named Sue which was performed by Johnny Cash in San Quentin Prison in 1969 (Johnny Cash at San Quentin. 1969). This song tells about the bullying and general hardship the boy named Sue got for being named like a girl. This song helps open up the scene to the fight that transsexual inmates are facing, the same general idea applies; counter mainstream culture or social norms set but society. My informative essay is about how transsexuals are treated and how they are not evening fighting to go the jail or prison of the sex that they identify with but more with support with getting the hormones they need to keep on the treatment they had started before going to jail or prison. It's sad to see how fellow Americans target other Americans just because they have different views and how harshly they judge without having the slightest idea of what it may be like to feel and see through the eyes and hearts of others. I feel that Generation X & especially most Millennium's are moving away from such archaic, discriminative, and segregative ways of thinking, especially here in California, as I feel this has become a safe haven for those not afraid to be themselves and shout out who they are and  that is we must be protected, that right of individuality must be protected with every cell in our body because that is what makes us Thee U.S. 
           Transsexuals have been a target of discrimination and many major controversial subjects are fought in this arena that not only affect the way that future laws will be created or past ones modified but their experiences and openness to the world of their individuality, solidarity, and hardship has mostly been due to the fact of discrimination and not because of any other reason. To discriminate against transsexuals is to call all Caucasians racist, Mexicans drug dealer or all lead religious figures pedophiles. There are good and evil beings everywhere and to have such set minded ways of thinking makes one part of the problem and stumps humanity’s evolutionary process of society as whole towards tolerance and understanding. 
        In an attempt to get help and representation about the discrimination or health issues due to being a transsexual I attempted to contact an inmate that may be going through this hardship at a support webpage for transsexual rights (Contact Us 2019, December 11). As I was not successful in getting this interview, I will be using an abstract of an article with an accumulation of letters sent to state representatives to help with continuation of hormonal treatment. I while place it verbatim in an attempt to not misinform. The abstract is as follows; 

“Claims of inadequate health care and safety afforded to transgender inmates have become the subject of litigation. This article reviews 129 unsolicited letters from transgender inmates writing from 24 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons to identify their concerns. Among the letters reviewed were reports from 10 inmates who had filed lawsuits naming departments of correction (DOCs) as defendants, claiming inadequate access to transgender health care. Five of these lawsuits have gone to trial. In all of those cases, the defendant settled the matter or was found liable as of the time of this report. Claims of inadequate care for transgendered patients that have sufficient merit to be fully litigated in U.S. courts appear likely to produce verdicts in favor of plaintiff inmates. The information gleaned from reviewing letters from transgendered inmates may alert staffs of DOCs to concerns worth addressing proactively to avoid the costs associated with transgender-related lawsuits.” Brown G. R. (2014)
    In conclusion, A Boy Named Sue, The Story of Baby X, the abstract on correspondence sent to State Representatives, and Setting Gender Identity Free: Expanding Treatment for Transsexual Inmates all help share a perspectives of what it is like to be different in a world with set norms and standards and how they might not be up to par with todays’ and especially tomorrows’ society. Even though major steps towards acceptance and tolerance have been taken that giant leap towards the ideal is not to far from view as California has had major advances in the political/legal world with our Judge of the Alameda County Superior Court HONORARY Victoria Kolakowaski.