Untitled Document Laying out the Theoretical Groundwork Transgendered and intersex persons are forced to deal on a daily basis with the stigma put upon them from society at large. Theories concerning transgender identity as well as theories related to stigma and stigma management are numerous and help to lay a framework for the ways in which the Youth Gender Project structure their trainings. To start, transgender theorist have presented society with a wake up call, both to our own acknowledgement of the mixed gender elements within us, and to the fact that tens of millions of our friends and neighbors are as thoroughly stigmatized and disenfranchised by their sexual practices and gender-orientation.
Visibility is the way a person perceives another persons social identity to be.
If a stigma is immediately perceivable, it is still an issue as to how much it interferes with the flow of interaction. Visibility of the transgender community varies depending on who you are and if you are presenting yourself as visible, or as passing or covering. Groups among the stigmatized are very important to a sense of community. Groups provide instruction, moral support, home, ease and restfulness for the stigmatized individuals. Select persons, representative of groups, lobby for causes and provide models for others to work toward.