Bending Gender, Ending Gender: Theoretical Foundations for Social Work Practice with the Transgender Community

Science has classified humans into two categories: male and female. If a person does not fit neatly into one of these categories, he or she could be looking at serious societal problems. Transgender individuals make up this gray area. The purpose of Burdge's article "Bending Gender, Ending Gender: Theoretical Foundations for Social Work Practice with the Transgender Community" is to explore ways that social workers can help transgender individuals become comfortable with themselves and society. Transgender includes any person (man or woman) who finds conflict between his or her gender and a sense of self (Burdge, 2007). This term can be used to describe anyone from a cross-dresser to someone who has had sex reassignment surgery. Because it is hard to account for all transgender individuals, especially those who are only cross-dressers or those who shy away from public awareness, only two groups have been numerically accounted for: intersex individuals and postoperative transsexuals. Intersex individuals are those born with ambiguous genitalia and are surgically modified to normalize genital appearance (Burdge, 2007). "One to two infants out of every 1,000 born" undergo this procedure (Burge, 2007, p. 244). Postoperative transsexuals are those adults who choose to undergo an operation to change their sex. This surgery can be male-to-female or female-to-male, though male-to-female is more common. This can "range from 1:500-1:2,500" surgeries per year (Burdge, 2007). No matter where a person falls in the vast range of transgender individuals, he or she risks abuse from society. Youths are harassed by classmates for being different and in some cases may not be able to turn to their families for support because they will encounter more negative attitudes (Burdge, 2007). Adults can face the same intolerance from peers and family as well as workplace discrimination and denial of parental rights (Burdge, 2007). These societal attitudes can result in transgender individuals becoming depressed and confused. In addition, they may become desperate, run away from home, get involved in prostitution, and possibly even begin self-mutilation (Burdge, 2007). As a result, social workers are consulted to help with these problems. Social workers are obligated by the NASW Code of Ethics (NASW, 2000) "to serve oppressed and vulnerable populations, eliminate discrimination based on sex, and seek social change to ensure the well-being of all people" (Burdge, 2007, p. 245). The transgender population clearly fits into this category. Social workers use queer theory to help transgender individuals be accepted into society. This theory looks at the fact that there is more to a person than whether he or she is male or female. It tries to get rid of gender through nonconformity (dress, grooming, and body language). Unfortunately, anyone who tries to publicly help transgender individuals will, more than likely, encounter the same social abuse that transgender individuals face. A group effort to fight negative attitudes toward transgender individuals is needed to successfully overcome them. Burdge (2007) noted that groups like the Intersex Society of North America, GenderPac, and the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition are involved with public education and political advocacy. With help from social workers, more transgender individuals are becoming involved with these groups and are raising their self-esteem and self-acceptance. Social workers are no longer trying to get their clients to accept that they are male or female, but to accept themselves as a transgender individual. The more comfortable a person is with himself or herself, the more active that person will be in not only helping other transgender individuals, but also educating the community about transgender individuals and gender oppression. This article has some limitations. Burdge admits that most of the information is "anecdotal evidence. …