Let’s address the “issue” or the “elephant in the room”:
the former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner has become a woman called Caitlyn and
all I have to say is good for HER!
It is making me angry that people think that this is
wrong and that the Olympic medal should be stripped!?
Why? Caitlyn at the time was Bruce, she was then a male
who competed in a male sport please highlight to me where it is stated that
this is against the Olympic regulations.
Imagine for a minute you are trapped in your body but it
is not right.
Now imagine the dark area of you mind filled with all
this negativity.
The hidden extent of suicide attempts among young
transgender people has been highlighted in a recent study conducted by Pace, a
mental health charity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, in
partnership with Brunel University, the University of Worcester, and London
South Bank University. It involved interviews and a survey of more than 2,000
people in England from 2010 to 2014.
A survey found that 48% of transgender people under 26
said they had attempted suicide, and 30% said they had done so in the past
year, while 59% said they had at least considered doing so.
The figures on suicide attempts by transgender youths
were higher found to be higher than found in previous transgender studies across
different age groups. A US study in 2006 found that 32% of transgender people
had tried to kill themselves. And the Trans
Mental Health Study of 2012 (pdf) found
35% had attempted suicide once and 25% a second time.
The Pace study also found 59% of transgender youths said
they had deliberately hurt themselves, compared with 8.9% of all 16- to
24-year-olds. Pace released the findings to the Guardian before Thursday’s International
Transgender Day of Remembrance, which annually highlights transphobic
murders.
Margaret Unwin, the Pace chief executive,
said: “The lack of visibility and acceptance in society contributes to these
shocking figures about suicide attempts and self-harm in trans young people.
While society’s attitudes towards transgender people are changing, it is still
not fast enough and the negative impacts on trans people’s mental health every
day are huge.”
Jay Stewart, co-founder of Gendered
Intelligence, a group that supports young trans people and seeks to increase
education around trans issues, said the findings were not surprising. “We have
been working with young people since 2006 and the demand for our services is
growing. While there have been many changes in legislation, the realities of
young trans people are that they can experience highly negative responses for
either being trans or expressing gender variance. Bullying behaviour in schools
is endemic and we often find schools sweeping such things under the carpet.”
Juliet Jacques, 33, a journalist and
campaigner who documented her transition pre- and post-surgery in a blog for the Guardian from
2010 to 2012, said: “Many young trans people experience discrimination,
intolerance, bullying, rejection and violence from several spheres. First at
school, a place where gender norms are enforced and policed, where you’re told
by teachers and other pupils that boys do x and girls do y. Within the family
there can be rejection, verbal and physical abuse, and then also at street
level, in the media and in the workplace. Together this can render people
unable to see a future for themselves. It is no wonder suicidal thoughts are so
common.”
“I have suicidal thoughts every day, even
now. A lot of that is too due with the scars of childhood, feeling I lost my
youth to this, things I wasn’t able to do because of the discrimination I
experienced and because of the trenchant mental health problems that came with
it. I’ve found a way of dealing with this. But I’ve been pretty close to the
edge several times, and pretty much constantly during my teens, when I didn’t
feel I could talk to anyone about it. I found a way back. And I have a lot of
support. But not everyone has that.”
Link:http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/19/young-transgender-suicide-attempts-survey
The international Olympic
committee’s policy
The International Olympic
Committee (IOC), the
governing body charged with overseeing Olympic competition and those events
leading up to the Games, became the first athletic body to adopt a policy of inclusion
regarding transgender athletes. The IOC’s policy says only those who have:
1. Undergone sex reassignment
surgery
2. Had hormone treatments for
at least two years, and
3. Received legal recognition
of their transitioned sex
Can participate consistent with their gender identities
(IOC, 2003).
Within the guidelines for these polices Caitlyn has done
nothing wrong as she hadn’t started any of these process while she was competing.
There are transgender polices in place for much of the
sporting world from the Football Association's (FA) to the International
Quidditch Association
Link here: http://www.transathlete.com/#!policies-by-organization/c1vyj
All that is left is to say welcome to being a woman Caitlyn Jenner