airport and those officials could appear to be
really misunderstanding about the situation.
And
without
official
recognition,
educational institutions may also find it really
difficult to respect a student’s gender, by not
using proper name and pronoun, and even
having school records and diploma’s displaying
the correct information and continuing in work
life too.
In 2014, the Netherlands changed its policy
regarding trans genders, in contemporary
society; a transgender doesn’t have to undergo
an operation to be recognized as by official
authorities to change his or her gender.
However, even though 63% of the Dutch agree
that transgender should undergo an operation
when they do not feel happy in their own body,
nearly 50% thinks that people who want to
undergo an operation should pay this from their
own budget. (Kuyper, 2012)
Man...woman...and?
Gender identity is the reference to each
person’s feelings on the inside, corresponding
to the sex assigned by birth and also includes
the personal sense of the body, which may
appear to be different to the gender assigned by
birth. We may refer to them as transgender,
gender fluid, intersex etc.
It is important to recognise each person’s
identity on how they feel on the inside, whether
it is on personal daily basis or at official
documents such as passports and university
degrees.
Someone who is called Sarah on a passport,
but appears to be a Bob in real life, may face
some difficulties at official instances and the
But overall, the Netherlands is pretty accepting
towards
transgender,
lesbians
and
homosexuals.
Furthermore, let’s move on to Thailand
where to so-called lady boys are a common
sight in the cities and the tourist areas. These
trans genders work in the sex industry or the
more traditional work environments like
cabaret shows. Yet, most of them seek
integration in Thai society, but despite their
high visibility, they still face a lot of objections in
seeking acceptance. And even though Thailand
is known for its sexual tolerance, a transgender
still faces discrimination on the workplace. The
Thai authorities have taken some steps towards
acceptance and recognizing them apart from
the homosexual community.
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