Alex Duncan's Introduction

Greetings!
I'm Alex and I will be researching Violence Against Transgender People.  This is a very prominent issue in society today.  Gender is being increasingly viewed as less binary and more fluid, but nonconformity still poses a huge risk to many people.  Transgender people are 16 times more likely to be murdered than the average American, and face higher rates of poverty and unemployment than any other group.  In fact, the average lifespan of a transgender person is only thirty years, and many trans* individuals who are older than that did not begin their transition until after they had passed that age. (x)  Forty-one percent of trans* identified individuals have attempted suicide, and nineteen percent are refused medical care on the basis of their gender identity alone. (x)  Violence against trans* people ranges from harassment, to discrimination, to assault and is very prevalent but not always a common topic of discussion. 

As a genderfluid/nonbinary individual, I have become very interested in gender identity and gender expression over the past year or so.  I feel that it is very important for everyone to have a safe place to explore their own identity, and the best way to create safe spaces is to educate people.  I believe that a large amount of discrimination is rooted more in ignorance than in blatant hatred.