PEAL: Paper 4

In the society we live in today, we say that it is okay to step out and represent change. However, when we actually do step out and try to change something about our surroundings, we get criticized and scrutinized for our decision. Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that people do not want to change if the change doesn't benefit them. Identifying yourself as a transgender is one of the biggest and life changing decisions you could ever make. In an interview with Helen R. Friedman, who is a clinical psychologist in St. Louis, she states that "It takes a lot of courage to buck the culture's norm that gender is binary, he truth is, gender does exist on a continuum." Meaning, there’s a lot of in-between.” I personally agree with Dr. Friedman because I believe that people who believe that they are transgender are afraid to come out and be themselves because of all the social backlash that their decision might have. Also, I believe that they choose to hid who they truly are and their identities from their family and friends because of the negative repercussions that it might have. However, some people do not care about the criticism that they might get from their decision, and they might step out of the boundaries and go through with Sex Reassignment Surgery to ultimately feel like themselves.