WHY LGBT DESCRIMINATE AGAINST TRANSGENDER PEOPLE

Often times Trans people find them selves being discriminated by the LGB people in their communities. The LGB like saying Trans men are women who act as if they are men because they are often misinterpreted as lesbian tom boys. This kind of discrimination to my knowledge is mislead by the lack of knowledge and reluctance to read and research. With this behavior I have realised that as Batswana we do not like to read unless we have a test or an interview and this is a bad habit because it makes us inaccurate about so many things. Funny how even when one does not have the right information there will emphasise that what they know is true therefore making it hard for you to reason with them.

I will say what I always say with the general public when it comes to discrimination, I feel discrimination is caused by lack of knowledge and understanding sometimes arrogance and being head strong. In  most cases the arrogant and head strong are the ones who initiate the discrimination in the communities we live in and then they have others following their lead. My suggestion is maybe in advocating for the trans community we should target those who are head strong so that they then share the knowledge they have with the others. Knowledge is power after all. Because now there is discrimination among the discriminated LGBTI what should be done?

1. They should be workshops for the LGBTI educating them about transgender issues and what the difference between lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender is. I have realisied that in my country some butch lesbians in fact fall under transgender but because of limited information they have access to and by not attending our workshops and camps nor visiting our office they end up not being able to differentiate between gender,sexual orientation and sex. They are interested in heterosexual women and are masculine plus use the pronoun HE which make them trans-men and their sexuality heterosexual and they are not aware of this fact. The LGB think that transgender is a sexuality however it is not it is gender (femininity and masculinity) and by this misconception sexuality too become misplaced. If the LGBTI was to be aware of what is TRANSGENDER and what is SEXUAL ORIENTATION then discrimination could possibly be eradicated.

2. LGBTI should be encouraged to attend workshops and apply for LGBTI calls that will train and groom them to be better people and they will through them acquire great knowledge to help alleviate discrimination in the communities they live in but first they are going to have to alleviate discrimination among the LGBTI community and then work on the community. They also need to have enough and valid information about LGBTI laws in the country and any other information that will help them be able to sensetise the public about their issues. They need to become activists and fight for their rights, that way they will learn a lot and become better at it hence increasing the probability of no more discrimination in our communities.