Throughout my life I have had transgender friends complain about the discrimination they faced in relation to healthcare. I remember some coming out during high school, where some in the medical field thought that they were too young to make decisions regarding their gender. Most of my friends were lucky with the support of their parents, though some expressed initial fear that they would not be welcomed and therefore not get the transition materials (typically medical) they needed due to parental permission being required.
Even if transgender people are adults, they can still have difficulty finding the needed medical treatments. Many transgender people face discrimination with finding employment and housing, which can effect their location to places with proper medical treatment. In addition, without effective insurance, the treatment can be rather costly. The most obvious concern when actually given the opportunity to get treatment is the possible transphobia, which does exist in the medical field. By narrowing my focus to transgender women, I already have a familiarity with sexism in healthcare since I identify as a woman and think that I can understand a more specific aspect by researching the relationship between transgender woman and healthcare.
With my research, I hope to get proper statistics regarding transphobia within medical professionals as well as the social and financial circumstances that transgender women experience when attempting to receive treatment.
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