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Transgender Rights as Human Rights
Tia Powell1, Sophia Shapiro2, Ed Stein3
1Psychiatrist, bioethicist, and professor of clinical epidemiology and clinical psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, where she is also director of the Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics, and a fellow of the American Psychiatric Society, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the Hastings Center.
Arguments for transgender rights are strengthened by human rights principles, not solely by the "born that way" assertion. This approach offers a more robust defense of transgender rights against evolving scientific perspectives.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Human Rights Law
- Gender Studies
Background:
- Transgender rights advocacy frequently employs the "born that way" argument, positing gender identity as innate and unchangeable.
- This "born that way" framing faces challenges from emerging scientific data and critiques regarding determinism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the foundational arguments supporting transgender rights.
- To identify more resilient and ethically grounded justifications for transgender rights.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of common arguments for transgender rights.
- Comparative assessment of "born that way" versus human rights frameworks.
Main Results:
- The "born that way" argument, while intuitive, is scientifically and philosophically contestable.
- Human rights arguments provide a more stable and ethically comprehensive foundation for transgender rights.
Conclusions:
- Shifting from biological determinism to human rights principles offers a stronger basis for advocating transgender rights.
- Human rights frameworks are essential for protecting transgender individuals' dignity and equality.
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