Instructions
This unit has given us a lot to consider about activism and ways to break down some of the structural forms of discrimination that ensure that transgender and gender nonconforming people face hurdles that cisgender people rarely do. This assignment asks you to come up with an activist plan of your own. I want to be clear that this is merely an assignment designed to make you think critically from different perspectives. If you want to be an activist on this issue, go for it, but it IS NOT a requirement of this class. There are three components to this assignment:
First, identify a real-world issue facing transgender or gender nonconforming folks somewhere in the world. Write up a 200-word synopsis of the problem that includes: where in the world it is happening, how it is unique to transgender and/or gender nonconforming people, an explanation of the negative impacts of the problem, and the structural barriers to solutions.
For example: In many United States prisons, incarcerated transgender people are either held in solitary confinement or housed according to their sex assigned at birth rather than the gender with which they currently identify. As a result, transgender and gender nonconforming prisoners face the additional punishment of either extreme solitude or the risk of gender-based violence from other prisoners. Prisons and jails are built based on a strictly enforced gender binary, are poorly funded, and often fail to train their workers around LGBTQ issues and awareness.
Second, come up with an activist plan to address this problem. Use some of the ideas put forth by the week’s readings to help. Activists act, so what action(s) do you propose? Create a bullet pointed action plan that lays out a short term, long term, and systemic/structural solution. You need to provide two potential short term and long term actions and one structural solution for a total of five solutions. These all should be largely possible and practical, though sometimes imagining a structural solution does demand thinking BIG. For one of your proposed solutions, also provide a bullet-pointed counter argument that you can anticipate encountering in this activism. Here is an example:
For example: To address the structural inequalities transgender and gender non-conforming people face within the US carceral system, there are short term, long term, and structural solutions.
• Short term- end the practice of solitary confinement.
• Short term- train jail and penitentiary employees on transgender and gender nonconforming experiences and needs.
• Long term- create new and utilize existing different forms of carceral monitoring that do not require housing (like ankle bracelets).
• Long term- Create carceral spaces designed and anticipating transgender and gender nonconforming prisoners.
• Structural- Abolish prisons by incorporating transformative justice practices in schools, judicial systems, and society. This would have the added benefit of addressing numerous social inequalities maintained through over-policing and over-incarcerating many minority groups.
o Counter argument: What about violent offenders and public safety?
Third, prepare the first step. Short term goals often include letters to legislators or community partners, potential allies, or the press to educate and build support for your idea. Determine to what person or organization makes the most sense to send a first step letter and then draft it! It should be no more than one-two pages in length. Be creative and have fun with this but remember it needs to both educate the larger public about the issue and propose a part of a larger solution. Write a letter.
FOR EXAMPLE: In the prison example, I would likely draft a letter to a local prison asking about how their guards are trained and offering training or write a letter to a legislator asking for the state to improve the jail budget to allow for more training and better housing for transgender or gender nonconforming inmates.
The final product should include the 200-word issue synopsis, the bullet-pointed activist plan, and a one-two page first step toward action letter.
Rubric
Follow Directions: 10%
Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Creativity: 15%
Try to think a little outside of the box and provide an interesting or unexpected picture.
Action Plan: 35%
Are these ideas possible (at least the short and long term solutions)? Would they truly address or at least ameliorate the problem? Do you show intersectional thinking when it makes sense to do so? Is your counter-point equally thought out?
First Step: 40%
Is this a good idea for a first step? Is it well executed? Does it explain the problem and posit a part of a larger solution? Is it well conceived and directed at a reasonable person or agency related to the problem? (In my example, sending it to a local school would be a bad place to send a first step letter as they are not an obvious partner.) Is it well written and in proper form?
Sample Solution
