Log #2

Book: Becoming Nicole:The Transformation of an American Family
Author: Amy Ellis Nutt

After reading several articles about introduction of trans people, I'm willing to learn much more about their lives, something that will influence their living or even the deepest thought in their mind. Thus, I tried to find a non-fiction about transgender and this is it, a true story of a trans girl who is just two-year younger than us which take place in America.

Can you imagine of being disgusted by your own genitals every time when you are taking a shower or even trying to answer the call of nature? This is what Nicole, the main character of the story, had thought before accepting the sex reassignment surgery. Unlike sex is decided by our genes, gender identity is influenced by our brain. Research had shown that the putamen (which is the structure of the deep brain) of transgender people is actually different from general public. The size is smaller so it cause them to have the thought of living in the "wrong" body since they were born. Due to this mental problem we call it as gender dysphoria.

So how about the physical problem? Closely related to gender dysphoria, the issue of physical health is which bathroom should a transgender person use? On Nicole's case, when she was still too young to accept the reassignment surgery she used to choose the bathroom base on gender identity. The decision she made was accepted by some girls but against by most of the students even the Christian Civic League.

Transgender people didn't choose to be a trans but born this way. The foundation of  Maslow's  hierarchy of need is physiological. Easy thing such as going to the bathroom might cause a problem to them. Although setting up gender neutral toilet can ease the problem, however it's not the solution. Since Donald Trump had revoked the guideline on transgender bathrooms, trans people still need a lots of support and help from us, and it is everyone's business to defend  human rights.