UC expands gender ID options
In a much-needed move for institutional acceptance of transgender and gender-fluid individuals, prospective University of California students will have the option to choose among six gender identities when applying for admission. The gender identities include: male, female, trans male, trans female, gender queer/gender non-conforming and different identity. As the UC system transforms the increased public visibility into institutional reform, USC must also follow in its footsteps.
The recent spotlight on transgender issues has led some to believe that media representation translates to real solutions for the transgender community. However, invisibility is not this community’s biggest obstacle: According to a survey conducted by the Center for American Progress, 64 percent of transgender individuals were victims of sexual assault. Delegitimizing gender nonconforming individuals by leaving them out of formal documentation contributes to the stigma of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals that can lead to very real consequences.
The UC system did not solve these problems by introducing more gender identities. But the school system did legitimize the identity of individuals who do not identify with the gender binary, which can be the small part of a greater movement to destigmatize gender nonconformity at an institutional level.
At USC and other universities, students have resisted institutional silence about non-female and non-male identifying individuals by introducing themselves with preferred gender pronouns. This practice allows non-conforming individuals to introduce themselves in new social circles. USC can respond to this sign that students want greater tolerance by allowing more gender identities when applying — a sort of self-identified preferred gender pronoun that enables self-expression.
USC, despite popular opinion, is also familiar with social justice advocacy. The University’s Residential Education program emphasizes inclusion as a core value, stating, “We value the individual differences of members within our community by creating opportunities for members to embrace and understand the complex backgrounds, ideas, experiences and lifestyles of others.” If the administration fully believes in this concept, it should allow gender to be inclusive.
As USC churns out thousands of educated students every year into the workforce after graduation, the University must consider its social responsibility to the greater community. USC has the opportunity to set an example, as the UC system has, of what tolerance looks like. Having pioneered so many other initiatives that lead to social change, USC can be the leader of the movement for greater acceptance of gender nonconforming individuals.
To continue to place students into discretely “male” or “female” boxes demonstrates a university that ignores the diversity of the student population that it fights so hard to recruit and promote. The University has continually evolved to meet the needs of students in many ways, but when it comes to recognizing identities, USC still seems stuck in the past. It’s time to validate the identities of students, and not just because it’s socially expedient to do so.