Everyone needs support. Whether it is family, friends or co-workers, people from all walks of life need someone to fall back on at times.
Some groups of people find this level of companionship harder to find than others, namely those of non-traditional gender identity.
"Many minority groups face unique forms of oppression, but transgender people struggle because they are a group in which rejection often comes from your own family as well as from society at large," said Heidi Levitt, associate professor of psychology at The University of Memphis. "Research suggests that people who do not appear to be conforming to traditional gender roles face more discrimination, harassment and hate -crimes in our culture than other people."
In order to cope with this adversity and separation Perpetual Transition was formed.
Perpetual Transition is a support/ discussion/ social group for self-identified transgendered people of all varieties, including but not limited to transsexuals (regardless of transition status), intersex people, cross- dressers and gender queers. Partners, relatives, friends and supportive non-trans allies are also welcome.
"Perpetual Transition is a safe place for us to gather and relax," said Mo Owens, U of M alumnus. "We're not politically motivated or trying to tell anyone how to be, we're just here to hang out somewhere where transgenders can feel comfortable and safe."
Casey Lanham, who was born a woman, but lives as a male, founded the group in October of last year.
"It's just really good for us to have a place to go where no one feels defensive about who and what they are," Lanham said. "A lot of transgender people have grown up with little or no support from their families and we try to be here for each other."
Support programs such as this are useful and necessary because transgender people may need support coping in an environment where they face discrimination routinely, according to Levitt.
"Transgender people themselves often grow up in environments that have the same biases and pressures to be traditionally gendered and may have to overcome their own internalized stereotypes about transgender people as well," Levitt said.
Tennessee is one of the few states that does not offer protection against discrimination for people with non-traditional gender identities or sexual orientation.
People with these characteristics can be fired for their jobs or evicted from their homes with no questions asked, according to Levitt.
"In fact, in the United States, when looking at cities the size of Memphis or greater, there are only six cities that don't offer protection against sexual orientation discrimination and three of them are in Tennessee," Levitt said.
Based on these statistics one would expect a fair amount of transgender discrimination to occur here on The U of M campus, but according to Lanham this is not the case.
"Frankly, I haven't experienced much discrimination here. I have to give credit where credit is due and the environment here is not as bad as some would assume," Lanham said. "It is good to meet people with open minds and who realize that we deserve respect the same as everyone else."
