by Mike Andrew - SGN Staff Writer

Transgender people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, or Bi are more likely to face discrimination than ones who identify as straight, a new study shows.

The study, by Jody L. Herman, scholar of public policy at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, is titled 'LGB within the T: Sexual Orientation in the National Transgender Discrimination Survey and Implications for Public Policy' and has been published in Trans Studies: The Challenge to Hetero/Homo Normativities.

According to Herman's study, LGB Trans people are more likely than straight ones to have experienced harassment on the job (51% vs. 46%), at school (80% vs. 71%), and in a place of public accommodation like a restroom or locker room (55% vs. 44%).

LGB Trans people were also somewhat more likely to lack health insurance (20% vs. 15% for straight Trans people) and to have postponed getting medical care due to discrimination from doctors or other health care providers (29% vs. 25%).

LGBT Trans respondents reported family rejection at a higher rate than straight respondents (59% vs. 53%).

Not surprisingly, LGB Trans people reported a higher rate of suicide attempts than straight ones (42% vs. 36%).

In some areas, straight Trans respondents fared worse, however. For example, the rate of HIV infections among straight Trans people was nearly double that among LGB respondents (4.03% vs. 2.16%).

Also, the study found that a significantly higher percentage of straight respondents reported leaving school because the harassment they experienced was so bad (17% vs. 12%).

The Williams Institute has been studying economic, social, and legal disparities affecting the LGBT community since 2001.

Trans Studies: The Challenge to Hetero/Homo Normativities is an interdisciplinary essay collection on Transgender scholarship and public policy published by Rutgers University Press.

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