ABSTRACT
Transgender individuals face numerous civil liberties issues that affect their legal rights and freedoms in the United States. This analysis requires understanding, first, the terms transgender, transsexual, and cross-dresser and, second, the importance the legal system places on a person's sex. Transgender is an informal term used to refer to any person with any type of gender-identity issue. The legal system has been more willing to recognize the preferred sex of transgender individuals if they have undergone sex-reassignment surgery. Transgender people face tremendous discrimination in the workplace. Transgender individuals face greater risks of violence than do most members of society. Postoperative transsexuals have been the most successful transgender group in integrating their gender identity into the legal system, although they face an uncertain legal climate. The highly publicized murders of Gwen Araujo and Brandon Teena illustrate the safety risks of being transgender. The transgender community includes a wide variety of gender-questioning individuals and presents complicated legal questions.
