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Tenisha Vega

Professor Batty

English 101

10 May 2018

The Belief in Oneself

I am from a small conservative town in the Gold Country. It is one of those towns where everyone

knows everyone’s business, and you cannot go to the grocery store without someone stopping to chat.

One day in my sixth grade class my teacher announced that we will be getting a new student soon, a

boy. Having a new student was like winning the lottery, everyone was extremely ecstatic to have a fresh

face in the town. The next day the new student arrived. To everyone’s shock he was dressed peculiar, he

did not wear what boys in sixth grade usually wear, he was wearing girl clothes. We were all stupefied.

I could hear my classmates snickering and laughing at his appearance, and it made the boy feel

uncomfortable, it made me feel ashamed. Feeling discombobulated, I went home and I asked my

mother why the boy was wearing girl clothes. She enlightened me with the term transgender and

elucidated that some people may be born a certain gender but feel differently inside. She informed me

that there will be people out in the world that will be benighted and bestial, and that transgender people

will need support and love because they will be discriminated for being themselves. My point here is

that transgender people struggle in today’s society with finding work, proper healthcare, serving our

country, and simply living day-to-day. It should interest those who are not aware of their situation,

people of the church community and young children. Beyond this limited audience, however, my point

should speak to anyone who cares about the larger issue of the transgender community and what they

have been fighting for their whole life. In the novel, Still Water Saints, by Alex Espinoza, the character

Azucar teaches the readers that to truly be yourself you need to posses real confidence and not let

society influence you into believing you cannot be who you are.
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Many transgender people struggle with being confident in their own skin. Azucar does not hide

who she is, she embraces the fact that she is not what society wants her to be. In the novel she says,

“I’ve seen the way some women stare at me while I wait with them at the bus stop, the way they roll

their eyes, hiding their mouths behind their hands and whispering in Spanish because they think I don’t

speak. Until I snap back at them, and they shut up right away” (Espinoza 90). Azucar understands that

people will be judging her, even women, but that will not stop her from standing up for herself. She

will make it known that it is her confidence that helps defeat the negativity. In the novel she states, “It’s

all about confidence. The way I hold my shoulders, keep my back straight, never slouching, always

crossing my legs, says to people that I know I’m a woman” (Espinoza 90). Azucar believes that if she is

poised and shows elegance that that will convince people she is a woman. She knows that if she

believes in herself as a real women, that it will be easier for others to be convinced, and it does work

for her. Having confidence can really change they way people see you and no matter what you do they

will not question you. However, there are still transgender people who may possess confidence and

believe in themselves, but there will be people out there that will still discriminate.

Transgender people have been fighting for equal rights and the governments support for many

years now. When our own government is being distasteful and threatening to ban transgender people

from the military, that is when we need to make a stand. Transgender people have every right to serve

our country, they are physically and mentally capable. They are being discriminated because of who

they are, not because they are unqualified. In an article by Richard Sisk from military.com, he goes in

depth about how the government is trying to ban transgender troops, because of the cost and

implications of them serving. That is not the case, having a transgender troop will not cost any more

than having a non-transgender troop. The government worries that the cost will be because of special

medical treatments, and that may be true if the transgender troop wanted to undergo gender

reassignment. However, most of the time transgender people will get their surgery before or after they
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have served. Navy Lt. Cmdr Blake Dremann, a 12-year active-duty supply officer who underwent

transition from female to male in the military, said medical treatments for transgender troops would not

impact readiness any more than a person being treated for a shoulder or a leg injury (Sisk). The

President of the United States Donald Trump quoted, “[T]ransgender persons with a history or

diagnosis of gender dysphoria – individuals who the policies state may require substantial medical

treatment, including medications and surgery – are disqualified from military service except under

limited circumstances” (Sisk). Gender dysphoria is the condition of feeling one’s emotional and

psychological identity as male or female to be opposite to one’s biological sex. How someone perceives

themselves should not base if they are a qualified candidate to serve in the military. Why is it okay for a

male who was born a male and identifies himself as a male to serve in the military? Or a female born a

female and identifies herself as a female. It is blatantly discrimination. Also, in the article there is a

pentagon study saying that transgender service members would be at a higher risk of suicide due to

mental stress over their sexual identities, however, there have been zero suicide cases of active-duty

transgender service members since the policy has changed in 2016 (Sisk). The main issue the

government has with transgender people being in the military is their gender reassignment surgery, but

if that is what makes them confident, then why the discrimination?

Studies show that transgender people are exceptionally happier after undergoing gender

reassignment surgery (Sandoiu). They are less likely to have depression, attempt suicide, and able to

have a healthy relationship. They begin to feel confident in their own skin. Azucar was saving up to

money so she could have her gender reassignment surgery, but then life threw her a curve ball and she

decided to listen to a dear friend and use that money to leave town with an abandoned baby. Even

though she wanted the surgery, she already had the confidence that she was a woman. She had a

healthy relationship with herself.

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In conclusion, there will be people out there who will be callous and discriminate transgender

people no matter how hard you try to teach them. We learn from Azucar that to make someone strong

they need to understand who they are, after all you are your best critic. Everyone has their own demons

they are fighting, but the way you present yourself, and the way you show confidence can help

convince people you are what they see.

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Work Cited

Sisk, Richard. “With Pentagon Policy on Hold, Transgender Troops, Advocates Speak Out.”

Military.com, 29 March 2018

Sandoiu, Ana. “Transgender surgery can improve life for most, study confirms.”Medical News Today,

19 March 2018

Espinoza, Alex. Still Water Saints. Random House, 2007