This study presents an overview of how the propensity to alienate members of the LGBT community in the Dominican Republic has affected their quality of life and those of their families. The study seeks to investigate further how the various social paradigms regarding transgenderism adversely affect members of the LGBT community.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DEMOGRAPHICS AND POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS.
The Dominican republic seats on the Hispaniola Island in between the Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean sea. Caribbean history can be traced back to the epoch when conqueror Christopher Columbus claimed the island in 1492as he embarked on his voyage to India. Before Columbus claiming the land, it had been inhabited by the Arawak-speaking population referred to as Tainos. During their tenure, they divided the island into five chiefdoms, each governed by a chieftain. Shortly after Christopher’s arrival in the Caribbean, the smallpox epidemic of 1519 led to the extinction of the Tainos. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The Dominican Republic was among the first colonies that Europeans inhabited in the western terrestrial. In 1496, Christopher’s younger brother, Diego Columbus, occupied the land and referred to it as Santo Domingo. Before the Spanish conquered Mexico, the Dominican Republic served as the headquarters for Spain’s activities. The French curtailed Spain’s dominion on the island in 1664. The French rule in the Republic was quite short-lived since, in 1808, during the battle of Palo Hincola, the French ceded to Span, who took control of Santo Domingo in the following year (Worldpopulationreview.com, 2020). In 1921, Juze Nunez led the Dominican Republic to liberation from their colonizers; however, their independence was short-lived since their Haitian neighbors invaded and annexed the country. It took the Dominican Republic 22 years for it to gain independence from Haiti.
On the Eastern hemisphere of the Hispaniolan island, the Dominican Republic occupies a geographic area of 48,671km2 with a population estimate of 10.77 million people according to the 2017 National Sensus. The Dominican Republic is a country rich in culture, given that around 73% of its population is of mixed race. The minority whites make up 16 % of the community while the remaining 11% is taken up by black folks. Through genealogical testing, it has been identified that typical Dominicans’ geneology is 58% European, 35% sub-Saharan African, and 7% Asia-Native American.
Recent advancement and development in the construction, tourism, and mining industry have led to the rapid expansion of the country’s economy. The nation’s shift from an agricultural economic base to reliance on service industries is responsible for the economic growth that has seen the Dominican Republic’s be recognized as the second-largest economy among the Caribbean and Central American countries. As of 2014, the country’s GDP was estimated to be 64.4 billion. The Dominican Republic ‘s economy is dominated by the export of goods such as gold, silver tobacco, and consumer goods. Despite the huge income from exports, the Dominican Republic remains extremely dependent on the US since it assumes the role of the Republic’s biggest export destination. Although economic growth in the Dominican Republic is reported to be spontaneously growing, income distribution in the country is problematic since nearly half of its population are said to be living under the poverty line. The country uses the Dominican Republic Pesa as its currency.
The rapid economic boom experienced in the Dominican Republic has led to the influx of immigrants into the country. Chapter 2 poised that according to Caribbean history, the Dominican Republic has always been a significant destination for both tourists and immigrants. A large number of West Indies immigrants in the nation are as a result of the country’s inclination to hire workers from the neighboring English speaking Caribbean countries. A significant number of Dominican citizens reside in the diaspora, with many of them located in the US. The country’s largest emigration was recorded after the assassination of the dictatorial leader, Raphael Trujillo.
As a result of European influence in the Dominican Republic during the colonial era, the Dominican culture consists of European cultural practices combined with cultural elements from the Tainos. The majority of the Dominican people reside in the country’s urban areas. The county’s capital city Santa Domingo is considered the most humongous city among the Caribbean countries. The city is home to three million Dominican citizens. Located on the South East Coast of the Hispaniolan Island at River Ozama’s source, Santa Domingo is among the few remnants of the antique permanent cities established by the European colonizers in the Western terrestrial. In addition to its antiques, Santa Domingo is also home to the old Spanish cathedrals built during the colonial era (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020). During Spain’s annexation of the country, Santa Domingo was developed as the first Spanish colonial headquarters. Currently, Santa Domingo makes up the Dominican Republic’s economic hotbed due to the development of hydroelectric dams in the city, which provide cheap power for the country’s industries.
Given that the Dominican Republic was the initial colonial headquarters of Spain ‘s colonies, tourists from around the world deem the country a preferred tourist destination. The occurrence of numerous antique relics remnants, endless white sandy beaches, and the nation’s rich culture have seen the tourism industry grow to replace agricultural activities as the economy’s backbone. The creation of free trading zones is also responsible for the rapid growth of the tourism sector.
Although Spanish is the dominant language spoken in the Dominican Republic, the Dominican residents use a local dialect often referred to as Dominican Spanish. The local dialect heavily borrows vocabulary from both the Arawak Language and Calabrian Spanish (Embassy of the Dominican Republic). English and French are also common languages in the country since they are among the official languages used in school settings. Given that a large number of Haitian immigrants reside in the Dominican Republic, Haitian Creole became the most used native minority language. Christianity is the dominant religion in the region, with 68.9% of the citizens belonging to the catholic faith and 12.8% evangelical faith.
According to the Brussels international center (2019), the Dominican Republic has continued to enjoy political stability since 1970, unlike other Caribbean countries. The Dominican political history shows that the country has had both authoritarian patriarchy leaders such as Rapahel Trujilo and democratic leaders. The Dominican Republic’s economy suffered from numerous corruption scandals and inclination to political clientelism during the tenure of these authoritative governments. Democratic regimes such as President’s Leonel Fernandez fostered economic growth, reduced poverty, and enabled the Dominican Republic to acquire international competitiveness. President Leonel’s successor and current president of the Republic, Danilo Medilo, has continued to support economic expansion. Despite his sound policies on economic growth, Medilo’s regime is marred by his controversial decision to adopt lenient abortion laws and the development of the naturalization act that is responsible for rendering Haitian immigrants in the country stateless.
Trasngenderism in the Dominican Republic
Alike with other transgender people in various countries, LGBT members in the Dominican Republic are subjected to discrimination and exclusion from numerous social, legal, economic, and health aspects of life, causing their quality of lives to deteriorate significantly. (Pappas, 2020) argued that the discrimination stems from the paucity of understanding the concept of transgenderism and the prevalence of stereotypes and assumptions. A dominant assumption influencing the perception of Transgender individuals is the mentality that topics and issues regarding transgenderism did not exist in the past. Transgenderism in the Dominican Republic, like in any other country around the world, is not just an ordinary matter of the present times. Researchers suggest that transgenderism has been documented in ancient cultures, related to religious ceremonies, involving socio-cultural values and traditional practices. It has been documented from antiquity until the present time in many western and non-western cultures. It is important to note that as a matter of gender, the meaning of Transgender varies from culture to culture, and cultural values play a significant role in its different meanings and interpretation.
Given that the Tainos, the initial inhabitants of the Dominican Republic, originated from South America (Rob, 2016), this study argues that certain aspects of the Dominican culture was influenced by Native American cultures. Evidence of transgender individuals in history can be traced to the native American cultures where third gender individuals existed. Although their population was not large, it was significant enough for them to be recorded in the cultural history of native Americans. Hemmilä ( 2005) poised that the historical records of third gender individuals were mainly recorded by European travelers who explored America during the 16th and 17th centuries. During those ancient times, the third gender individuals were mainly referred to as hermaphrodites and berdache. The hermaphrodites were defined as populations of people who fail to comply with either female or male gender identity and instead adopted a third-person gender identity, which was neither female or male. Carrie 1980, argued that the term berdache was conferred to the third gender individuals by the traveling Europeans based on their assumption that this population group adopted feminine traits. The term berdache originated from the Arabic term bardaj, which was used to refer to a slave boy who was being punished for his sexual atrocities.
Contrary to today’s society where transgender individuals are viewed negatively, in ancient times, hermaphrodites were regarded as typical society members with roles and responsibilities in the building of the community. Hemmilä ( 2005) indicated that although the hermaphrodites population consisted of people of either male or female sex, men had a higher incidence in this population. The hermaphrodites expressed their gender identity by dressing up and engaging in work normally associated with their opposite sex. Third gender individuals also had specific roles to play during ceremonial rituals. In a Ted Talk concerning two-spirit identity, Centazi Metcaf, a third gender individual poised that the hermaphrodites acted as storytellers and taught community members how to conduct rituals. During the talk, she stated, “We’re storytellers, we teach sacred ceremonies, we’re the person that can go between men and women, so we’re the bridge-builders, and a lot of our creation stories talk about Two-Spirited people coming to save the world.”
In the Dominican Republic typical names attributed or used to refer to an individual whose sexual orientation or sexual identity is different from the one assigned at birth is “Maricon (a),” Pato(a),” “Pajaro (a), “Bugarron,” Blue Blue.” Unlike most Caribbean countries, the Dominican Republic still criminalizes same-sex activity, and society harbors negative attitudes towards transgender individuals. Members of the LGBT community in the Dominican Republic are subjected to trauma, discrimination, and exclusion from housing and employment access as well as denial of health services. Despite the lack of government support and rejection from the church, a growing number of LGBT activists movements are striving to improve the living conditions of their members in the Republic. The appointment of a gay U. S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic has significantly improved the impact of LGBT activists in the region (O’Boyle, 2016). Ambassador James Wally’s ability to thrive amidst rejection and discrimination from the Roman Catholic church has significantly supported trans people in the Dominican Republic.
Introduction to Transgerism
Arntzen & Kahrs (2013) defined transgender people are individuals who fail to conform to their biological sexual orientation. In their scholarship, Allgeier and Allgeier (2000) concurred with Arntzen & Kahrs’s definition of transgender individuals by stating that the transgender population is dominated by individuals who believe that they do not belong to the gender manifested by both their genetic gonal and genital developments. Although the origin of transsexuality is yet to be discovered, research depicts those transgender individuals who undergo sexual reassignments either by adopting cross-sex hormonal treatment or by sexual reassignments undergoing surgery record higher levels of conformity with their new genders. Van der Ros (2014) argued that for some people, gender identity might be a complex issue due to the incongruent feelings they experience between their somatopleuric gender and the psychological component responsible for gender identity.
The origin of term transgenderism can be traced to 1969. Although the term’s meaning varies in accordance with the situational context, it commonly used as an aggregate reference for the different transgender groups such as transsexuals and transvestites. The American psychological association defines Transgender as the brolly name assigned to all individuals who are non-conformant with their birth genders. Kessler and McKenna 2000 further explored the definition of the term transgender by analyzing how the prefix ‘trans’ fits among different transgender groups. The scholars posit that Trans can be used to refer to change, movement and beyond. The prefix ‘trans’ refers to change in situations where the Trans individual is in favor of sexual reassignment surgery to submit to their preferred gender identity. Movement is used to describe individuals who identify as Transgender and who are in the process of shifting to their preferred gender identity. The prefix Trans infers to beyond when describing transgender people who do not conform to either male or female genders. Kessler and McKenna base their definitions of the prefix ‘trans’ on the assumption that gender is nonexistent.
The inclination of transgender individuals to change their birth sex led to the development of the term transsexuality back in the 20th century. Meyerowitz (2000) argued that the term transsexuality at the time of its development was typically used in contexts where men transitioned into females. Debates around the transgenderism topic have led to the terms transgender evolving and representing different ideologies. Amid the different debates about what groups are included in the term transgender, Halberstern (2005,p 49) poised that the term “transgender proves to be an important term not only to individuals who want to reside outside categories altogether but also to people who want to place themselves in the way of particular forms of recognition.’’ Halberstern also argued that the term’s use in today’s modern world tends to ignore the gender aspect to adopt a transsexual embodiment.
To effectively explore the concept of transgender individuals, it is paramount to discourse issues surrounding gender and gender identity. The American Association of Psychologists explains that sex refers to an individual’s biological nature of being either male or female that is determined during birth by the individual’s physical features such as chromosomes and genitalia. The association then defines gender as the attitudes, assigned responsibilities, and behaviors associated with either male or female sex. The LGBT community at Johns Hopkins University defines gender identity as a person’s self-reflection of how they identify with gender, what they consider themselves to be either female, male, or none of them (“Introduction to Transgender Identities | LGBTQ Life,” n.d.).
Gender identity is among the dominant assumptions and stereotypes facing transgender individuals. Most societies assume that an individual’s gender identity is, by default, congruous with the individual’s biological sex. Due to this assumption, the prevalent notion that individuals with male genitalia should assume masculine roles and behaviors while those with female genitalia should adopt feminine behaviors. Anderson (2018) argued that the notion that sex is what is assigned to individuals at birth instead of gender creates an opportunity for the introduction of the ideology that a person’s gender can assume a path different from their birth-assigned sex. He also poised that gender identity is instinctively developed from a tender age.
Once an individual recognizes their gender identity, they then proceed to manifest it through their behavior. This gives rise to the terminology: gender expression which refers to how an individual manifest or express their gender identity. An individual may choose to manifest the gender they identify with by adopting masculine or feminine behavior. In addition to the typical masculine and feminine gender expressions, trans people can also express their gender by being femme, butch, gender-neutral, and androgynous. Sexual orientation is also an important concept of transgenderism since it explains an individual’s sexual attractions. Sexual orientation defines an individual’s inclination to be sexually or romantically attracted to either female, males, or a different thing.
Under the transgender umbrella, there exist two broad classifications of transgender people; binary and non-binary Transgender. According to Boosky 2019, binary Transgender are trans who assume either male or female gender identities, while non-binary individuals do not conform to either male or female identities, they recognize their gender identity to be ayont of the typical gender identities. Non-binary transgenders are also referred to as genderqueer or agender individuals. Non-binary transgenders comprise the following transgender groups; gender fluid, bigender, and third gender. Gender fluid individuals are those that move from different gender identities while bi- gender individuals possess two different gender identities, which they express either simultaneously or at different times and situations. Third gender individuals are those that manifest a gender identity that is not described using typical gender identities of masculinity or femininity. Non-binary transgenders can, therefore, not be described using the prevalent pronouns of he and her; instead, they use the pronoun they.
When addressing such individuals, The brolly term transgender includes the following groups of transgender people: transsexuals and Crossdressers individuals. Given that transsexuals are transgenders willing to transition to their true gender identity either through surgery or hormonal therapy, they take the forms of female to male individual or male to female individuals. Male to female transsexuals are individuals who were male sex during birth but are transitioning into females and vice versa. Crossdressers are individuals who, despite being comfortable with their gender, they dress in attires stereotypically designed for other genders. Crossdressing can be considered as an alternative form of gender expression rather than sexual orientation.
Problem Statement
Globally, transgender individuals face a lot of rejection and alienation from society due to their gender identity, which is typically deemed as deviant from normalcy. This research seeks to identify how different social and legal attitudes regarding trangenderism affect the quality of life of transgender individuals residing in the Dominican Republic. Transgender people in the Dominican Republic have to battle with stigma, hate crimes, violence, and discrimination due to their sexuality. El Caribe, a local Santo Domingo newspaper, described the violence experienced by members of the LGBT community by stating, “The discrimination is evident. Once we assume our homosexuality, we experience maltreatment both from authorities and the society in general.” Akin with other countries, the society in the Dominican Republic considers issues of homosexuality and transgenderism to be foreign to their cultural and religious beliefs. Given that the transgender issue is deemed as a taboo that should not be spoken off or practiced, it is imminent that the society discriminates against the LGBT community.
Although the constitution of the Dominican Republic implies that all its citizens are equal before the law and that they all share the privilege to enjoy human rights, the constitution fails to protect transgender populations from discrimination by society and various institutions. The existence of specific domestic laws and regulation directly inhibit the constitution from protecting the rights of transgender individuals. Despite the police as a government institution being responsible for the protection of the citizens’ human rights, it created a rule that criminalizes consensual same-sex encounters between police officers. In August 2015, the hate crimes and discrimination against the LGBT community forum reported that 33 transgender individuals had been killed due to their sexual orientation. Despite the rising number of hate crimes against them, the Dominican Republic government is yet to create laws that protect the LGBT community from discrimination and hate crimes.
The propensity of violence and hate crimes subjected to Dominican LGBTs is fueled by police involvement in these heinous acts. Human rights first (2015) report indicate that arbitrary arrests of transgender people and their harassment while in custody have significantly reduced the number of hate crimes being reported. Alianza GTH et al. poised that public support for discrimination and hate crimes against LGBT communities by the police inhibits the protection of LGBT rights. The paucity of legal recognition for this community also contributes to their exclusion from the social and economic Dominican aspects of life.
A huge challenge for Dominican LGBTs is discrimination in the health care system. Most health care providers in the region declined to offer services to transgender individuals, and in the few instances when they agree to treat them, the quality of health care provided is inferior. The disposition of health care workers to subject members of the LGBT community to ridicule and humiliation causes many transgender individuals not to seek medical attention when they fall ill. Transgender in the Dominican Republic are also denied access to employment and housing. With the high levels of discrimination in employment, most transgender individuals fall into the sex industry trap, where they are often subjected to more hate crimes and discrimination.
Social life for Dominican Transgender is also affected by discrimination and exclusion. Given that institutions such as the police and the Catholic Church are against their community, LGBTs are therefore denied the right to worship or participate in church activities. School life for young Transgender is significantly affected since the stigma associated with their sexuality leaves them vulnerable to bullying in school. With no access to health care, equal employment opportunities, and ambiguous legal identity, the quality of life of transgender individuals in the Dominican Republic is significantly inferior compared to that of heterosexual citizens.
The rationale for the Study
A study by 33 revealed that approximately 73% of citizens in the Dominican Republic acknowledge that the LGBT community in their country experience discrimination and exclusion from societal affairs. Due to the discrimination and stigma LGBTs face, their quality of life is not only lowered, but they are also forced to create coping mechanisms. One of the coping mechanisms they adopt is the inclination to suppress their real sexual identity and assume characteristics of the typical “macho men” promiscuity resemblance. GaleaS, AhernJ, VlahovD (2003) argued that other standard coping mechanisms included excessive consumption of alcohol, drug and substance abuse, and involvement in risky sexual behavior. However, most of the coping mechanisms adopted by Trans people to deal with discrimination and exclusion are injurious since they expose them to the risks of contracting infections such as HIV/AIDS and chlamydia.
Lack of employment due to discrimination on the grounds of being transgender has resulted in a significant number of women joining the sex trade to provide for their families. Operario Soma and Underhill (2018) poised that although the HIV incidence among Transgender women in the Dominican Republic was lower compared to other middle-income countries, a HIV incidence of 17% is still alarming. Although transgender individuals face higher risks of contracting chronic illness, they still are unable to access quality health care as a result of stigma and discrimination associated with their sexual orientation.
Drawing from Budhwani et al., (2017) notion that educating the society on the impact of discriminatory policies towards transgender individuals can significantly lower the vulnerabilities that Transgenders is exposed to, the researcher aims at ensuring that this comprehensive research will shed light on the much-debated issue of transgenderism. Through the discourse of what trangenderism entails, this study hopes to alter the negative attitudes harbored by the citizens of the Dominican Republic towards transgender individuals. By elaborating how discrimination and stigma by the society affect their quality of life and exposes Trans individuals to threats of contracting diseases such as HIV, the dissertation aims to shift the society’s attitudes towards transgender individuals from feelings of loath and disregard to those of compassion and sympathy. With a society well educated about the facts and origin of trasngenderism, practices of discrimination and exclusion of Trans people will significantly reduce, allowing the LGBT community to enjoy better quality life just other citizens in the Dominican Republic.
Research Aims
This study’s primary focus is to investigate transgender individuals who reside in the Dominican Republic systematically.
Research Objectives
To achieve the study’s primary goal, the following four research objectives were established:
- Identify social attitudes and perspectives that citizens of the Dominican Republic have towards transgender individuals.
- Investigate how transgender individuals in the Dominican Republic are accepted and perceived by their families and how their gender identity influences their family relationships.
- Investigate how current laws in the Dominican Republic affect the lives of transgender individuals
- Identify how stigma and discrimination in the Dominican society have robbed off transgender individuals their dignity and access to economic opportunities and health care subjecting them to poor quality of life.