Gender Discrimination

Answer : Gender disparity manifests itself in various forms, the most obvious being the trend of continuously declining female ratio in the population in the last few decades. Social stereotyping and violence at the domestic and societal levels are some of the other manifestations. Discrimination against girl children, adolescent girls and women persists in parts of the country.

The underlying causes of gender inequality are related to social and economic structure, which is based on informal and formal norms, and practices.

Consequently, the access of women particularly those belonging to weaker sections including Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes/ Other backward Classes and minorities, majority of whom are in the rural areas and in the informal, unorganized sector to education, health and productive resources, among others, is inadequate. Therefore, they remain largely marginalized, poor and socially excluded. In such a state of affairs the political empowerment of women will be sufficient to wipe out gender inequality in Indian society. To confront and eliminate this social anomaly a well researched approach and comprehensive policy is needed to end the gender inequality in India. And therefore political empowerment should just be a part of this whole game plan to eradicate this inequality. The goal of this policy should be to bring about the advancement, development and empowerment of women. The Policy should be widely disseminated so as to encourage active participation of all stakeholders for achieving its goals. Specifically, the objectives of this policy should include

1. Creation of an environment through positive economic and social policies for full development of women to enable them to realize their full potential ambition
2. The de-jure and de-facto enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedom by women on equal basis with men in all spheres – political, economic, social, cultural and civil
3. Equal access to participation and decision making of women in social, political and economic life of the nation
4. Equal access to women to health care, quality education at all levels, career and vocational guidance, employment, equal remuneration, occupational health and safety, social security and public office etc.
5. Strengthening legal systems aimed at elimination of all forms of discrimination against women
6. Change in societal attitudes and community practices by active participation and involvement of both men and women.
7. Mainstreaming a gender perspective in the development process.
8. Elimination of discrimination and all forms of violence against women and the girl child; and
9. Building and strengthening partnerships with civil society, particularly women’s organizations.

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Answer : In most Indian families, women do not own any property in their own names, and do not get a share of parental property. Due to weak enforcement of laws protecting them, women continue to have little access to land and property. In fact, some of the laws discriminate against women, when it comes to land and property rights. The Hindu personal laws of mid-1956s (applied to Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains) gave women rights to inheritance. However, the sons had an independent share in the ancestral property, while the daughters’ shares were based on the share received by their father. Hence, a father could effectively disinherit a daughter by renouncing his share of the ancestral property, but the son will continue to have a share in his own right.Additionally, married daughters,even those facing marital harassment, had no residential rights in the ancestral home. After amendment of Hindu laws in 2005, now women in have been provided the same status as that of men. In 1986, the Supreme Court of India ruled that Shah Bano, an old divorced Muslim woman was eligible for maintenance money. However, the decision was vociferously opposed by fundamentalist Muslim leaders, who alleged that the court was interfering in their personal law. The Union Government subsequently passed the Muslim Women’s (Protection of Rights upon Divorce) Act. Similarly, the Christian women have struggled over years for equal rights of divorce and succession. In 1994, all the churches, jointly with women’s organizations, drew up a draft law called the Christian Marriage and Matrimonial Causes Bill. However, the government has still not amended the relevant laws.

The case for women’s rights to property has been put forward on the grounds of welfare, efficiency, equality and empowerment. The grounds of welfare are that it to would reduce the risk of poverty and destitution for women and their households. The efficiency argument hinges on the assumption that the title to property would improve a woman’s access to credit and technology, which in turn would help her increase her productive capacity. The case for equality and empowerment is made in the context of a woman’s position relative to men, where a constitutional right could seek to ensure that every person is treated equally by law and prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender. It is further posited that property rights could empower women in economic and noneconomic areas as well. The conferment of this right could strengthen a woman’s position in her household, and even her ability to ‘challenge social and political gender. Around half of all agricultural land in India is now farmed by women, as more and more men migrate to earn money. Yet the slow pace of land and property rights reform has failed to keep up. Although women may have more rights on paper than they did 20 years ago, there has been little progress on the ground.

The priority for the rural poor may still be land rights for the family as a whole – whoever owns the title deeds. Single ownership in the woman’s name or joint ownership in both names is still a sensitive topic, despite central and state government laws which allow equality of ownership. Women themselves, in spite of a collective feeling of unity at the meetings in the school hall, are hesitant when asked in their homes and in the presence of their families what they feel about owning their lands. But as more men move away, land insecurity for women is growing not diminishing. This pushes the need for an urgent focus on their rights and a clearer understanding of the benefits equal rights will bring further up the agenda. Where land is owned and managed by women, there are signs that they use it as collateral to borrow money to start up micro-businesses which generate a steady income. The women also grow in confidence and demand services from the government for themselves and their children. The lack of evidence may be one reason why the government has given the issue so little attention. Progress on land rights for women has also slipped down the agenda of development organizations working with women.

A 2002 survey of women and land issues in Karnataka, conducted by the US-based Rural Development Institute, says interventions by non-governmental organizations have succeeded in empowering women in areas such as literacy, access to credit, job skills and health, but have not significantly increased claims for land ownership rights. But the survey also showed that 64% of women polled thought government lands should be granted jointly to them and their husbands, indicating a growing awareness. In India, the debate about women’s land rights and the impact they can have on rural wealth creation and security is minimal. Even in places where policy has been changing, such as in Karnataka and West Bengal, implementation is slow, and patriarchal attitudes are proving more powerful than the law.

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Answer : The statement emphasizes the role of women to secure an equal place in the society. In other words, it appeals to the women to work on their own for the betterment of the status in the male dominated society. The statement takes it for granted that it is the effort of the women it self that would ensure their emancipation. Men are not going to help them out in any case. Radical feminism considers the capitalist hierarchy, which it describes as sexist, as the defining feature of women’s oppression. Radical feminists believe that women can free themselves only when they have done away with what they consider an inherently oppressive and dominating system. Radical feminists feel that there is a male-based authority and power structure and that it is responsible for oppression and inequality, and that as long as the system and its values are in place, society will not be able to be reformed in any significant way.

Some radical feminists see no alternatives other than the total uprooting and reconstruction of society in order to achieve their goals. Over time a number of sub-types of Radical feminism have emerged, such as Cultural feminism, Separatist feminism and Anti-pornography feminism. Cultural feminism is the ideology of a “female nature” or “female essence” that attempts to revalidate what they consider undervalued female attributes. It emphasizes the difference between women and men but considers that difference to be psychological, and to be culturally constructed rather than biologically innate. Its critics assert that because it is based on an essentialist view of the differences between women and men and advocates independence and institution building, it has led feminists to retreat from politics to “life-style” Once such critic, Alice Echols (a feminist historian and cultural theorist), credits Redstockings member Brooke Williams with introducing the term cultural feminism in 1975 to describe the de politicization of radical feminism.[ Separatist feminism is also a form of radical feminism that does not support heterosexual relationships. Its proponents argue that the sexual disparities between men and women are not resolvable. Separatist feminists generally do not feel that men can make positive contributions to the feminist movement and that even well-intentioned men replicate patriarchal dynamics.

Author Marilyn Frye describes separatist feminism as “separation of various sorts or modes from men and from institutions, relationships, roles and activities that are male-defined, male-dominated, and operating for the benefit of males and the maintenance of male privilege – this separation being initiated or maintained, at will, by women”. Feminism has altered predominant perspectives in a wide range of areas within Western societies, ranging from culture to law. Feminist activists have campaigned for women’s legal rights (rights of contract, property rights, voting rights); for women’s right to bodily integrity and autonomy, for abortion rights, and for reproductive rights (including access to contraception and quality prenatal care); for protection from domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape; for workplace rights, including maternity leave and equal pay; and against other forms of discrimination. During much of its history, most feminist movements and theories had leaders who were predominantly middle-class white women from Western Europe and North America.The emancipation of women, i.e. their liberation from religious, legal, economic, and sexual oppression, their access to higher education, and their escape from narrow gender roles is not easily achieved. The struggle for sexual equality has a long history and is likely to continue for some time. Even if it should soon be won in the industrial nations, it may well rage on in many “underdeveloped” countries.

In traditionally patriarchal societies any improvement in the status of women has far-reaching consequences and produces fundamental political changes. Therefore it is always resisted by the established powers. However, it seems certain that they will ultimately have to relent, because the emancipation of women is both necessary and desirable.

Now women have vowed to achieve what they really deserve. It will provide for a greater degree of social justice and thus benefit everyone. Indeed, from the beginning, the great “feminists” or champions of women’s rights have always insisted that they worked in the interest of the whole human race. The feminist movement therefore has always been a humanist movement. Some of its representatives were reformers, others revolutionaries, but virtually all of them worked for a better, more equitable and more humane world. Much can be learned from their experiences. They often suffered ridicule, persecution, and defeat, but also won admiration, support, and victory. Gradually, they achieved many of their goals. Their opponents, on the other hand, learned that a just cause cannot be suppressed forever. Where needed reforms are consistently blocked, revolution becomes inevitable.

The relationship between men and feminism has been complex. Men have taken part in significant responses to feminism in each ‘wave’ of the movement. There have been positive and negative reactions and responses, depending on the individual man and the social context of the time. These responses have varied from pro-feminism to anti-feminism. In the twenty-first century new reactions to feminist ideologies have emerged including a generation of male scholars involved in gender studies, and also men’s rights activists who promote male equality (including equal treatment in family, divorce and anti-discrimination law).

Historically a number of men have engaged with feminism. Philosopher Jeremy Bentham demanded equal rights for women in the eighteenth century. In 1866, philosopher John Stuart Mill (author of “The Subjection of Women”) presented a women’s petition to the British parliament; and supported an amendment to the 1867 Reform Bill. Others have lobbied and campaigned against feminism. Today, academics like Michael Flood and Michael Kimmel are involved with men’s studies and pro-feminism. A number of feminist writers maintain that identifying as a feminist is the strongest stand men can take in the struggle against sexism. They have argued that men should be allowed, or even be encouraged, to participate in the feminist movement. Other female feminists argue that men cannot be feminists simply because they are not women. They maintain that men are granted inherent privileges that prevent them from identifying with feminist struggles, thus making it impossible for them to identify with feminists. Fidelma Ashe has approached the issue of male feminism by arguing that traditional feminist views of male experience and of “men doing feminism” have been monolithic. She explores the multiple political discourses and practices of pro-feminist politics, and evaluates each strand through an interrogation based upon its effect on feminist politics.

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Answer : There are many theories regarding the causes of gender inequality. These are:

• Psychoanalytic feminism is based on Freud and his psychoanalytic theories. It maintains that gender is not biological but is based on the psycho-sexual development of the individual. Psychoanalytical feminists believe that gender inequality comes from early childhood experiences, which lead men to be masculine, and women to believe to be feminine. It is further maintained that gender leads to a social system that is dominated by males, which in turn influences the individual psycho-sexual development. As a solution it was suggested to avoid the gender-specific structuring of the society by male-female coeducation. In the last 30 years, the contemporary French psychoanalytical theories concerning the feminine, that refer to sexual difference rather than to gender. Some psychoanalysts have largely influenced not only feminist theory but also the understanding of the subject in philosophy and the general field of psychoanalysis itself.
• Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theories or politics. Its history has been varied, from classic works of female authors such as George Eliot, and Margaret Fuller to cutting-edge theoretical work in women’s studies and gender studies by “third-wave” authors. In the most general, feminist literary criticism before the 1970s was concerned with the politics of women’s authorship and the representation of women’s condition within literature. Since the arrival of more complex conceptions of gender and subjectivity, feminist literary criticism has taken a variety of new routes. It has considered gender in the terms of Freudian as part of the deconstruction of existing power relations.
• Feminists have taken many different approaches to the analysis of cinema. These include discussions of the function of women characters in particular film narratives or in particular genres, such as film noir, where a woman character can often be seen to embody a subversive sexuality that is dangerous to men and is ultimately punished with death. In considering the way that films are put together, many feminist film critics have pointed to the “male gaze” that predominates in film making. Through the use of various film techniques, such as shot reverse shot, the viewer is led to align herself with the point of view of a male protagonist. Notably, women function as objects of this gaze far more often than as proxies for the spectator. Feminist film theory of the last twenty years is heavily influenced by the general transformation in the field of aesthetics, including the new options of articulating the gaze, offered by psychoanalytical French feminism.
• Linda and Griselda Pollock are prominent art historians writing on contemporary and modern artists and articulating Art history from a feminist perspective since the 1970s. Pollock works with French psychoanalysis to offer new insights into art history and contemporary art with special regard to questions of trauma and trans-generation memory in the works of women artists. Feminist history refers to the re-reading and re-interpretation of history from a feminist perspective. It is not the same as the history of feminism, which outlines the origins and evolution of the feminist movement. It also differs from women’s history, which focuses on the role of women in historical events. The goal of feminist history is to explore and illuminate the female viewpoint of history through rediscovery of female writers, artists, philosophers, etc, in order to recover and demonstrate the significance of women’s voices and choices in the past.
• Feminist geography is often considered part of a broader postmodern approach to the subject which is not primarily concerned with the development of conceptual theory in it but rather focuses on the real experiences of individuals and groups in their own localities, upon the geographies that they live in within their own communities. In addition to its analysis of the real world, it also critiques existing geographical and social studies, arguing that academic traditions are delineated by patriarchy and those contemporary studies which do not confront the nature of previous work reinforce the male bias of academic study.
• Feminist philosophy refers to philosophy approached from a feminist perspective. Feminist philosophy involves both attempts to use the methods of philosophy to further the cause of the feminist movements, and attempts to criticize or re-evaluate the ideas of traditional philosophy from within a feminist framework. There is no one school of feminist philosophy: feminist philosophers, as philosophers, are found in both the analytic and Continental traditions, and the myriad different viewpoints taken on philosophical issues within those traditions; and feminist philosophers, as feminists, are found belonging to the many different varieties of feminism.
• Feminist sexology is an offshoot of traditional studies of sexology that focuses on the inter-sectionalism of sex and gender in relation to the sexual lives of women. Feminist sexology shares many principles with the wider field of sexology; in particular, it does not try to prescribe a certain path or “normality” for women’s sexuality, but only observe and note the different and varied ways in which women express their sexuality. Looking at sexuality from a feminist point of view creates connections between the different aspects of a person’s sexual life.
• Feminist economics broadly refers to a developing branch of economics that applies feminist insights and critiques to economics. Research under this heading is often interdisciplinary, critical, or heterodox. It encompasses debates about the relationship between feminism and economics on many levels: from applying mainstream economic methods to under-researched “women’s” areas, to questioning how mainstream economics values the reproductive sector, to deeply philosophical critiques of economic epistemology and methodology. One prominent issue that feminist economists investigate is how the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) does not adequately measure unpaid labor predominantly performed by women, such as housework, childcare, and eldercare. Feminist economists have also challenged and exposed the rhetorical approach of mainstream economics. They have made critiques of many basic assumptions of mainstream and economics model. They have been instrumental in creating alternative models, such as the Capability Approach and incorporating gender into the analysis of economic data. Marilyn Power suggests that feminist economic methodology can be broken down into five categories.
• Modern feminist science is based on the view that many differences between the sexes are based on socially constructed gender identities rather than on biological sex differences. For example, Anne Fausto-Sterling’s book Myths of Gender explores the assumptions embodied in scientific research that purports to support a biologically essentialist view of gender. Her second book, Sexing the Body discussed the biological possibility of more than two true biological sexes. However, in The Female Brain, Louann Brizendine argues that brain differences between the sexes are a biological reality with significant implications for sex-specific functional differences. Steven Rhoads’ book Taking Sex Differences Seriously illustrates sex-dependent differences across a wide scope. Carol Tavris, in his book uses psychology and sociology to critique theories that use biological reductionism to explain differences between men and women. She argues rather than using evidence of innate gender difference there is an over-changing hypothesis to justify inequality and perpetuate stereotypes. Sarah notes how feminists and sociologists have become suspect of evolutionary psychology, particularly inasmuch as sociobiology is subjected to complexity in order to strengthen sexual difference as immutable through pre-existing cultural value judgments about human nature and natural selection. Where feminist theory is criticized for its “false beliefs about human nature,” Kember then argues in conclusion that “feminism is in the interesting position of needing to do more biology and evolutionary theory in order not to simply oppose their renewed hegemony, but in order to understand the conditions that make this possible, and to have a say in the construction of new ideas and artifact.

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Answer : Gender equality (also known as gender equity, gender egalitarianism, or sexual equality) is the goal of the equality of the genders or the sexes, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality. World bodies have defined gender equality as related to human rights, especially women’s rights, and economic development. UNICEF defines gender equality as “leveling the playing field for girls and women by ensuring that all children have equal opportunity to develop their talents.” The United Nations Population Fund declared gender equality “first and foremost, a human right.” Gender equity is one of the goals of the United Nations Millennium Project, to end world poverty by 2015; the project claims, “Every single Goal is directly related to women’s rights and societies where women are not afforded equal rights as men can never achieve development in a sustainable manner.” God has created men and women equal in their essential dignity and human personhood, but different and complementary in function with male headship in the home and in the Church.” The need for the equality between male and female is the need of the hour. Men are expected to take spiritual responsibility, often called headship, for leadership in the home. Women are restricted from holding the teaching office of the church and from spiritual leadership in the home and in marriage.

Gender mainstreaming is the public policy concept of assessing the differential implications for women and men of any planned policy action, including legislation and programs, in all areas and levels. The concept of gender mainstreaming also demands this justice the idea has been developed in the United Nations development community. The idea was formally featured in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Most definitions conform to the UN Economic and Social Council formally defined the concept.

Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programs, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality. Egalitarianism is a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and has the same political, economic, social, and civil rights. Generally it applies to being held equal under the law and society at large. In actual practice, one may be considered an egalitarian in most areas listed above, even if not subscribing to equality in every possible area of individual difference. Precisely speaking women have the ability to take part in every field of activity. Therefore doing justice to them ensures the true development of the society and the nation.

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Answer : Sex and gender distinction is a concept in feminist theory, political feminism, and sociology which distinguish sex, a natural or biological feature, from gender, the cultural or learned significance of sex. The distinction is strategically important for some strands of feminist theory and politics, particularly second-wave feminism, because on it is premised the argument that gender is not biological destiny, and that the patriarchal oppression of women is a cultural phenomenon which need not necessarily follow from biological sexual differentiation. The distinction allows feminists to accept some form of natural sexual difference while criticizing gender inequality.

Some third-wave feminists like Judith Butler, French feminists and social constructionists within sociology have disputed the biological-natural status the distinction imputes to sex, arguing instead that both sex and gender are culturally constructed and structurally complicit. The most extreme view maintains that gender is totally undetermined by sex. As popularly used, sex and gender is not defined in this fashion. There has been increased usage of the word “gender” to refer to sexual differences, because of the dual meaning of the word “sex” as a biological feature as well as meaning the act of physical relationship. To determine gender, however, social and cultural perceptions of masculine and feminine traits and roles must be taken into account.

There is considerable, but not total, correlation between female sex and feminine gender, and male sex and masculine gender. Gender is learned through a process of socialization and through the culture of the particular society concerned. In many cultures boys are encouraged in the acts considered to display male traits (and girls vice versa) through the toys given to children (guns for boys, dolls for girls), the kind of discipline meted out, the jobs or careers to which they might aspire and the portrayal of men and women in the media. Children learn their gender from birth. They learn how they should behave in order to be perceived by others, and themselves, as either masculine or feminine. Throughout their life this is reinforced by parents, teachers, peers, their culture and society. Every society uses biological sex as one criterion for describing gender, but, beyond that simple starting point, no two cultures would completely agree on what distinguishes one gender from another. There is therefore considerable variation in gender roles between cultures.

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Answer : A Gender difference is a distinction of biological and/or physiological characteristics typically associated with either males or females of a species in general. In the study of humans, socio-political issues arise in classifying whether a sex difference results from the biology of gender. For example, men are taller than women on average, but an individual woman may be taller than an individual.Males and females are different from the moment of conception. Chromosomal and hormonal differences make males and females physically different. Biological differences, for example, give the female health superiority. At every age, from conception until old age, more males than females get sick and die.

Approximately 120 males are conceived for every 100 females, yet there are only 105 live male births for each 100 female births, meaning that fetuses spontaneously aborted (miscarried) or stillborn are typically males. Males are more susceptible than females to respiratory, bacterial, and viral infections and hepatitis. The explanation for females being the healthier sex is that they have twice as many of a group of genes that program the production of immunological agents. Thus, females, compared with males, produce larger amounts of antibodies to combat a number of infectious agents.

Hormonal differences in the sexes are significant. The male hormones (androgens) and female hormones (estrogen) direct the process of sex differentiation from about six weeks after conception throughout life. Androgens make males taller, heavier, and more muscular. At puberty they trigger the production of secondary sexual characteristics. In males, the secondary characteristics include body and facial hair, a deeper voice, broader shoulders, and a muscular body. These hormonal differences may explain in part why males tend to be more active, aggressive, and dominant than are females. But these are just pretext on which women are discriminated. This gender injustice has actually much to do with socio-cultural tradition where which is authenticated on the basis of biological differences between men and women.

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Answer : Socialism is a process not an event: the values and culture involve a continuous inter action between individual and collective in a multiplicity of spheres of life over time. We all come out of capitalist society. We are all affected to a greater or lesser degree by capitalist culture and values. Struggles and movements are spaces within which to teach and learn socialist values, they are not an automatic result.

The transformation of property provides a context for the transformation of social relations- it does not automatically produce it. The question of the administration, goals, structure and priorities of collective property can only lead to a socialist society if the collectivities which decide are infused with socialist values. The transformation of social relations of production is an important step toward the creation of self-managed socialism. However, relations of productive are only one aspect of social relations. Transformations in the spheres of family, race, gender, ethnic and personal relations are necessary in themselves and also to ensure that every social stratum participates in the self-management of production.

Socialism truly advocates for the freedom and equality to establish social justice by giving rights and responsibility irrespective of gender. Today these social transformations and struggles take place in the society at large and within the spaces of social-political movements and collectivist communities. The process of creating a socialist society is long and challenging. But the examples of collective action, solidarity, workplace assemblies, gender equality in the living experiences today, with all their contradictory features, is reason for hope. We do not strive for a socialist utopia of individual thinkers, but for a socialist society derived from the collective practices and egalitarian values we experience in our struggles today.

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Answer : Though gender injustice and sexism refers to beliefs and attitudes in relation to the gender of a person, such beliefs and attitudes are of a social nature and do not, normally, carry any legal consequences. Sex discrimination, on the other hand, may have legal consequences. Though what constitutes sex discrimination varies between countries, the essence is that it is an adverse action taken by one person against another person that would not have occurred had the person been of another sex. Discrimination of that nature in certain enumerated circumstances is illegal in many countries. Currently, discrimination based on sex is defined as adverse action against another person that would not have occurred had the person been of another sex. This is considered a form of prejudice and is illegal in certain enumerated circumstances in most countries.

Sexual discrimination can arise in different contexts. For instance an employee may be discriminated against by being asked discriminatory questions during a job interview, or because an employer did not hire, promote or wrongfully terminated an employee based on his or her gender, or employers pay unequally based on gender. In an educational setting there could be claims that a student was excluded from an educational institution, program, opportunity, loan, student group, or scholarship due to his or her gender. In the housing setting there could be claims that a person was refused negotiations on seeking a house, contracting/leasing a house or getting a loan based on his or her gender. Another setting where there have been claims of gender discrimination is banking; for example if one is refused credit or is offered unequal loan terms based on one’s gender. Another setting where there is usually gender discrimination is when one is refused to extend his or her credit, refused approval of credit/loan process, and if there is a burden of unequal loan terms based on one’s gender. Socially, sexual differences have been used to justify different roles for men and women, in some cases giving rise to claims of primary and secondary roles.

While there are non-physical differences between men and women, there is little agreement as to what those differences are. Unfair discrimination usually follows the gender stereotyping held by a society. The United Nations had concluded that women often experience a “glass ceiling” and that there are no societies in which women enjoy the same opportunities as men. The term “glass ceiling” is used to describe a perceived barrier to advancement in employment based on discrimination, especially sex discrimination. In the United States, the Glass Ceiling Commission, a government-funded group, stated: Trans-gendered individuals, both male to female and female to male, often experience problems which often lead to dismissals, underachievement, difficulty in finding a job, social isolation, and, occasionally, violent attacks against them

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