Transgender Prisoners Face Discrimination, Harassment, and Abuse Above and Beyond that of Other Prisoners.
In Idaho, inmate Linda Patricia Thompson wanted a transfer to a wo
men’s prison. A male-to-female transgender woman, or M.T.F., she had been living as a woman for several years, had changed her name legally, and was taking black-market oestrogen when she could. Thompson had never been able to afford sex reassignment surgery, nor could she obtain hormones legally: the signatures of two physicians and a psychiatrist were required, and she couldn’t afford the visits. Still, Thompson was assertively feminine, even in handcuffs. At the time of her arrest, she wore a dress and high heels. Continue reading
