HONORS RHETORIC AND CIVIC LIFE

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ESSAY   
“Trans”- forming the Face of American Health Insurance
In this essay, I was required to identify and research a problem, and then propose a specific policy as a solution. I chose to treat the topic of the exclusion of sex reassignment surgery in the majority of health insurance policies, and proposed that the federal government, in a manner similar to the mandatory coverage of mental health treatments, pass a law requiring that sex reassignment surgery be covered by health care plans both public and private as prescribed to treat Gender Identity Disorder (GID), commonly known as transsexualism.

This essay represents not only my ability to synthesize research information, advocate for an issue, and form policy, but also my ability to infuse my writing with my personal passions and interests in a professional way. I also feel that the exclusion of these medically necessary surgeries in health-care insurance represents a human rights issue. According to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations, 1948),“everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services,” and I strongly believe that treatment for GID patients is necessary for access to adequate health and well-being for these individuals. 

SPEECH   
Understanding Transsexualism
For this speech, I was required to examine the same problem as in the essay (above), and then motivate my class to take a specific action to improve the situation. Although my classmates have little power to establish sex reassignment surgery as part of all health insurance plans, I felt that if they took the time to learn about transsexualism, they could take a step in that direction. I made a video to accompany my recording of this speech to add even more pathos to the compelling stories of America's transsexual population. In this class, I learned about visual rhetoric's effect on its audience, and felt that any further dissemination of my speech would be greatly aided by a visual component. The video was made using Apple's iMovie, and all image and music credits can be found at the end of the video.