If your child has recently begun to question her/his/their gender or has come out to you as transgender, chances are you have some questions.
Perhaps they have requested a preference for a new name or pronoun, or have talked with you about their desire to take hormones. When a child of any age shares this process with a parent, it is common to experience a myriad of emotions. You may have never heard the word transgender until recently. You may be concerned for your child’s safety or unsure of how to discuss your child’s gender identity with your family and friends. Or perhaps this seems like the natural course for your child and you simply need more information. It is important to us that you, as parents and family members, have the information and support that you want and need. Below is a list of online and print resources, as well as avenues for finding support.
Books
- Transgender 101: A simple guide to a complex issue by Nicholas Teich - A clear and concise overview of the psychological, physical, and social aspects of being transgender. Written by a social worker and member of the transgender community.
- Helping Your Transgender Teen: A Guide for Parents by Irwin Krieger - A guide for helping parents better understand their teens as well as navigating their reactions to their transgender child.
- Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin - In this book, teenagers describe their experiences as members of the transgender community.
- The Gender Creative Child: Pathways for Nurturing and Supporting Children Who Live Outside Gender Boxes by Diane Ehrensaft - Many parents have seen gender nonconformance in their children from a young age and the book speaks primarily about gender diversity vs. transitioning on the male/female binary.
Finding a Support Group/Forum
- Most large and many medium and small sized cities will have an LGBT center which may offer support groups and programming and may have other local resources and information. Use a Google search to find an LGBT resource center near you.
Online Resources for Parents and Families of Transgender People
- Welcoming our Trans Family and Friends provides a broad and in-depth overview of several issues of concern to parents and families - this is a good place to start.
- Transgender FAQ provides a good “at-a-glance” overview.
- Gender Spectrum provides support and holds conferences for both families and healthcare providers, especially oriented toward younger children.
- The World Professional Association for Transgender Health publishes the internationally recognized Standards of Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse People outlines the standards of care your child should expect to receive.
- Dr. Madeline Deutsch, MD is the transgender medicine consultant at University Health Services, is an Assistant Clinical Professor at UC San Francisco, works at the UCSF Center of Excellence for Transgender Health, and is herself transgender.
- Transgeneration is a documentary that follows four transgender college students over a year.
- Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People from the American Psychological Association.
A word of caution about searching for information online: The internet has forever changed the availability of information on a wide range of topics; immediate results are at one’s fingertips 24 hours a day. However, the open nature of the internet means that there is a lot of information available that is outdated, incorrect, misleading, or may have a negative bias toward transgender people. Note that the American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association all oppose the use of “reparative therapy” for transgender people.