Helping to Understand Transgender Youth & Issues
One of our missions is to help in better understanding transgender people. We empower families to develop supportive environments in which their children may express their gender, be respected, and help build a society in which ALL children are respected and celebrated.
PFLAG-Fort Wayne works with transgender individuals, as well as their families and friends. We work together with them to understand their gender, find means to fit into school and society, and deal with many other transgender issues. Each family builds on the experiences of families that have come before them, learning from one another or just finding a shoulder to cry on.
We also have access to a number of resources available to families of transgender people, including professionals and groups that support gender equality such as mental health professionals, doctors, churches, and other support groups. Each person is directed to a range of choices that may suit their own needs.
We suggest you check out TYFA - Trans Youth Family Allies and we will put up more information as we build our own understanding.
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From the moment we're born, our gender identity is no secret. We're either a boy or a girl. Gender organizes our world into pink or blue. As we grow up, most of us naturally fit into our gender roles. Girls wear dresses and play with dolls. For boys, it's pants and trucks.
But for some people, their bodies don't match what's between their ears. They may be transgender, or may be gender diverse in any number of ways.
'I'm a Girl' -- Understanding Transgender Children - Parents of Transgender 6-Year-Old Girl Support Her Choice - - Go to the ABC News story
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Since he could speak, Brandon, now 8, has insisted that he was meant to be a girl. This summer, his parents decided to let him grow up as one. His case, and a rising number of others like it, illuminates a heated scientific debate about the nature of gender—and raises troubling questions about whether the limits of child indulgence have stretched too far.
Read more from the Atlantic.
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7yr. old Jazz's thoughts on being a Transgender Child
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Transgender Issues - Because of parent concerns about their children who might be transgender, I suggest you visit Susan Stryker on Transgender History in America. It is 41 minutes long (from the Indiana Equality website), but is helpful in understanding this reality in the lives of some of our neighbors. Some of it is not what you might expect - but it is what is going on in the lives of some friends - our neighbors, classmates, fellow workers - so it is important the work to understand. People are simply who and what they are. Nothing more, nothing less. It is up to us to deal with it and let everyone get on with their lives in ways that allow them to be positively connected with us. We are so much happier when we work to have some compassionate understanding of those who are different from us - because we are different from them. The video is not that great, but the information is helpful in understanding. - - RM
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ABC episode of 20/20. It features Barbara Walters as she interviews the families of young transgender children. It is amazingly unbiased, ...This is the first part of an ABC episode of 20/20. Walters interviews the families of young transgender children. It is amazingly unbiased, sensitive, and well done. Have your kleenex handy....
My Secret Self - Part 1 of 5 - If you want the other parts, you can find them on Youtube - probably featured at end of video.
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