Transgender Children

Abstract

The need for social justice among all social groups is a human right. For far too long, the members of the transgender community have been victims of crime and discrimination. A vast majority of our society does not even know who transgender people are.

In order for one to support the transgender people, they must understand the meaning of being transgender. It is usually not a phase, it is not something you choose, and it is the product of your genetic identity.

Support for transgender individuals is extremely important. Schools and other public institutions are ill informed on how to appropriately address these individuals.

        Media representation of transgender individuals is essentially a mixed bag. There is a huge amount of underrepresentation in modern day films and television but there are also a few prominent celebrities coming out as transgender. They act as role models for transgender youth.

Introduction

The LGBT community has gained momentum in the past decade. Lesbian and gay individuals are no longer regarded as second-class citizens; equality is the law of the land. With the ever-growing presence of the media, we are exposed to a substantial amount of individuals and their testimonies than ever before. Celebrities such as Caitlin Jenner and Laverne Cox coming out as transgender have stimulated a national conversation spotlighted on the transgender community. Even though they are starting to gain more recognition in modern society the transgender community is still seen as the “red-headed step child” of the LGBT community.  That is, the trans community is almost always underrepresented, misunderstood and severely discriminated against. We are essentially only hitting the tip of the iceberg in our attempt to demystify the transgender identity. There are a approximately 700,000 adults who identify as transgender and that number is growing as people now have the resources and courage to come out to the public.

An even lesser known fraction of the transgender community is the children that make up this community. Although the exact number is unknown, many kids and their families are coming forth and sharing their struggles and joys about life with a transgender child.

In order for transgender children to live a normal and fulfilled life we must teach the public to accept and support their gender identity journey. Statistics show that with support there is  a decrease in suicide rates  as well as a dramatic increase in the mental wellbeing of these children.

Parents of transgender children and anyone who knows a transgender child wanting to be informed about the ways to mentally support a transgender child would greatly benefit from reading this report.

Literature Review

In recent decades, there has been an increase in the studies and general curiosity about the subject of transgender identity. So, upon my initial research, I found a wealth of knowledge about this community. I began my search for documents through the internet using notable sources such as psychologytoday.com and psychology.org as well as online scientific journals. Through these scientific journals I encountered information on many scientific studies regarding the mental stability of transgender children and how their transgender identity affects the mental stability of their family. I also reviewed literature from the Texas A&M University library. There I found testimonials from transgender children, books regarding transgender identity as well as more scientific study results.

         Another source of information that facilitated my research in this subject was the interview I conducted with psychologist Dr. Trujillo. In the summer of 2015 I interned for a psychologist in my hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas. I am very fortunate that Dr. Trujillo agreed to allow me to interview her and use her knowledge to shape my view of transgender children.  

What Does it Mean to be Transgender?

The Latin definition of “trans” means “to cross.” Simply put, when someone describes himself or herself as being transgender they are “crossing gender.” The word transgender is an adjective and should not be used as a noun. For example, one would say “Geoff is a transgender person,” instead of saying “Geoff is a transgender.” When we talk about gender we may be describing one of three things, a person’s gender identity, a person’s gender expression or a combination of both. Gender identity refers to our brain; it is our psychological identification of gender. Gender expression is the way we communicate our gender, for example the way we walk, our voice infliction and tone, the way we dress, and our body language. We define gender expression as masculine, feminine or androgynous traits. To be transgender means a person’s gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth, or a person’s gender expression is outside of traditional societal norms. People in the transgender community may describe themselves using a wide variety of terms, including transgender, transsexual and gender queer. Always use the term preferred by the individual. Most individuals in the transgender community seek to bring their bodies more into alignment with their gender identity. Not all transgender people will take the steps necessary to change their physical body and it’s important to know that being transgender is not dependent upon medical procedures.

Is this a Phase?

 What would you do if your young daughter came up to you one day and said she was a boy? Although reaction from parents differs greatly, most will have thoughts of confusion, disbelief and fear for their child’s well being. The difficult dilemma parents in this situation face is whether to take this child’s belief that they are the gender different from their natal sex seriously or to dismiss this statement as a phase. Children, especially those in preschool and kindergarten can exhibit normal behavior known as gender incongruent behavior. Gender incongruence states that children will behave and socialize themselves as the opposite gender but still hold the belief that they are the gender that is on their birth certificate. Multiple psychologists have looked at the development of gender identity overtime and have determined a range of when we first begin to sense our gender identity, stabilize our gender identity and then concretized our gender identity. In my interview with Dr. Trujillo, it is stated that humans have a sense of our gender identity as early as 18 months old. However our gender identity does not fully conceptualize until we are between the ages of nine and twelve. No one child acts, thinks or behaves in the same fashion. In this early stage in life some children cannot decipher between known gender concepts. For instance, if the child does not like to play in the mud but prefers to dance indoors this does not mean that the child is a girl. Gender stereotypes should not be a rigid measurement of kids gender identity. One psychological perspective states that even if children are expressing gender nonconforming behavior, in most instances, they will not become transgender adults. On the other hand, if young children, who are expressing a transgender identity at a young age, continue to be consistent, persistent and insistent about their identity through adolescence, they are most likely to become transgender adults. Whether this expression of gender nonconformity is a phase or not is ultimately up to the discretion of the child’s parents and psychologists, after careful and periodic observation of course.