The New York Times ran a must-read article yesterday on gender variance in children, “Boys Will Be Boys? Not in These Families.” Parents, says author Jan Hoffman, are increasingly accepting of gender nonconforming behavior in their children. “Rather than looking away,” she writes, “they are trying to understand their toddler’s unconventional gender behavior, in order to support it and prepare for what they fear could be a life of challenges.”
I’m impressed that Hoffman feels no need to quote from any of the right-wing supposed “experts” who still say it is best to suppress such behaviors.
Although it is refreshing to see such a positive article on the subject, I think many parents are still not as accepting or understanding as the ones Hoffman cites in her piece—although she does document the struggles even these parents have to balance their children’s desires with the need to protect them. But I hope she has indeed detected a trend towards greater openness.
The New York Times’ Motherlode Blog is hosting a discussion about the article, so you can join in the talk over there (as well as here at Mombian).
And here are a few related resources I’ve collected on the subject myself, some of which Hoffman cites as well:
- Trans Youth Family Allies is a terrific organization helping parents of transgender and gender variant children, as is Gender Spectrum Family.
- The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals
, by Stephanie Brill and Rachel Pepper, is a great resource for parents and educators. The Kids of Trans Resource Guide, by Monica Canfield-Lenfest of the COLAGE Kids of Trans program, looks from the flip side. Here’s my review of both.
- This American Life On Transgender Children: The NPR show did a great piece in February profiling two eight-year-old transgender children. The segment starts about 29 minutes into the show.
- 10,000 Dresses
, by Marcus Ewert, is a delightful picture book with a transgender protagonist. My review and author interview is here.
- My Princess Boy, another picture book about a boy who loves to dress as a princess. A positive and needed story, although I’m not crazy about the faceless characters in the illustrations.
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