Gender Identity Disorder and the Family

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Walking down the street, Skylar seems like an ordinary man going about his daily business, but looks can be deceiving. Skylar was originally born as a female, and feeling he was supposed to be a male, started transitioning to male at the age of 16. “He’d just been burdened with a body that needed medical and surgical adjustments so that it could reflect the gender he knew himself to be,” writes Margaret Talbot (2013). Skylar’s family was very accepting, as they had already expected this from the time he was quite young. They gave Skylar time to think over whether he really wanted to transition or not, and when he decided he did, they were extremely happy for him and helped him through the transition. Skylar’s testimony shows the positive influence that having a transsexual family member can have on a family. Having a transsexual person in a family will positively influence that family and educate them on more conservative issues dealing with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. While some families are just as accepting as Skylar’s family was, not all families will like one of their members identifying as transsexual. According to Anita J. Catlin and Bethany Gibson (2011) , there are two kinds of responses towards transsexual teens and children from their families. One response is “acceptance using mental and physical health measures to ease the transition, and waiting to see what develops in the future.” This benefits the child and family more by the family accepting the child as they are which then in turn opens up the eyes of the family. The other possible response is for the family to “consider feelings as a treatable disease and attempt to treat the child by reprogramming.” This response hurts the child a... ... middle of paper ... ...to Transsexualism. Other families however reject their children and become cold and distant. Transsexuals need constant support from their families in order to function correctly and to have less anxiety and depression. Their anxiety and depression affect every aspect of their lives and every aspect of their families lives. Many families will not accept that their children are transsexual and want to change them, which cause major issues in the child’s life. Works Cited Gibson, B., & Catlin, A.J. (2011). Care of the Child with the Desire to Change Gender-Part 1. Urologic Nursing, 31(4), 222-229. Rankin, S., & Beemyn, G. (2012). Beyond a Binary: The Lives of Gender- non conforming youth. About Campus, 17(4), 2-10. Staley, R. (2011). When Boys Would Rather Not Be Boys. Maclearls, 124(32), 44-49. Talbot, M. (2013). About a Boy. New Yorker, 89(5), 1-65.

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