Supporting Transgender and Gender-Creative Youth
Schools, Families, and Communities in Action, Revised Edition
Summary
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- About the author(s)/editor(s)
- About the book
- This eBook can be cited
- Table of Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Introduction (Kimberley Ens Manning / Annie Pullen Sansfaçon / Elizabeth J. Meyer)
- The Erasure of Childhood Gender Creativity
- Dream Big, Dream Open—Voir Grand, Rêver Librement
- Overview of This Book
- Notes
- References
- Section One: Theoretical and Clinical Perspectives
- Chapter One: From Gender Identity Disorder to Gender Identity Creativity: The Liberation of Gender-Nonconforming Children and Youth (Diane Ehrensaft)
- The New Gender Creative World
- Re-Learning Gender
- Children’s Colorful Display of Gender Creativity
- Key Players in a Gender Creative World: Parents and Schools
- Conclusion
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Two: Health and Well-Being among Gender Independent Children and Their Families: A Review of the Literature (Jake Pyne)
- Understanding Gender Independence in Children
- Gender Independence in Children and Mental Health
- Social Stressors on Gender Independent Children and Their Families
- Supporting Families with Gender Independent Children
- Considering Adult Outcomes for Gender Independent Children
- Transition: Social and Medical Options
- Social Transition
- Medical Transition
- Outcomes Associated with Transitioning at a Younger Age
- Gaps in Research
- Implications for Health and Social Service Providers
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Three: Working Together for an Inclusive and Gender-Creative Future: A Critical Lens on ‘Gender Dysphoria’ (Jemma Tosh)
- Gender-Creativity and Psychiatry
- Feminist, Transgender, and Intersex Perspectives
- Collaborative Gender-Inclusive Activism
- Reflections
- Conclusions
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Four: Transformative Gender Justice as a Framework for Normalizing Gender Variance Among Children and Youth (Ann Travers)
- Prelude
- Introduction
- Invisibility
- Transformative Gender Justice
- Queer Feminism and Transgender Scholarship
- Intersectionality
- Transformative Gender Justice: Connecting Harm Reduction Strategies to Broader Social Transformation Objectives
- The Long Haul
- Harm Reduction in Key Points of Contact
- Epilogue
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Five: Trans Youth of Color: Knowledges, Realities and Practice Strategies (Edward Ou Jin Lee)
- Introduction
- The Complexity and Limits of Race and Gender Categories
- Emerging Literature on Trans Youth of Color and Migrants
- Core Features of an Analytical Framework for Practice with Trans Youth of Color
- Historical and Intergenerational Colonial Trauma
- Structural Violence in the Lives of Trans Youth of Color
- Structural Violence and Racialized People
- Intersectional Structural Violence and Trans People of Color
- Intersectionality as Praxis and Mobilization
- Promoting an Anti-oppression Framework for Practice with Trans Youth of Color
- Reflexive Anti-oppressive Praxis and Cultural Safety
- Key Features of an AO Framework for Practice with Trans Youth of Color
- Identify Key Theories Relevant to Person/Community
- Explore the Role of Historical and Intergenerational Trauma
- Develop Practice Strategies That Address Structural and Interpersonal Violence
- Affirm and Foster Intersectional Praxis and Mobilization
- Conclusion
- Note
- References
- Section Two: Work in Schools
- Chapter Six: Supporting Gender Diversity in Schools: Developmental and Legal Perspectives (Elizabeth J. Meyer)
- Introduction
- Developmental Framework
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
- Legal Issues
- Canada
- Status of Protections across Canada: “Gender Identity and Expression”
- United States of America
- Recommendations for Schools
- Conclusion
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Seven: Creating Affirming Spaces for Transgender and Gender-Creative Students in Schools: Lessons from Their Teachers (Elizabeth J. Meyer / Anika Tilland-Stafford / Lee Airton)
- Introduction
- Barriers and Trends in Mainstream Schools
- Barriers
- Pervasive Transphobia
- Frequent School Transfer
- Gay and Lesbian Educators as “Experts” on Gender Issues
- White Educators and Ethnocentrism
- The “Pedagogy of Exposure” and Students as “Sacrificial Lambs”
- Behavioral and Learning Difficulties
- A Balancing Act
- Supports
- Best Practices
- Vigilant and Protective Adults
- Beyond “Best Practices”: Alternative Schools as Models of Refuge and Support
- Flexible and Student-Centered Curriculum
- Creativity and Nonconformity Valued
- Fewer Sex-Segregated Activities or Facilities
- Restorative Justice
- Empowered Transgender and Gender-Creative Students
- Discussion
- Recommendations for Schools and Educators
- Appendix A: Methods & Participants
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Eight: “I Will Whip My Hair” and “Hold My Bow”: Gender Creativity in Rural Ontario (Karleen Pendleton Jiménez)
- Tomboys and Other Gender Heroes: The Study
- Everyone Says Hunting Is for Boys
- Toy Cars and Barbie Dolls
- “Call Me Like I’m a Girl”
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Nine: The Limitations and Possibilities for Teaching Transgender Issues in Education to Preservice Teachers (Jennifer C. Ingrey)
- Introduction: Teaching Transgender Issues in Education
- Theoretical Framework
- What is the Relevant Policy: Federal Provincial, Local?
- Three Pedagogical Approaches
- The Pedantic Approach: Terminology
- The Narrative Approach: A Case Study
- The Diagnostic Approach: Question Cards
- Conclusion
- Notes
- References
- Section Three: Families and Communities in Action
- Chapter Ten: Affirmation, Access, Autonomy: Canadian Parents Talk Trans* Rights (Kimberley Ens Manning / Akiko Asano)
- The Organizational Terrain
- Affirmation
- Access
- Autonomy
- Conclusion
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Eleven: Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Experience of Parents of Gender-Nonconforming Boys (Françoise Susset)
- Introduction
- Gender Nonconformity in Children: A Dangerous Place to be
- Impact of Stigmatization on Children’s Mental Health
- Different for Boys
- Impact of a Child’s Gender Nonconformity on the Parent–Child Relationship
- Listening to Parents’ Voices
- Parents’ Feelings
- Explanation: “Why Is My Child Like This?”
- Parents’ Behaviors in Response to Their Child’s Gender Expression
- In Summary
- Recommendations
- Inform, Empower and Support Parents and Children
- Expanding the Gender Playground
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Twelve: Ten Fingers, Ten Toes, and Potentially Trans: The Everyday Revolution of Gender Diverse Parenting (Arwyn Daemyir)
- Introduction
- Why All Children Need Gender Diverse Parenting
- Defining Gender Diverse Parenting
- Doing Gender Diverse Parenting
- Getting to Gender Diverse Parenting
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Thirteen: Parent-Initiated Gender Creativity: Raising Queerlings (Michelle Walks)
- Social & Political Context of Raising Queerlings
- Failure, Queerlings, and Gender Creativity
- Research Methods
- Findings
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Fourteen: Transforming Challenges into Action: Researching the Experience of Parents of Gender Creative Children through Social Action and Self-Directed Groupwork (Annie Pullen Sansfaçon / Audrey-Anne Dumais-Michaud / Marie-Joëlle Robichaud)
- Introduction
- What Do We Know about Parenting a Gender Creative Child?
- Better Understanding the Parent’s Experience: Methodological Considerations
- Summary of the Research Findings
- Understanding and Defining Gender Creativity as a Concept
- The Parents and Their Child: Recognizing and Accepting the Child as Being Gender Creative
- Specific Challenges to Parenting a Gender Creative Child
- The Needs of Parents of Gender Creative Children: Increasing Visibility and Developing Support Network
- Outcomes of the Process of the Social Action Research (SAR) Project
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Fifteen: Supporting Genderqueer Youth in Rural Communities: A Case Study (Lyndsey Hampton)
- Literature Review
- Lack of Social Support and Risks Faced by Genderqueer Youth
- Genderqueer Youth in School Settings
- The Importance of Support
- A Case Study
- Identifying a Need
- Creating Safe and Welcoming Spaces
- Activities and Observations
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Sixteen: “Expanding the Circle”: Serving Children, Youth, and Families by Integrating Gender Diversity and Affirming Gender-Independent Children (Lorraine Gale / Haley Syrja-Mcnally)
- Prologue
- Crossing the Lines
- How Professionals Typically Respond to Kids Who Step Out of Gender Boxes
- “No Longer Considered Ethical”—Critiques of the Pathology Model
- The Voice of Children—A Paradigm Shift
- About the Out and Proud Affirmation Guidelines
- The framework: “Expanding the Circle”
- Why “Expand the Circle?”
- The Four Pillars of the “Expanding the Circle” Framework
- Pillar 1—Listening
- Pillar 2—Affirmation
- Pillar 3—A Person-Centred Approach
- Pillar 4—Equity
- Best Practices—20 Guidelines, A Summary
- Environmental Climate—Guidelines for everyone within an organization
- Service Delivery—Guidelines for direct service and care providers
- Governance and leadership—Guidelines for management and organization-wide concerns
- Conclusion
- References
- Conclusion: Looking Back, Looking Forward (Annie Pullen Sansfaçon / Elizabeth J. Meyer / Kimberley Ens Manning / Marie-Joëlle Robichaud)
- Working with Gender Creative Children and Trans Youth: Some Ways Forward
- Specific Recommendations for Future Research
- Notes
- References
- Glossary of Terms (Lee Airton / Elizabeth J. Meyer)
- References
- Contributors
FIGURES
Figure 2.1: Studies Exploring Adult Sexual Orientation
Figure 2.2: Findings Regarding Adult “Gender Dysphoria”
Figure 6.1: Maslow’s Model
Figure 8.1: “Whip My Hair”
Figure 14.1: Gender Creative Kids Logos
Figure C.1: GCK Workshop Themes
TABLES
Table F.1: Summary of Provincial and Federal Protections as of June 2017
Table 6.1: Summary of Provincial Protections as of March 2017
Table 11.1: Participant Descriptions
We would first like to thank the driving force behind this project and the lead investigator on our research team, Kimberley Ens Manning. She had the vision and the drive to bring this project together and led the grant writing and conference organizing that produced this volume. This book simply would not exist without her. We are grateful for her dedication to the topic, her ability to juggle and multitask, and her leadership on this project. She is an amazing colleague and friend, and we consider ourselves quite fortunate to be able to work with her on such a meaningful project.
Another key player in organizing the conference that led to this volume is Jake Pyne. He was an amazing resource who helped make the first National Workshop on Gender Creative Kids (GCK Workshop) such a success. He brought his considerable expertise on the subject of transgender and gender independent youth as well as his networks that strengthened the diversity of participants who attended and presented at this workshop. In addition to his knowledge and networks he put significant time and effort into all the nuts and bolts of coordinating and planning the conference. We could not have done it without him.
In addition to Jake’s contributions, there were several other Research Assistants (RAs) who contributed to the work that was presented at the conference and included here in this volume. Andrea Clegg worked on the education project and the GCK workshop, and provided valuable legal and policy research for Elizabeth Meyer’s chapter. She was also active in supporting work related to the parents’ project described in Annie Pullen Sansfaçon’s chapter. Audrey-Anne Dumais Michaud and Marie-Joëlle Robichaud were also essential contributors to ← xiii | xiv → the parents’ project and Audrey-Anne provided support during the GCK workshop as well. Anika Stafford joined the project as a Research Assistant in 2013 and provided valuable research support for the Introduction and Conclusion. We are grateful for the time, energy, and ideas that all these graduate student assistants brought to the project.
We also would like to thank and recognize all 70+ participants who traveled from across Canada and the United States to be a part of the first National Workshop on Gender Creative Kids. We were so grateful to work with and learn alongside the diverse range of professionals and family members who were able to attend. The chapters included here represent about a quarter of the ideas presented at the conference. We wish we had more room and more time to include more, but hope that this is just the beginning of future opportunities to build on and share what we have learned. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada funded this workshop, and we would like to acknowledge their financial support of the project.
Finally, we must give great thanks to our managing editor, Lee Airton. Lee provided ongoing support to the logistics of putting this book together. In addition to supporting the writing and research of some first-time authors, Lee helped keep us on track for deadlines, compiling author information and contracts, and ensured this book was fully complete and ready for delivery to the publisher. This is no small feat to accomplish while still trying to complete one’s own doctoral dissertation. Thank you, Lee, for all of your efforts.
Since the first volume of this book went to press in 2013, many changes have taken place in the United States and Canada that impact the lives and realities of transgender and gender-creative children and their families. We are thrilled to see some of the advances being made in this area and the increased visibility and public awareness of transgender and gender-creative youth. In addition to the increased popular media coverage of transgender celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner, Janet Mock, and Laverne Cox, we have seen more young people publicly identifying as transgender, gender-creative, and non-binary including Jazz Jennings, the teenager who co-wrote the book, I am Jazz, and now stars in her own reality show in the U.S. In Canada, Charlie Lowthian-Rickert, another proud trans teen was named Grand Marshall of the Capital Pride Parade and recognized for her advocacy by Minister of Justice who has herself underlined Charlie’s courage to speak out as a trans child in Canada. Additionally, National Geographic Magazine, dedicated their December 2016 issue to the topic of gender worldwide and included a wide array of gender identities and expressions in their images and coverage of the topic. This preface intends to offer a brief overview of these changes in order to continue documenting and supporting the evolution in protections and supports for transgender, gender-creative, and non-binary youth and their families. ← xv | xvi →
CANADA
The Canadian landscape with regard to transgender youth rights and services has evolved rapidly over the past few years. A change of Government in 2015 lead to noticeable differences in the ways discourse around LGBT populations, and specifically trans youth, are presented. For example, in the past (as noted in Chapter Six), there were many failed attempts to ensure federal protections for gender identity and expression and the only serious proposals were by submitted by Private Member of parliament, a practice that rarely results in parliamentary changes. The last attempt was marked by highs and lows, with the then-named Bill C-279 that had passed through Parliament and Senate awaiting for Royal Assent before being sent back for a first reading in the Senate after Government prorogation1. The federal government was dissolved in 2015 before election, leaving the bill C-279 dead in Senate after nearly 4 years of processing though the different steps of democracy.
But things have changed in the Canadian political world. For example, the Liberal Prime Minister Hon. Justin Trudeau publicly promised that LGBT rights, and especially transgender rights would enjoy full protection under his government, with the new bill C-16, “An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code” moved by the Hon. Justice Minister Judy Wilson-Raybould. This Bill passed the Canadian Senate (67 to 11) on June 15, 2017 and went into effect on June 19, 2017 after securing royal assent. Justin Trudeau was also the first Prime Minister to walk in a Pride march. On a more local level, many provincial governments now offer more explicit protections in their Charters of Rights and Freedoms, and many groups can now feel a little bit more protected in terms of their fundamental rights.
Table F.1: Summary of Provincial and Federal Protections as of June 2017.
* = expanded protections since the publication of the First Edition
Source: http://www.tesaonline.org/human-rights-across-canada.html
**Source: http://www.cdpdj.qc.ca/en/droits-de-la-personne/motifs/Pages/genre.aspx
However, some groups are still left waiting and vulnerable. This is particularly the case for trans migrants who experience scattered protections, sometimes marked by a lack of coherence between the different government levels. To illustrate, a trans migrant can change their identity documents such as citizenship or permanent residency papers at Federal level but are still forced to have ID cards with showing the wrong gender marker and name in provinces such as Quebec. ← xvii | xviii →
In addition, services for trans youth remain scattered and practices do not all follow the same standards. Over the past two years, a long-operating gender identity clinic working with gender-creative children and trans youth in Toronto was closed down in order to ‘update and improve their model of care’ (CAMH Executive Summary, January 2016). At least two petitions highlighting different positions circulated around that closure, which demonstrates the contested nature of the work taking place both in clinical practices and academic circles about best standards of care for working with children and young people.
Despite a growing number of clinics that offer ‘affirming’ care to gender-creative children, trans youth and their families, there remain many issues in accessing services. For example, services tend to be more abundant in urban areas, leaving many youth in rural contexts with professionals who are poorly trained in the area of gender identity support services, or without services at all. Furthermore, some urban areas have seen the development of inclusive school policies (for example in Montreal and in Vancouver) but many schools remain misinformed and continue to require intensive oversight in developing their services for transgender youth. The United States has simultaneously experienced some gains and growing pains in the quest for improved equity and supports for transgender and gender-creative youth.
USA
In the United States, there are two recent examples of challenge and controversy that illustrate the advances and setbacks for transgender, gender-creative, and non-binary youth, and their families: North Carolina’s House Bill 2 and the federal legislation, Title IX, that is enforced by the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education.
In North Carolina, HB2, “Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act” passed March 23, 2016 during a special session of the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) in response to a non-discrimination ordinance passed in the city of Charlotte (February 2016) that explicitly allowed transgender people to use bathrooms that aligned with their gender identity. This controversial bill passed the House by a vote of 82–26, and then passed the Senate 32–0 due to Democrats walking out and intentionally not engaging in the vote as a statement of protest (Kopan & Scott, 2016, March 24). In response to this bill’s passage, the Department of Justice sent a warning letter on May 4, 2016, directing the Governor of North Carolina not to implement HB2 (Gupta, 2016, May 4; Morrill, 2016, May 5). A few days later, on May 9, 2016, the Department of Justice filed lawsuit declaring HB2 to be “impermissibly discriminatory” and in violation of Title IX and the Civil Rights Act (Wagner & Domonoske, 2016, May 9). ← xviii | xix →
During this same time period, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students” (Lhamon & Gupta, 2016). This letter was written to provide, “significant guidance” by providing information and examples about complying with legal obligations. In the letter, they clarify the purpose of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to prohibit sex discrimination in federally-funded educational programs and activities. The authors clarify that, “this prohibition encompasses discrimination based on a student’s gender identity, including discrimination based on a student’s transgender status” (pg 1). The letter provides explicit examples by stating, “A school’s Title IX obligation to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of sex requires schools to provide transgender students equal access to educational programs and activities even in circumstances in which other students, parents, or community members raise objections or concerns” (pg 2) and that they “… must allow transgender students access to such facilities consistent with their gender identity” (pg 3).
In response to this letter, on May 24, 2016 eleven2 states filed a lawsuit challenging the federal guidance (Berman & Balingit, 2016) and on July 8, 2016 ten3 more states joined the suit (Emma, 2016, July 8). Later that summer, on August 21, 2016 U. S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of Texas granted a preliminary, nationwide, injunction which means the May OCR guidance is not enforceable (Domonoske, 2016b, August 22). In the lawsuit the plaintiffs argue that “sex” means only “biological sex”. The Judge granted the injunction stating that, “the administration didn’t follow the proper notice and comment process for guidelines” (p. 2).
In early 2017 there was a test case working its way through the courts to determine how the judicial branch will interpret and apply Title IX’s intent and language. The case involved a high school student, Gavin Grimm, who was transitioning at school and had been given access to appropriate bathroom facilities when he notified the school of his gender identity. The school had been working in an affirming way with Gavin during this time; however, on December 9, 2014 the school board passed new policy (6-1) in response to some parental complaints even though Gavin had used bathroom for 2 months “without incident.” The U.S. 4th Circuit court of Appeals decided on April 19, 2016 that Gavin should be allowed to use the bathroom consistent with his gender identity (G. G. v. Gloucester County School Board, 2016). On August 3, 2016 “emergency stay” was granted by the Supreme Court (5-3) of the United States to stop Gavin from using the boys’ restroom at school so the court could hear the case and which would have resulted in a landmark decision that would have impacted all students in U.S. schools. This case was scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court in March 2017, however, on March 6, 2017, following the Trump administration’s rescinding of key guidance on Title IX, the Supreme Court of the United States vacated the case of Gavin Grimm versus the Gloucester County School Board, ← xix | xx → leaving the question of how best to fully include and support transgender students largely to the states for the time-being.
In North Carolina, the fall out from the “Bathroom Bill” as it has been called in the news has been substantial. Many organizations have organized a financial boycott of the state including:
• NBA (National Basketball Association) 2017 All-Star Game = estimated $100 million
• NCAA (National Collegiate Athletics Association) pulled out seven championships
• ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) announced it is “relocating all neutral site championships for the 2016–2017 season” (Margolin, 2016, September 14)
• Estimated $285 million and 1300 jobs lost in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region due to HB2
• Could cost Raleigh $40 million in convention business
Additionally, in the November 2016 election, the Governor who signed the bill into law, Republican Pat McCrory, was voted out of office in a tight race decided in a recount several weeks after Election Day, and replaced by Democrat Roy Cooper. Some commentators attribute this shift to the negative national response generated by HB2. On December 21, 2016, the North Carolina state legislature held a special session with the intent to repeal HB 2. The repeal measure failed and HB2 still stands (Domonoske, 2016a).
Where Canada seems to have made consistent progress in the direction of more expansive supports and legal protections, the United States continues to experience the ongoing tension of two steps forward, three steps back, particularly in the wake of the November 2016 election. The Obama administration’s leadership in providing clear guidance on how Title IX should be interpreted and applied is at great risk for coming undone under the Trump administration. The role of the courts in the G.G. v. Gloucester and other similar cases is now even more important as the decisions will have lasting impacts on how school districts and lower courts decide to apply evolving laws and policies for transgender youth. Therefore, even though we can clearly see a momentum happening in term of rights for transgender youth and more affirming services, many gaps remain. The chapters in the second edition of this book aim to fill this gap, in offering various easy-yet-evidenced-based texts to support families, allies, and organizations in developing or improving services for trans youth at all sites: the family, the school, and the community.
June 20, 2017
Boulder, Colorado, USA
Montreal, Quebec, Canada ← xx | xxi →
NOTES
1. According to the Parliament of Canada, “Prorogation of a Parliament results in the termination of a session. Parliament then stands prorogued until the opening of the next session. (…) Bills which have not received Royal Assent before prorogation are “entirely terminated” and, in order to be proceeded with in the new session, must be reintroduced as if they had never existed.” (Fraser 2000)
2. Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin as well as the Arizona Department of Education and Maine Governor Paul LePage.
3. Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming.
Details
- Pages
- XXII, 332
- Year
- 2018
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9781433148200
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781433148217
- ISBN (MOBI)
- 9781433148224
- ISBN (Softcover)
- 9781433134944
- DOI
- 10.3726/b11667
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2013 (December)
- Keywords
- social work medicine counseling
- Published
- New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Oxford, Wien, 2018. XXII, 332 pp., 6 b/w ill., 3 tables
