10-30-2018

Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a guide regarding support and care for transgender children. This guide particularly focuses on children aged 5 to 10 and includes ways for families to support their transgender children, along with charts explaining important terms for transgender children, including gender-expansive and transgender, and it also include terms used for transgender children.

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For those who are not familiar with these terms, gender-expansive is when either gender does not conform to gender norms, and transgender is someone whose gender identity does not match the sex assigned to them at birth. Terms like transgender boy/girl and non-binary are all covered as well. This guide suggests thinking of gender in three parts: sex, gender, and gender expression. Sex is the gender assigned to you at birth due to your anatomy; gender identity is the individual’s internal sense of their gender; and gender expression is the way they express themselves through clothing, hairstyle, and activities. Also, it’s important to remember that transgender people are not so different from cis people, and can identify as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and queer.

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Here at Penn State Behrend, students have expressed their own support for the guide and believe that it’s important that families share the guide with their children whether they believe they’re transgender or not. Many children can be confused about their identity, and sharing the information in this guide with them can help them not feel so alone. For transgender children, and specifically black and latina children, it’s common to be harassed and discriminated against, resulting in the disruption of their academic achievements. This ridicule at school as well as in many other spheres of society can result in gender dysmorphia, which is explained in the guide essentially as the stress children are challenged with which can result in anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide.  

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The process for transgender people to become who they want to become is not an easy one. This guide includes the terms in which transitions can occur, whether it is reversible or irreversible. Social transitions are when the individual adopts characteristics of their gender identity such as hairstyle and clothing choices. Social transitions also include changing their name, being asked to be called by their preferred pronouns, and using public restrooms that they feel most comfortable in. However, transitioning from one gender to another is not a reversible one. Transgender people undergo different kinds of gender affirming surgeries to match their gender identity. This can be “top” surgery, to create a male or female sized chest, and “bottom” surgery, which focuses on genitals or reproductive organs.

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Transgender children sometimes feel “in-between” genders, where they dress in clothing that affirms the opposite gender but continue to feel comfortable being called by pronouns assigned to them at birth. Parents reveal that they begin to notice signs that their child might be transgender around the age of 4, while children usually begin to notice themselves around age 6. This guide suggests that families should share the information with children for them to understand at a young age that being transgender doesn’t make you abnormal. An understanding and acceptance of transgender people can make all the difference for experiences that transgender children will face.