Transexual Teens

Transexual Teens

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The Human Rights Campaign reports on news, events and resources of the
Human Rights Campaign Foundation
that are of interest to the general public and further our common mission
to support the LGBTQ+ community.

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Transgender

LGBTQ+ Youth

Parenting

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It is important to make distinctions between instances where “kids are being kids” and when they’re asserting things about themselves that are critical to their identity and development -- as is the case with gender identity and expression.
Children are not born knowing what it means to be a boy or a girl; they learn it from their parents, older children and others around them. This learning process begins early. As soon as a doctor or other healthcare provider declares – based on observing the newborn’s external sex organs – “it’s a boy” or “it’s a girl,” the world around a child begins to teach these lessons. Whether it’s the sorting of blue clothes and pink clothes, “boys’ toys” and “girls’ toys” or telling young girls they’re “pretty” and boys they’re “strong.” It continues into puberty and adulthood as social expectations of masculine and feminine expression and behavior often become more rigid. But gender does not simply exist in those binary terms; gender is more of a spectrum, with all individuals expressing and identifying with varying degrees of both masculinity and femininity. Transgender people identify along this spectrum, but also identify as a gender that is different than the one they were assigned at birth.
Gender identity and expression are central to the way we see ourselves and engage in the world around us. This is certainly true of transgender and gender-expansive children and teens, for whom family support is absolutely critical.
In fact, an increasing body of social science research reflects that gender-affirming behavior on the part of parents and other adults (teachers, grandparents, etc.) greatly improves mental health and well-being. The opposite is true---transgender children are more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and at greater risk of substance abuse and homelessness when their immediate caregivers are rejecting or hostile.
It is important to know--and quite alarming, that research finds that transgender youth are at greatest risk of suicide (compared to their non-transgender peers) as a result of rejection, bullying, and other victimization.
In other words, for some transgender youth, family support can be the difference between life and death. Parents and caregivers can find resources, peer support, and professional guidance to help along the journey, and to insure that your child can not just survive, but thrive.
At some point, nearly all children will engage in behavior associated with different genders – girls will play with trucks, boys will play with dolls, girls will hate wearing dresses and boys will insist on wearing them – and gender nonconforming behavior does not necessarily mean that a child is transgender. That said, sometimes these behaviors can clue us in to what a child may be feeling about their gender – with some children identifying as another gender than the one they were assigned by the time they are toddlers.
The general rule for determining whether a child is transgender or non-binary (rather than gender nonconforming or gender variant) is if the child is consistent, insistent, and persistent about their transgender identity. In other words, if your 4-year-old son wants to wear a dress or says he wants to be a girl once or twice, he probably is not transgender; but if your child who was assigned male at birth repeatedly insists over the course of several months--or years, that she is a girl, then she is probably transgender. Children who are gender non-binary---in other words, they do not feel that they are a boy or a girl, but perhaps a bit of both, or neither, may not have the words at a very young age to capture that feeling, but over time it may become more clear to them, and ultimately to you, that they are non-binary, versus a trans girl or a trans boy.
Naturally, there are endless variations in the ways that children express themselves, so the best option if you think your child might be transgender is to consult a gender therapist. You can find our map of gender clinics here.
Gender identity and sexual orientation are two different things. Being transgender is about an individual’s gender identity--whether they feel male, female, a little of both, or neither. Being gay, lesbian or bisexual is about an individual’s sexual orientation, which is our sexual or romantic attraction to people of the same gender, different genders, both or neither. While many children who go on to identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual express gender-expansive behaviors, whether they are transgender is about identity rather than attraction . Everyone possesses both a gender identity and a sexual orientation; in other words, a transgender person can also identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual.
Gender dysphoria is the diagnosis typically given to a person whose assigned birth gender is not the same as the one with which they identify. According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the term – which recently replaced Gender Identity Disorder – “is intended to better characterize the experiences of affected children, adolescents, and adults.” To be clear, transgender identity is not a mental illness. The “disconnect” transgender people often experience is a persistent and authentic disconnect between the sex assigned to them at birth and their internal sense of who they are. This disconnect is referred to by medical professionals as “gender dysphoria” because it can cause undue pain and distress in the lives of transgender people. The diagnosis of gender dysphoria is often the gateway to having insurance coverage for gender-affirming care and to allowing trans people to live as their most authentic selves.
Sure, most children and teens go through “phases” – like only wearing all black, dying their hair, being obsessed with a certain band or asking to go by a nickname – but being transgender or non-binary is not a phase---it is a journey, and trying to dismiss it can be harmful during a time when your child most needs support and validation.
Trying to change your child’s gender identity – either by denial, punishment, reparative therapy or any other tactic – is not only ineffective; it is dangerous and can do permanent damage to your child’s mental health. So-called “reparative” or “conversion” therapies , which are typically faith-based, have been uniformly condemned as psychologically harmful by the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and numerous similar professional organizations.
The most recent survey of high school students by the Centers for Disease Control finds that roughly 3% of adolescents and teens identify as transgender or non-binary.
While many transgender people say that they knew they were transgender as soon as they knew what “boys” and “girls” were--as young as age 3, for many others, the journey to living openly as their affirmed gender is longer one. For some, understanding their gender identity---whether transgender or non-binary, is a more complex process that lasts into their teens or adulthood. Stigma, lack of knowledge and fear of rejection by family and peers often keep transgender people from coming out as children or teens. Sometimes a transgender person will come out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual before recognizing their gender identity or coming out as their true gender. No matter when your child comes out, knowing they have your support is critically important.
Gender Spectrum has adapted Family Acceptance Project research for parents and family members of transgender children.
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NEW BALTIMORE, Mich. (WJBK) - A local mom is going viral over a big decision to give her teenager hormones to transition into a female. The video is being shared millions of times on Facebook tonight and now Erica Maison is talking about her decision.
Anticipation and excitement was on display as the 14-year-old New Baltimore girl opened a hidden box from her mother. It wasn't jewelry or concert tickets.
"Do you know what that is?" Erica asked, as Corey smiles and moves toward mom for a tearful hug.
Corey's mom surprised her with her first dose of hormones, something the transgendered teen has waited to get for three years. Erica wanted to capture the emotional moment.
"I just started crying," Erica says.
"I opened it, I read the top and it said 'estrogen, Corey says. “I stopped and froze for a second. I was so happy I started crying."
"It was such a relief," Erica says. "It had been so many years waiting."
It hasn't been easy for Corey who was born a boy and feels she spent the first decade of her life living in someone else's body. The signs started young.
"My second birthday I got a truck, my sister got a Barbie doll and I wanted nothing to do with the truck," Corey remembers.
"[Corey would] dress up in my heels and dresses," Erica says. "All little boys do that, that is a phase usually. As Corey gets to be 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 years old, it didn't stop."
They say everything became clear when they found online videos from Jazz Jennings, one of the youngest publicly documented people to be identified as gender dysphoric, or a person who identifies with a different gender than they were born with.
"I blurted out, 'I'm just like her!'" Corey says.
Corey's turning point was at 10 years old. After extensive research by mom and evaluations by a medical team at a gender clinic in Chicago, Corey received an implant to begin hormone suppression.
"The hardest part for me was the journey I knew we had ahead of us," says Erica. “Negativity scared me as a mom."
Like so many transgendered teens, the 8th grader has had to deal with bullies and cruel comments. But with the help of counselors, her supportive parents, siblings and friends, she is learning to overcome it.
All of it leading to this pivotal moment, receiving her long-awaited estrogen and go ahead from the doctors. A moment mom knew would mean the world to her little girl.
"It was like a dream, it was surreal," Erica says.
"It was the best feeling ever," Corey says. "Like, I told my mom, I felt like I was in a box in a long, long time and I was just unlocked."
See the original video below.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2022 FOX Television Stations

This 14-Year-Old Transgender Girl’s Video Is Going Viral for the Best Reason
It’ll make you cry, and then cheer.
The young person’s guide to conquering (and saving) the world. Teen Vogue covers the latest in celebrity news, politics, fashion, beauty, wellness, lifestyle, and entertainment.
Corey Maison is happy now, but fifth grade was a nightmare for her. When she was younger, Corey was bullied by her classmates to the point where one even told her that if she killed herself, no one would care. At 14, though, Corey found happiness and new friends all because her family and her new school accept her as a transgender girl.
In a now-viral video , Corey is posted in the girls’ bathroom at her new school, holding up note cards that track her transition from bullied and sad to happy and glowing.
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Corey shows in her video that she never fit in with her peers when she was younger. She was shunned by girls and teased by boys, and even laughed at by adults later on.
“I felt so stupid. Like a freak,” Corey’s notes say. “Like a misfit.”
Eventually, the bullying got so bad that her parents pulled her out of public school and opted to home school her instead.
That’s when Corey’s mom did something that changed everything.
“One day my mom told me to come watch something online,” the video says. "It was a documentary about a girl named Jazz Jennings . She was a beautiful girl...that had been born a boy!! I said to my mom, ‘OMG, I’m just like her, I AM a girl!!’”
That’s when Corey realized that there was nothing wrong with her, she’s transgender. At 14, Corey started taking hormones to transition into a female, a day she described as the best of her life.
Now, Corey is happy and back in public school. This time, though, she’s at a school where her peers and teachers accept her. She plays on the girls’ soccer team and uses the girls’ bathroom , just as she should.
This acceptance is so important. Though 41% of transgender people will attempt suicide at some point in their lives, we know that support and love from their community can help prevent that. Even though Corey overcame a lot at a young age, she’s found happiness and love from those around her. That's the message that Corey passes along to other transgender kids who might see the video: someday it will get better and you can live your best life as your true self, just like Corey is doin
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