This week’s People magazine has a great article about a transgender girl named Nikki and her family. Read the first four paragraphs here.
I feel the need to point out that Nikki is adopted, only because I’ve noticed and noted that 75 percent of the families who have contacted me looking for camaraderie, resources, advice, etc. are raising a gender nonconforming child that is not biologically theirs.
I wrote about it back in February.
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Speaking of parents/caregivers contacting me for help, I have two parents looking to connect with other families in their area who are also raising gender nonconforming boys.
If there is a gender nonconforming boy in your life who is looking to playdate and you live in Boston or the New Jersey/Philadelphia area please let me know and I’ll make the e-introduction.
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If you live in the Seattle area, click here for a list of Gender Diversity resources that one of my readers recently sent to me.
Gender Diversity provides services and support that help families understand the wide range of naturally occurring gender identities and expressions that exist.
Their monthly support groups for parents and guardians of gender nonconforming and transgender children began in 2008, making it one of the longest running and largest network of support groups in the country. Their groups meet at Seattle Children’s Hospital, the Polyclinic Madison Center, and a number of other locations throughout the greater Puget Sound area.
They have support groups for families with kids ages 11 and under and 12 to 20; fathers only groups; kids play groups and more. I wish we had this in Orange County, California!
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I have a reader (location unknown) who is looking for resources specifically for parents/caregivers raising gender nonconforming girls. Blogs? Websites? Groups? Anything? Send me suggestions if you have any.
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And, finally, for pride season, FarFaria (a subscription-based children’s storybook app for the iPad) is releasing four awesome books.
FarFaria has always published stories with characters of diverse backgrounds. These stories encourage acceptance of and kindness towards others as a family value. To help parents strengthen this value in their family FarFaria is releasing four new stories in June. Stories like “Patrick’s Pride” (June 6), “Henry the Venus Flytrap” (June 12), “The Boy with the Pink Socks” (June 20) and “Kindness Grows” (June 25) encourage values of acceptance and appreciation of diversity in young readers.
C.J. especially likes Patrick’s Pride, which features a lion cub with two moms. Check it out!
Raising My Rainbow 
I just read your article and had to reply as I read the above People article and was struck by the similarities to my 6 year old adoptive son! I was already contemplating the adoption factor and came across your blog. I am just starting the process to reach experts in the Pittsburgh, pa area regarding gender identity counseling but it would be great to connect with you. All and any resources are welcome sources of support to me, my husband, son and family at this time. Thank you!!
I just wanted to tell you that I had the privilege of reading an e-advance copy of your book, over the weekend. I’ve given it a great review on NetGalley. Please feel free to quote me. I was moved by your experiences, especially since a young friend of mine is gender nonconforming and had a horrible time in the local schools until her parents moved her out of town. C.J. seems like an amazing kid with terrific parents. You’ve done a service, not just to parents with children like C.J., but to all of us to help us to understand the uniqueness of every child.
Princess Free Zone is a blog/website run by the mother of a gender nonconforming girl. The interested party may be able to get more information and resources by visiting the site and contacting the author. Hope this helps!
I’ll third checking out The Fosters. It’s produced by Jennifer Lopez. So far, it’s a multiethnic lesbian-headed household with one biological child, two adoptive children, and two foster children. One of the foster kids showed interest in a boy on tonight’s episode and painted his nails. They’re handling the subject matter really well so far….
For the family who lives in Philadelphia:
I don’t have a specific kid in mind for you, but I’ll bet that the William Way LGBT Community Center (www.waygay.org) has a playgroup or parents club of some sort for you.
The thing that strikes me most about that People article is that there are over 200 *ANGRY* ratings. I guess this sums up why we are all quite so tentative when it comes to sending our non-conforming children out into the big and nasty world… On the upside, there are over 450 *heart* ratings, so it looks like the tide has turned (based on this single sample, at least).
You are doing such a great service for others, and with such great writing and style!
Reblogged this on de Frémancourt and commented:
Just came across this, and I’m re-blogging because of the vitality of the ideas expressed in this article, and the tremendous importance they represent to me, as someone who positions themselves at the borderlines of gender, while living the pleasures and responsibilities (and of course challenges) of essentially modern, innovative, inclusive fatherhood.
I echo what Pablito said about The Fosters. Jude was trying on his foster mother’s dress, and he got beaten up for doing so. The show obviously focuses more on his older sister, Callie, but if it does well enough to come back, we might get more about Jude.
I keep hoping that the Fosters will have Jude be gender creative. There was a hint of it, but not since we’ve seen him. Are you following the Fosters, Ms. CJ’s Mom.
For the reader looking for resources: There is a wonderful parent community on Facebook for parents/guardians/caregivers raising gender non-conforming kids. We have parents from all over the US, all walks of life, all ages of kids. It’s a very dynamic, supportive and active group. So far I’ve been pleased to be a part of it. It’s called Parents of Transgender Children. It is a closed group (private). Also, TYFA (Trans Youth Family Allies) has a list-serve (yahoo message group) and it is also very dynamic. It’s great to have the support of hundreds of other families from all over and to find common ground. Hopefully those will help! If this reader is looking for face-to-face support, there are some states that have local support groups for parents of transgender children…also, PFLAG can be a good resource for this as well. Hope that helps!