Suchergebnisse

Though research into gender transition has grown in the social sciences and policy has turned its attention to the rights of trans* people, the social and family environment in which gender transition takes place is often overlooked. Based on qualitative data from two projects in Belgium and Spain addressing the experiences of parents and children undertaking a gender transition, this article explores the experiences of these families. First, we look into the reflective processes that take place within these families. Second, we look into the experience of stigmatisation and the relationship between trans* families and health professionals. These findings have implications for trans* families as well as for policy makers and trans* health professionals.

ObjectiveTo understand the experiences of both children and parents in families where one of the parent is transgender.BackgroundA focus on the family environment can be found in research concerning transgender youth, but this focus is lacking in research on transgender adults. To our knowledge, research so far has not shed light on the experiences of minor children who have witnessed the transition of their parent.MethodUsing the family resilience framework, which is a useful theoretical framework for analyzing family transitions, we conducted in‐depth qualitative interviews with 13 children and 15 parents (8 cisgender and 7 transgender) from 9 families.ResultsVarious protective family processes were distinguished in the achievement of adaptive functioning outcomes: family continuity, family communication, significant others' acceptance, and attributing meaning. Hence, the findings from this research clearly show that the gender transition of a parent in itself should not be problematized.ConclusionThrough good practices and protective processes within the family, the transition of a parent's gender can be accepted by children.ImplicationsThese findings have implications for families with a transgender parent as well as for anyone working with children and their transgender parents.