Manchester
Trans Youth
Professionals supporting Trans Youth
Tips and Strategies for Meeting the Needs of Transgender Youth
No single group has gone more unnoticed by society, or abused and maltreated by institutional powers, than youth with transgender needs and feelings. With the exception of its attention to child labor and child abuse or neglect law, our society has relegated children to a class virtually without voice or rights in society. -Center for AIDS Prevention Studies
In recent years, many programs for GLBTQ youth have witnessed an increased presence of youth who self-identify as transgender. Youth who do not conform to prevalent gender norms, usually represented as feminine women and masculine men, often experience severe harassment, discrimination, ostracism, and violence. Transgender youth are increasingly claiming their right to define and express themselves in new ways. These new ways include-but are not limited to-hormone treatment, gender reassignment surgery, name change, and cross-living. Professionals who work with GLBTQ youth, in particular, increasingly observe the diverse ways in which these youth choose to identify, including making the choice not to identify.Youth-serving professionals, parents, families, peers, and community members can play key roles in supporting the healthy development of transgender youth. Respecting transgender youth means taking responsibility for providing them with a safe and supportive environment. The following recommendations will not answer all your questions, but they can assist you.
- Don't make assumptions! Do not assume that you know a youth's gender, or that a youth has gender identity issues, just as you would not make assumptions about a young person's sexual orientation. Exploring gender is a healthy expression of personal development. Self-identification or self-acknowledgement is a crucial first step in a youth's identity development and self-expression.
- Create a safe space for open discussion. Work towards creating an affirming environment that supports non-stereotypical gender expression and offers safe space for open discussion. Use inclusive, affirming, non-presumptuous, non-judgemental, and gender-neutral language. Create organizational norms on behaviour and language with youth.
- Be informed and don't be afraid to examine your own beliefs. Most of us are products of a society that holds to rigid gender roles, and we have been influenced by our cultural background. We're taught what is feminine and masculine, female and male, and we expect that these bipolar categories do not change. Recognize your level of comfort with different types of gender expression and how this can affect your interactions with youth. Don't be afraid to ask questions.
- Seek to fully understand gender identity. Each person's gender identity is natural to that person. Gender identity and sexual orientation are a part of each of us and often develop uniquely. Across human experience, gender identity may be experienced as a continuum. That is, some people do not experience gender solely as female or male. It is important for youth-serving professionals to educate themselves on gender identity, sexual identity, adolescent development, and sexual and social stereotypes. Moreover, sexuality and gender expression are only two of the aspects integral to a whole person. It is important to maintain a balanced perspective in addressing the multifaceted issues of youth's development.
- Respect confidentiality. When a young person shares personal information about gender identity, you have achieved the trust of that youth. A breach of this confidence can have dire consequences for the young person. If it truly becomes necessary to share the information, first get the young person's permission.
- Know when and where to seek help. Be aware of appropriate referral agencies for crisis intervention, mental and physical health services, emergency assistance, etc. Transgender youth are often subject to abuse, homelessness, suicide, harassment, and physical violence. Be aware of your personal and organizational limits and accept that your organization may not always be the best one to assist a young person.
- Provide training for staff, board, volunteers, and youth. Up-to-date training is necessary to help staff develop sensitivity and skills to interact with youth and to prevent anyone from being derogatory to transgender people. Be sure to provide transgender youth with information that can help ensure their physical safety.
- Protect from harassment! Immediately protect transgender youth from harassment in any form, whether perpetrated by other youth, staff, or others. Make it clear that harassing and/or abusive behaviour toward anyone will not be tolerated.
- Provide single occupancy bathrooms, if possible. Many individuals are uncomfortable about the idea of a man in the women's room and vice versa , while transgender youth will feel they are using the appropriate bathroom. Every person has the right to use the bathroom, irrespective of gender identity. Consider providing single occupancy bathrooms, if possible.
My body fits my gender identity perfectly, because I am who I am.
-Transgender youth[18]My body is fine by me… but other people don't seem comfortable with my body as it confuses them.
-Transgender youth[18]Gender is a construct. I can shape … how I want to be perceived.
-Transgender youth[18]
* These tips are from a resource manual on gender identity and transgender youth issues, written by Charlene Leach and published by the National Youth Advocacy Coalition. The tips first appeared in Transitions, volume 14, issue 4, © Advocates for Youth, 2002.** Transgender is an umbrella term for all whose self-identity is outside the boundaries of biological sex and/or culturally determined gender expression, including transsexual people, crossdressers, Two-Spirit people, drag performers, and people who do not self-identify with their biological sex.
Tips and Strategies for Addressing the Challenges that Face Transgender Youth
Transgender youth face several unique problems caused by the highly gendered societies in which they live. Overall, society in the United States relies on rigorously maintained concepts of gender and gender expression. This creates specific challenges for transgender youth.
Challenges
- Deliberately incorrect and disrespectful use of names and pronouns-When a transgender youth identifies as a particular gender (irrespective of biological sex), it is respectful to the youth's human dignity to use the name chosen and the pronouns appropriate to that particular gender. To persevere intentionally in the use of a prior name and other pronouns is to be deliberately disrespectful. Transgender youth can understand and sympathize with some confusion, so long as there is continuous, good faith progress in using the proper name and pronouns.
- Lack of access to appropriate restroom facilities-Transgender people often lack safe access to public restrooms. They may be assaulted if they use the restroom that conforms to their gender identity or forced to use a restroom that does not conform to their gender identity.
- Lack of access to appropriate locker room facilities-Transgender people often have no safe access to locker room facilities that conform to their gender identity.
- Rigid dress codes that differ for males and females-wherever dress codes are enforced, they may create problems for transgender youth.
- Confidentiality-Transgender youth may have unsupportive families and may even face violence and/or ejection from their home if their gender identity or gender expression is disclosed to the family.
- Lack of role models; lack of accurate information-Transgender youth often feel alone in the world. Few programs for youth employ transgender people; few libraries offer information about biological sex and gender, gender identity, or being transgender.
Solutions to the Challenges:
- Names and/or pronouns-Use the name and/or pronouns appropriate to the young person's chosen gender identity. Remember that it is everyone's essential dignity to be called by our chosen name, and it is everyone's right to be recognized as the person we see ourselves to be. Please apologize if you use the wrong pronoun or the wrong name.
- Access to restroom facilities-Educate staff and youth about gender identity. Make sure that everyone understands that transgender youth want to use the restrooms that conform to their gender identity; they have no interest in spying on others using those restrooms. If possible, designate gender-neutral restrooms (toilet facilities that anyone may use, irrespective of gender identity or gender expression).
- Access to locker room facilities-Educate staff and youth about gender identity. Make sure that everyone understands that transgender youth want to use the locker room facilities that conform to their gender identity; they have no interest in spying on others using the locker room.
- Dress code-Make sure that the dress code, if any, in your program respects youth's rights to dress in conformance with their gender identity.
- Confidentiality-Make sure that the program maintains confidentiality with regard to the gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and sexual behavior of all the youth in the program.
- Role models and accurate information-Make sure that everyone in the program is aware that there is great human diversity regarding gender, including male and female certainly, but also going beyond these two genders. Search out transgender support groups and GLBTQ youth-serving organizations in your area. Make sure that these groups and organizations are included on your resource lists. Make sure your resource lists are available to all the youth in the program.
* Adapted with permission from the Transgender Law Center, Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Youth: Recommendations for Schools; San Francisco, CA: The Center, © 2003.
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Support for professionals working with trans youth: