It Is All About The Kids

Here are two views children who are transgender, the first article is from the Orlando Sentinel about a child who transitioned there…

How should schools handle transgender kids?
By Denise-Marie Balona
Orlando Sentinel

When most little girls draw themselves, they draw pictures of young ladies, often in fancy dresses and high heels.

But one kid in Deltona has always depicted herself differently: As a boy in pants, standing outside a "boy's" school or picking flowers for his mom.

Today, this youngster wants to be called "he." And after years of battles over school clothes and haircuts and long meetings with a therapist, the third-grader's parents are letting her live as a boy.

This child hasn't had a sex change and wasn't born a hermaphrodite.

Note the use of archaic and offensive word they used instead of intersex.

Canadian psychologist Kenneth J. Zucker, an internationally known expert on gender issues whose research is controversial in the gay and transgender community, questions whether kids should be allowed to switch roles. His studies indicate most kids will outgrow their behavior, so he tries to help them learn to be comfortable with the gender they were born with.

Irv Silver, a sex therapist in Orlando who has helped three kids with gender issues during his career, thinks children can be re-trained.

"Yes, people can be taught gender behaviors, if they are motivated," he said.

However, the majority of scholars, psychiatrists and therapists interviewed by the Sentinel said children aren't just going through a phase if they consistently insist they're the wrong sex over a period of years.

And, those experts conclude, it could be dangerous to ignore these feelings. Transgender kids sometimes feel so out of sync with their bodies they cut or otherwise intentionally injure their genitals — or commit suicide.
[…]
Society's — and parents' — acceptance of transgender people seems to be growing as well. Last year, students at the College of William and Mary in Virginia elected a transgender as homecoming queen.

TransYouth Family Allies, a national education and advocacy group that works with families with children who are questioning their gender, helped 15 kids in 2007. This year, it's helping 10 to 15 a month, said Executive Director Kim Pearson.

Officials at the Children's National Medical Center and the Stanford University School of Medicine's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Medical Education Research Group said they also have seen increases in the number of kids coming to them for help.
[…]
In Miami-Dade County, the school district changed its policies several years ago to accommodate transgender kids. Schools are encouraged to have unisex bathrooms and a trained Gender Safety Leader, who's charged with helping the kids make a smooth transition. Just weeks ago, the Hillsborough County School Board updated its anti-bullying policy to include transgender kids within the most protected groups.

The Volusia County school district is considering changing its anti-bullying policy, too, which parents of the transgender student in Deltona have been pressing for. The Deltona parents said they know their son may have a tough road ahead but is much happier since he cut his hair short and started shopping in the boys' section.

The article also reported that some of the parents and school officials are getting hate mail and if you read some of the comments at the end of the article you can see some of the hate and bigotry.

Up north in Maine they are also wrestling with this issues and yesterday the Maine Human Rights Commission ruled on a Maine case. An article on the Maine Public Broadcast Network web-site and reported that,

The Maine Human Rights Commission has ruled that Orono Middle School unlawfully discriminated against a transgender student during the 2008-2009 school year by not letting the male-to-female sixth-grader use the girl's bathroom.
[…]
In its ruling Monday, the panel cited derogatory remarks made by other students, and allegations of stalking and harrassment, but agreed with the commission's investigator that there were no grounds to believe that the school had subjected the student to a hostile educational environment.

And in other Maine news, the commission said that they will delay a new policy for schools until after the elections. An article on WABI web-site by Rob Poindexter said that,

Augusta - Members of the Maine Human Rights Commission say they'll wait until after a new Governor is elected before they issue new guidelines on how schools should accommodate transgendered students.
[…]
Today, the commission agreed it wants to work together with the state Department of Education on the new guidelines. Pat Ryan, Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission, says they'll need to wait until a new commissioner of education is appointed before they outline the transgender guidelines.

But all is not rosy. Most states and schools systems ban students from transitioning at school.