As an “out” trans*woman somehow I have become an old sage that people come to for wisdom. A feel flattered and a little bit overwhelmed. Many of my classmate who now therapists have contacted me about clients who have come out to them as trans and I’m always a little leery to give them advice on treatment since I’m not a therapist and rather give them advice on resources or my experiences.
Last Friday I gave a workshop on trans*culture and one of the attendees who I guess is a school social worker asked a question about a trans*girls at school. She wanted to know what inference her parents had on her since they said they let her dress as a girl. I wanted to say very little because I didn’t know the circumstances with her, so what I told her that basically it was her job to find out. That gender identity is formed before they start kindergarten and it can't be changed by outside influence.
Another question I get asked a lot from my classmates who are now school social worker is what they can do if the parents object to their child’s transition. I tell them not much, since their parents are their legal guardians, but that there is something that is called legal age of emancipation where a child can determine thing for themselves that are different than what the parents want. An emancipated minor can make healthcare decisions on their own, but it is tricky and they should talk it over with the school’s legal department first.
A friend contacted me this week asking me if I was willing to receive email from a trans*man down in Texas about transitioning down there and I just started corresponding with him today.
I don’t think that I’m an “old sage,” I’m old but I don’t think that I’m worthy to be called a sage
Last Friday I gave a workshop on trans*culture and one of the attendees who I guess is a school social worker asked a question about a trans*girls at school. She wanted to know what inference her parents had on her since they said they let her dress as a girl. I wanted to say very little because I didn’t know the circumstances with her, so what I told her that basically it was her job to find out. That gender identity is formed before they start kindergarten and it can't be changed by outside influence.
Another question I get asked a lot from my classmates who are now school social worker is what they can do if the parents object to their child’s transition. I tell them not much, since their parents are their legal guardians, but that there is something that is called legal age of emancipation where a child can determine thing for themselves that are different than what the parents want. An emancipated minor can make healthcare decisions on their own, but it is tricky and they should talk it over with the school’s legal department first.
A friend contacted me this week asking me if I was willing to receive email from a trans*man down in Texas about transitioning down there and I just started corresponding with him today.
I don’t think that I’m an “old sage,” I’m old but I don’t think that I’m worthy to be called a sage
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