The Changing Family

        The definition of what it means to be American family has been changing for years now with traditionalists fighting to keep it the same, the reality is, not every household has female and male parental units with 2.5 kids, a white picket fence and pet. Redefining what it actually means to be a family would be so beneficial to bring what real families look like to life. Families outside of the traditionalist box will be able to rejoice their family unit structure. There are many ways families differ from the norm and having a trans* family member is just one area. Many families struggle themselves to except their trans* family member on top of receiving discrimination from the outside world that treats our families different making the transition isolating and challenging.

         Families in general, struggle with divorce, role overload, violence, abuse, and neglect and having trans* family member usually only makes matters worse. Sometimes parents disagree among themselves about whether to support their children in their decision to transition leading to separation or divorce. Some parents find it very hard to support their trans* children and turn to violence or neglect. Many trans* individuals end up on the streets because of this factor, and as mention in the previous post living on the streets while being trans* is twice as hard. With a hostile family situations trans* youth often do not get the support they need. Getting support from family and friends is one of the biggest concerns for a trans* person, coming out is very anxiety provoking and leading a so called secret life is just as hard.

         There are many resources for families with trans* members on how to provide support or help families through the time of transition, so families can stay whole and go avoid going down a road of violence, abuse, and neglect. After all most parents fear transition because they don’t want to loose their child, well pushing your child away because of who they are will not keep them in your family. Extended family is an area with a lot of tension, in most cases not everyone in the family will not accept your trans* family member and overcoming that hurdle together as a family is very testing.

Here’s a link to a nightline episode with a family going through a transition

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/jackie-transgender-kids-gender-identification-primetime-nightline-14425323

* denotes transgender, transsexual and gender nonconforming