Growing Up Trans
Directions: Watch this documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIuS-48tSpELinks to an external site.
Navasky, M. & O’Connor, K. (Producers). (2016). Growing up trans. PBS Frontline.
Respond to the following question:
Please choose one of the children featured in this documentary and reflect on their developmental stage (e.g., early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, etc.) and how their physical, emotional, and/or social development are impacted by their transgender identity. Refer to your textbooks’ descriiptions of the developmental stage you have chosen, and cite your source when discussing the child’s specific needs during this stage. Identify a specific aspect of development that is relevant for the child you have identified (e.g. relationships with family, peers, school, identity, etc.), and explain how their transgender identity and a context of cisgenderism interacts with these tasks. Identify at least one risk factor and at least one protective factor that you can see operating in the young person’s life, based on the documentary.
Note: This documentary was produced in 2015. Since that time, more research has been published supporting the benefits of gender-affirming medical care, which is considered best practice. At the same time, states across the country have proposed and passed laws to ban trans youth from accessing this lifesaving medical treatment. Over one-third( to an external site. of trans youth ages 13-17 live in a state with these kinds of restrictions.
See this fact sheet ( to an external site. from GLAAD for more information.
This guide ( to an external site. from the Human Rights Campaign contains a lot of helfpul information about the medical interventions discussed in the documentary.
This is a helpful guide( to an external site. for parents of trans and gender-expansive youth.
Please note I have attached copies of both books for this course. I have only read up to chapter 19 of Tyler and chapter 5 of Aguilar & Counselman-Carpenter (2023).
