
LGBTQIA+ FAMILIES
You are not alone.
LGBTQIA+ YOUTH
IMI: Guides built for and with LGBTQ+ teens to help you explore your identity and support your mental health.
Trevor Space: An Affirming international community for LGBTQ+ young people ages 13 - 24.
Queer Kid Stuff: LGBTQ+ social justice media for Kids.
Evokate: A tool for young adults passionate about intersectional issues to mental health and who want to advocate for change.
Legal Counsel for Youth and Children + WA State: LGBTQ+ Resources
Resources for parents and caregivers
My Kid is Gay: Helping Families Understand Their LGBTQ+ Kids
Online space for kids to explore gender identity and their own feelings about self-expression.
Positive and Negative Body Image as a Teen:
Teen Central: a guide for teens to understand body image and how to address feelings of negative self-image.
Self-Care Resources for Trans and Non-Binary Folks:
George Mason University: strategies for gender-diverse youth and young adults to care for their mental and physical health.
Worried About Your Gender Identity? Advice for Teenagers:
National Health Service: answers to teens’ frequently asked questions about gender identity.
Coming Out: Living Authentically as Transgender or Non-Binary:
Human Rights Campaign: an online guidebook for people seeking support in their coming-out process.
Understanding Non-Binary People: How to Be Respectful and Supportive:
National Center for Transgender Equality: information and ideas about how to empower nonbinary communities.
NYC-Metro Area Transgender and Non-Binary Community Resources:
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center and Mount Sinai Health System: downloadable list of phone lines, organizations, and resources for gender-diverse people in need of assistance.
Rainbow Health Ontario: searchable library of information, toolkits, reports, and more for supporting LGBTQ+ community members’ mental health.
Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ Proud, Prepared, Protected:
Canadian Virtual Hospice: online resources for people seeking information about gender-inclusive, respectful care.
Affirming Care for Every Body:
National Eating Disorder Information Center: resources for 2SLGBTQ+ individuals seeking care or support for an eating disorder.
Native Youth Sexual Health Network: peer support manual for Indigiqueer, two-Spirit, LGBTQ+, and gender-diverse Indigenous youth.
PARENTING:
Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen:
Heather Hester: show exploring a mother’s perspective on LGBTQ+ empowerment and education.
The Trevor Project: a toolkit to guide people through questions and ideas about identity, gender, and sexuality.
All Bodies Deserve: Creating the Future of Us:
Cultural Power: coloring pages with themes of gender equity and identity for adolescents, teens, and young adults.
Free Downloads, The Gender Wheel:
Free, printable resources with activities for children to learn about gender diversity and identity.
Additional Resources, The Gender Wheel:
Classroom activities for teachers or parents to use with young people about gender identity and expression.
An interactive site that focuses on advocating at school for yourself or a loved one.
Must-Read Books by Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender Non-Conforming Authors:
Penguin Random House: a curated list of recommended books about gender diversity and expression.
Queerspawn Resource Project: extensive list of picture books about gender expression for young children and their families to read together.
DeShanna Neal and Trinity Neal: written by a mother-daughter duo about the strength of family relationships and affirmation.
Alok Vaid-Menon: a story from a nonbinary author about gender identity as a form of creative expression.
Jazz Jennings: a memoir from a transgender teen about growth and self-discovery.
Lisa Bunker: a coming-of-age novel about a trans girl solving mysteries in her town.
Lexie Bean: a novel following a young nonbinary protagonist who explores bravery, secrecy, and self-discovery.
PODCAST
Freeing hearts to love and be loved! Love. Inclusion. Affirmation. Susan Cottrell is the Mom of two LGBTQ+ children; the founder of FreedHearts; an international speaker with a viral TEDx talk; a pastor and theologian; an acclaimed author; and a fierce advocate and ally. In her unique tender, relatable style, Susan is a prominent voice of unconditional love and lavish inclusion.
Nominated for Outstanding Podcast at the GLAAD Awards. Hosted by Jeffrey Masters.
Weekly interviews with the most interesting LGBTQ+ people in the world. Recent guests include Laverne Cox, Janelle Monae, Pete Buttigieg, Brandi Carlile, Alok Vaid-Menon, and Angela Davis.
PARENTING
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In her groundbreaking first book, Gender Born, Gender Made, Dr. Diane Ehrensaft coined the term gender creative to describe children whose unique gender expression or sense of identity is not defined by a checkbox on their birth certificate. Now, with The Gender Creative Child, she returns to guide parents and professionals through the rapidly changing cultural, medical, and legal landscape of gender and identity.
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The book is ideal for parents/guardians of gender expansive kids, but could also be useful for extended family members, therapists, teachers; anyone involved in a gender expansive child’s life. Click here to order your copy: The Conscious Parent’s Guide to Gender Identity: A Mindful Approach to Embracing Your Child’s Authentic Self.
In addition to the overview in Chapter 1 about conscious parenting (standard in all the “Conscious Parent’s Guide” books, there are ways to incorporate being a mindful, conscious parent throughout the book. This is so much more than just being “present”, it’s about recognizing your little human as a separate being, with their own unique will and spirit. I write about how to best connect with your child in order to be most receptive to what they are trying to tell you.
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Is it just a phase, a fad, or a real issue with your teen? This comprehensive guidebook explores the unique challenges that thousands of families face every day raising a teenager who may be transgender, gender-variant or gender-fluid. Covering extensive research and with many personal interviews, as well as years of experience working in the field, the author covers pressing concerns relating to physical and emotional development, social and school pressures, medical options, and family communications. Learn how parents can advocate for their children, find acceptable colleges and career paths, and raise their gender variant or transgender adolescent with love and compassion.
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All Amanda Jetté Knox ever wanted was to enjoy a stable life. She never knew her biological father, and while her mother and stepfather were loving parents, the situation was sometimes chaotic. While still a teenager, she met the love of her life. They were wed at 20, and the first of three children followed shortly. Jetté Knox finally had the stability she craved--or so it seemed. Their middle child struggled with depression and avoided school. The author was unprepared when the child she knew as her son came out as transgender at the age of eleven. Jetté Knox became an ardent advocate for trans rights.
For many years, the author had coped with her spouse's moodiness, but that chronic unhappiness was taking a toll on their marriage. A little over a year after their child came out, her partner also came out as transgender. Knowing better than most what would lie ahead, Jetté Knox searched for positive examples of marriages surviving transition. When she found no role models, she determined that her family would become one.
The shift was challenging, but slowly the family members noticed that they were becoming happier and more united. Love Lives Here is a story of transition, frustration, support, acceptance, and, of course, love. -
A parent’s love letter to a daughter who has always known exactly who she is.
One ordinary day, a caseworker from the Department of Children and Families knocked on the Hays family's door to investigate an anonymous complaint about the upbringing of their transgender child. It was this knock, this threat, that began the family's journey out of the Bible Belt but never far from the hate and fear resting at the nation’s core.
Self-aware and intimate, A Girlhood asks us all to love better, not just for the sake of Hays’s child but for children everywhere enduring injustice and prejudice just as they begin to understand themselves. A Girlhood is a call to action, an ode to community, a plea for empathy, a hope for a better future. A Girlhood is a love letter to a child who has always known exactly who she is—and who is waiting for the rest of the world to catch up. -
This powerful, moving story—which has already touched more than seven million through a viral video created by the Whittington family—is a mother’s first-hand account of her emotional choice to embrace her transgender child.
When Hillary and Jeff Whittington posted a YouTube video chronicling their five-year-old son Ryland’s transition from girl to boy, they didn’t expect it to be greeted with such fervor. Beautiful and moving, the video documenting Hillary’s and Jeff’s love for their child instantly went viral and has been seen by more than seven million viewers since its posting in May 2014.
Now for the first time, they tell their story in full, offering an emotional and moving account of their journey alongside their exceptional child. After they discovered their daughter Ryland was deaf at age one and needed cochlear implants, the Whittingtons spent nearly four years successfully teaching Ryland to speak. But once Ryland gained the power of speech, it was time for them to listen as Ryland insisted, “I am a boy!” And listen they did. After learning that forty-one percent of people who identify as transgender attempt to take their own lives, Hillary and her husband Jeff made it their mission to support their child—no matter what. -
Once a Girl, Always a Boy is Jeremy’s journey from childhood through coming out as transgender and eventually emerging as an advocate for the transgender community. This is not only Jeremy’s story but also that of his family, told from multiple perspectives—those of the siblings who struggled to understand the brother they once saw as a sister, and of the parents who ultimately joined him in the battle against discrimination. This is a story of acceptance in a world not quite ready to accept.
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In 2000, Rebekah gave birth to twin boys, George and Harry. But as they grew older, their preferences began to show, and by the age of three it was clear Georgie was drawn to anything that was pretty or had a skirt that could swirl.Before long Georgie was insisting that she was a girl and became distressed that she had to hide who she really was when she began school. Soon the bullying started and she would come home in floods of tears, begging her mother to help her.Rebekah and her husband, conflicted about how to proceed and overwhelmed by fear, united in their determination to help her live freely and fearlessly. To ensure Georgie had access to medical support they sought permission for her to begin puberty-blocking medication. Their case was the start of the long road to justice for transgender children in Australia and became the basis of the 2013 landmark decision to remove the Family Court’s jurisdiction.Georgie has gone on to become one of the brightest stars of the Australian youth leadership landscape through her advocacy work. And Rebekah founded Transcend, a support network for transgender kids and their families in Australia.Part memoir and part inspirational message of hope for those navigating a similar path, About a Girl is a thought-provoking and profoundly moving true story. Above all, it is a celebration of family and the values that unite us all.'A remarkable document of an Australian civil rights landmark and a moving testament to the ferocity of parental love.' – Benjamin Law
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When a child goes through transition, the dynamics of the family unit can start to shift. It is not uncommon for one family member to feel one way about the transition, while another may feel quite differently. This innovative workbook discusses the unique needs of parents and families as they navigate their child's gender exploration. Providing a safe space for them to work through their own uncertainties and necessities, it gives specifically tailored guidance and support, with sections on school life, language and terminology, finding a therapist, possible grief, social/medical intervention options and more. Personal anecdotes from parents and other family members offer insight and understanding, alongside reflective activities, quizzes and positive affirmations throughout.
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Linda Gromko MD is a Board Certified Family Physician who has worked with the transgender community for years. She explains the basics of gender identity, sexual orientation, puberty, puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and gender affirming surgeries. She shares years of her patients’ wisdom and practical information on getting through every day in the best way possible—from coming out to parents, to school issues, to coping with depression, to love and sex. Why is this book important? We know that transgender kids and their families need specialized information. Alarmingly, the suicide attempt rate among trans youth is close to half! This book is intended to give gender non-conforming kids some of the information they need to grow to be happy, productive, loving and loved. It’s intended to provide the information we need as parents, educators, and health care providers to do better with and for our kids.
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Love and support your transgender teen
You’re probably reading this because your teenager shared something important about themselves. You want to be supportive, but what does “supportive” mean to transgender, nonbinary, or gender nonconforming teens? This parenting book provides positive parenting tools to support your teen on their journey of self-discovery plus strategies to help you build a stronger relationship with them.
What sets this love-centered parenting book apart from other books on parenting
Learn—Read about trans identity and learn how gender has been studied throughout history to help you put your child’s gender identity into context.Communicate—Show your teen you care by learning the terms used to describe gender identity and how to talk to them about their experiences in accurate and affirming ways.Support—Discover ways you can support your teens' gender expression, like helping them find clothes that fit or taking them to a gender-affirming salon.Advocate—Learn how to talk about your teen’s gender to friends and family, how to support your child in school, and the laws that protect trans people from discrimination and harassment.
There’s a world of information and support out there for you and your teen, and by picking up this book you’re taking the first step. -
Written by top experts in the field, Raising the Transgender Childoffers much-needed answers to all the questions parents and other adults ask about raising and caring for transgender and gender diverse Is this just a phase? Did I do something to cause this? How do we protect these children? Who should I tell, and how? Will anyone love my child? Written by Dr. Michele Angello, a leading therapist and go-to expert in the field of transgender parenting, and Ali Bowman, bestselling writer and parent advocate, Raising the Transgender Childhelps readers champion and celebrate gender diverse children while at the same time shedding fear, anger, sadness, and embarrassment.With specific and actionable advice including coming-out letters, identity challenges, school and caregiver communications, and more, this comprehensive guide provides a wealth of science-backed information alongside friendly and practical wisdom that is sure to comfort, guide, and inspire the family and friends of transgender and gender diverse children.
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A powerful book for readers aiming to support trans youth that Booklist calls a "warm and generous book [that] will help a wide range of readers" and Publishers Weekly says is "a pragmatic program for parenting beyond the gender binary."
As a full-time public speaker specializing in spreading awareness and understanding of the transgender community, what Ben Greene hears most from parents and loved ones is the phrase “I’m sorry.” They’re sorry for using the wrong word, sorry for asking an offensive question, sorry for not knowing this already, sorry for asking a question at all. The combination of exhaustion from trans people who have become their community’s designated educator and the growing trend of “canceling” anyone who says anything wrong has created a culture where people who have good hearts and minimal access to information are so afraid to make a mistake they don’t even try.
In My Child is Trans, Now What? A Joy-Centered Approach to Support, Greene breaks the mold by offering a judgement-free guide to people across generations, from millennial parents to members of older generations who may not have had previous positive exposure to the trans community. Greene focuses on providing two key resources in this book: information and emotional support. He explains what to expect, what systems exist to support trans youth, and what loved ones can do to help.
Using a combination of personal stories and experiences, definitions, and additional resources, My Child is Trans, Now What? is an essential guide for anyone looking to help trans youth thrive. -
If your child is exploring their gender identity you probably have questions. Parenting is often tricky but throwing in issues like transgender or gender-nonconforming identity brings us into unknown territory.
Please know you do not have to do this alone. There is good, practical, encouraging information available and a lot of it is in this book. Ignore the politicians and focus on keeping your child safe and your family strong. There’s a lot to learn, certainly, but parents tell us over and over their family became closer, more honest and more connected by working through their challenges together.
You need basic information and it’s here. You need answers to questions about dating or clothing or faith issues. You’ll have to enlist support from other family members – or defend your child from their attacks. We offer strategies for these and many more needs, as well as point you to reputable support organizations. We do our best to answer your questions, even the ones you may not have asked yet.
Learning what to focus on and what to let go can help, as does factual information to replace the misinformation so often in the headlines. Our goal is to provide that information, plus insights on this challenging transition, ways to help your child, and encouragement to lead with love and solve problems over time.
In addition, you can hand this book to the friends or family members who keep asking you to educate them. It can take a load off your shoulders.
Our hope is that this book can help you become an informed parent who finds the best path to keep your child safe and your family strong.
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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The inspiring true story of transgender actor and activist Nicole Maines, whose identical twin brother, Jonas, and ordinary American family join her on an extraordinary journey to understand, nurture, and celebrate the uniqueness in us all.
Nicole appears as TV’s first transgender superhero on CW’s Supergirl
When Wayne and Kelly Maines adopted identical twin boys, they thought their lives were complete. But by the time Jonas and Wyatt were toddlers, confusion over Wyatt’s insistence that he was female began to tear the family apart. In the years that followed, the Maineses came to question their long-held views on gender and identity, to accept Wyatt’s transition to Nicole, and to undergo a wrenching transformation of their own, the effects of which would reverberate through their entire community. Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Amy Ellis Nutt spent almost four years reporting this story and tells it with unflinching honesty, intimacy, and empathy. In her hands, Becoming Nicole is more than an account of a courageous girl and her extraordinary family. It’s a powerful portrait of a slowly but surely changing nation, and one that will inspire all of us to see the world with a little more humanity and understanding.
Named One of the Ten Best Books of the Year by People • One of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times Book Review and Men’s Journal • A Stonewall Honor Book in Nonfiction • Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender NonfictionBOOK
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A father’s journey of love, loss, and discovery as he learns to embrace and support his transgender daughter―one clumsy step at a time.
In the summer of 2011, at a family gathering in the north woods of Wisconsin, a four-year-old named Simon―the only child of a couple from West Central Wisconsin―quietly made a bold statement. Donning oversized fairy wings, Simon’s attempt to dress as a girl stunned the extended family into silence. Four years later, Simon told their parents she was a girl and would be wearing a dress to her ninth birthday party. By thirteen, she had legally changed her name to Simone. From that point forward, the family began making regular trips to Madison to see an endocrinologist at the University of Wisconsin’s Pediatric and Adolescent Transgender Health (PATH) Clinic.
As Simone transitioned and entered adolescence, her father found himself grappling with increasingly complex questions: How could he fully support her without being consumed by worry for her safety? What should be done with family photos that captured a version of Simone that no longer existed? And how could he mourn the son he thought he had while wholeheartedly embracing the daughter he now loved?
Clumsy Love tells the story of one father’s evolving, imperfect, and deeply genuine efforts to raise his transgender child. As Simone grows into the person she’s always known herself to be, her father embarks on a parallel journey―learning, day by day, what it truly means to love the unexpected child who changed his world.
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Dare to dream of a church and a world transformed by the bold celebration of transgender and gender-diverse children.
The debate around transgender children rages, with some Christians being the loudest voices against loving and supporting these young people. So, now more than ever, people of faith need to be grounded in God's call to love and affirm young people in who God created them to be. Raising Kids beyond the Binary bypasses the sound bites to give readers a vivid picture of who transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive young people are and what they need to thrive.
Drawing on the author's experience as a mother walking with and learning from her own transgender child, as well as working with hundreds of families across the country doing the same, this book helps parents navigate the emotional, spiritual, and logistical landscape of raising a gender-diverse child.
Grounded in the unequivocal truth of God's deep love and limitless creativity, this book compels readers to move past "all are welcome" to loving and celebrating transgender and gender-diverse youth in the brilliance of their uniqueness, the wisdom of their self-awareness, and the joy of their authenticity. Faith leaders and adults who work with youth will also find the book a helpful tool for gaining insight and building safer and more welcoming congregations for these children.
Rich with personal stories, research, and practical steps, this book dares to dream of a church and a world transformed by the bold and joyful acceptance and celebration of transgender and gender-diverse children and youth. These children need us, and the world needs them.
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Celebrate your child's true self with this parent's guide to gender identity
Talking with your child about gender identity can seem overwhelming―but with the right guidance, you can have healthy conversations and create an affirming environment for them as they grow. Whether your child is cisgender, gender expansive, transgender, or still unsure, this guide provides practical advice and strategies to help you embrace them for who they are and support them as they approach puberty.
Learn the basics―Refresh your knowledge on the different facets and language around gender identity and gender expression.
Discover anecdotes and advice―Feel more assured approaching conversations around gender with the expert strategies and relatable stories from other parents.
Cover important topics―Learn how to unravel your personal biases and maintain open communication.
Create a safe and inclusive space for your child to explore themselves with The Gender Identity Guide for Parents.
BOOK
HISTORY
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With transgender rights front and center in American politics, media, and culture, the pervasive myth still exists that today’s transgender children are a brand new generation—pioneers in a field of new obstacles and hurdles. Histories of the Transgender Child shatters this myth, uncovering a previously unknown twentieth-century history when transgender children not only existed but preexisted the term transgender and its predecessors, playing a central role in the medicalization of trans people, and all sex and gender.
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