Transgendered and gender variant children have a hard time of it. They are generally discouraged by their families and bullied at school. Parents are often confused, even frightened, by the behavior of the child. This is a handbook for families, teachers, medical practitioners and anyone who wants to understand what is happening in the child's self-definition. Brill has organized conferences and information networks for gender variant children. Pepper in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies department at Yale University. They present the material clearly with examples from real experiences. The authors recognize the mixed feelings parents have. They give suggestions for explaining the situation to friends and relatives and coping with the inevitable harassment at school. The question of medical treatment, especially at the time of puberty, is treated. The authors make clear that there are many options, just as there are many variations in gender identity. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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<div>This comprehensive first of its kind guidebook explores the unique challenges that thousands of families face every day raising their children in every city and state. Through extensive research and interviews, as well as years of experience working in the field, the authors cover gender variance from birth through college. What do you do when your toddler daughter's first sentence is that she's a boy? What will happen when your preschool son insists on wearing a dress to school? Is this ever just a phase? How can you explain this to your neighbors and family? How can parents advocate for their children in elementary schools? What are the current laws on the rights of transgender children? What do doctors specializing in gender variant children recommend? What do the therapists say? What advice do other families who have trans kids have? What about hormone blockers and surgery? What issues should your college-bound trans child be thinking about when selecting a school? How can I best raise my gender variant or transgender child with love and compassion, even when I barely understand the issues ahead of us? And what is gender, anyway? These questions and more are answered in this book offering a deeper understanding of gender variant and transgender children and teens.</div>
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