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Transgender family issues

One of the most difficult but important parts of transition is gaining acceptance from your family. Luckily, more and more families are being understanding and accepting. This section is designed to help you talk to family in ways that will address their concerns and help them come to terms with the news.

Coming out to your family

Coming out to family and friends is a different matter than coming out at work.

Transfamily (transfamily.org) [archive]

Gianna Israel (counselsuite.com) [archive]

Parents of trans youth

I have some comments and suggestions on coming out to parents as a young person. Some applies to anyone who plans to tell her family.

National Center for Transgender Equality (transequality.org)

  • Going Public: Is Public Advocacy Right for You and Your Family? (PDF)
  • This important document is a must-read for anyone considering discussing their family member’s transition in a public forum.

Gender Spectrum (genderspectrum.org)

  • US-based group with the best information.

GLSEN (glsen.org)

  • LGBTQ Youth resources.

Trans Student Educational Resources (transstudent.org)

  • Trans and gender nonconforming youth resources.

GSA Network (gsanetwork.org)

  • Trans and queer youth support groups.

PFLAG (pflag.org)

Lambda Legal (lambdalegal.org)

  • Bending the Mold: An action kit for transgender students (PDF)

Camp Aranu’tiq (camparanutiq.org)

TransYouth Family Allies (imatyfa.org)

Trans Youth Equality Foundation (transyouthequality.org)

Transkids Purple Rainbow Foundation (transkidspurplerainbow.org)

Gender Diversity (genderdiversity.org)

Campus Pride (campuspride.org)

Parents who transition

The Ascent (theascent.pub)

Spouses and partners of someone in transition

Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org)

  • Transgender People and Marriage: The Importance of Legal Planning [archive]
  • https://www.hrc.org/resources/transgender-people-and-marriage-the-importance-of-legal-planning

Doc Impossible (April 1, 2024). “Oh, s#!t, my partner just told me they’re trans.” https://stainedglasswoman.substack.com/p/oh-st-my-partner-just-told-me-theyre

Our Path (ourpath.org)

  • Provides personal, confidential support and information to straight partners and partners of trans people.
  • Healthy boundaries for partners of trans people (PDF)
  • https://emfjjpdexyu.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OP-HealthyBoundariesPartnersOfTransPeople.pdf
  • Formerly Straight Spouse Network (straightspouse.org) [archive]