Archive for transgender
Transgender student athletes: What parents should know
Last summer, three Connecticut girls who have run high school track filed a federal discrimination complaint stating that the state’s policy on transgender athletes has affected their ability to win races and potentially qualify for college scholarships. They claim that transfeminine athletes have an unfair advantage when competing against cisgender girls. The lawsuit is characteristic ... Read More
‘At complete peace’: Oliver’s transition story
Oliver Sutherland wants to help gender-diverse kids feel more comfortable in and out of the classroom. As a staff member on the Massachusetts GSA Leadership Council, he works with students and schools to help make schools safer and more inclusive for LGBTQ+ students. For Oliver, it’s a role born of both passion and personal experience: ... Read More
Leven’s story: Becoming more of who they’ve always been
“My name is Leven. I’m in seventh grade. I like hanging out with my friends, reading graphic novels, and going to the trampoline park. I want to be a math teacher when I grow up. I’m non-binary and use they/them pronouns.” At just 13, Leven Ford has more knowledge about who they are than many ... Read More
First-of-its-kind study links puberty blockers to lower odds of suicidal thoughts
Also called puberty blockers, gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRHas) are medications that can halt estrogen and testosterone production, effectively suppressing the physical changes associated with puberty. This allows transgender and non-binary teens to explore their gender identity without the pressure of puberty, which can exacerbate feelings of dysphoria. GnRHas are administered by implants or injections and ... Read More
The Center for Gender Surgery: Pioneering team looks to the future
In January 2018, physicians in Boston Children’s Center for Gender Surgery performed the first hospital’s phalloplasty, or surgical creation of a penis. The procedure was groundbreaking: It was the first such surgery performed for a transgender patient at a major U.S. pediatric hospital. And it was a key step in the 24-year-old patient’s lifelong journey ... Read More
Recent research from the Center for Gender Surgery
The Center for Gender Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital offers a full suite of surgical options for eligible patients ready to take this step in their gender journey. A pair of recent studies by the center’s staff promise to further increase our understanding of transgender health. New system helps identify transmasculine patients’ surgical priorities Transmasculine ... Read More
What it means to be non-binary: A guide for parents
Today, 14 states plus New York City and the District of Columbia offer a third gender option on drivers’ licenses, allowing those who don’t identify as male or female the ability to choose to represent their gender with an “X” instead. Celebrities like actors Indya Moore and Amandla Stenberg, model Rain Dove, activist Jacob Tobia, ... Read More
How to support your gender-diverse child: Your questions, answered
Your daughter cries every time you try to put her in a dress. Your teenage son begins going by a stereotypically feminine name. Your child asks you to start using “they/their/them” as their preferred pronouns. They’re not alone: According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 2 percent of high school students ... Read More
Always pads get more inclusive for gender-diverse teens and adults
Buying menstrual products may get a little less stressful for teens and young adults who menstruate but don’t identify as female, thanks to a recent change by Procter & Gamble (P&G). Last week, the company announced that it would be removing the Venus symbol — traditionally associated with the female sex — from the packaging of ... Read More
‘I know you’re a boy’: Nick’s transition story
After returning home and slipping off my dress from my seventh grade semi-formal, I swore to myself I’d never go to a school dance again. Yet five years later, I came home from my senior prom smiling — and took off my tux and crown. That night, I was walking on air after being named ... Read More