Gender: A Wider Lens cover image

Gender: A Wider Lens

138 - The Emotional Lives of Parents Caught in the Gender Maelstrom

Oct 27, 2023
Join Sasha & Stella for a candid conversation on parenting transgender children. They discuss challenges in communication, the risks and benefits of transitioning, and the emotional struggles parents face. They emphasize the importance of nuance, resilience, and offering realistic perspectives. The conversation explores doubts, fears, and the loss of innocence parents experience, while celebrating their emotional courage. This discussion offers valuable insights into navigating the complex world of gender identity.
01:06:07

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Parents of gender-questioning children often struggle with disallowed emotions, like disgust, and therapy aims to help them acknowledge and process these emotions while promoting a nuanced perspective on long-term outcomes.
  • Parents of gender-questioning children often experience a sense of loss and grieving, as their child's journey entails a significant shift in their family dynamics, and it is important for them to acknowledge and navigate this grief while prioritizing their own well-being.

Deep dives

Parents' emotional experience and the fear of harming their child

Parents of gender questioning children often grapple with the fear of harming their child or making wrong decisions. They may question themselves, feeling like bad parents due to their child's dysphoria or their own inability to fully support their child's desires. The emotional experience is intensified by the rejection and blame they might face from their child, potentially being humiliated in public or online. Parents often experience a combination of sadness and fear, the sadness stemming from the realization that this is not what they had envisioned for their family and the fear of their child making irreversible choices that they may later regret.

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