http://feministing.com/2011/09/15/10...medium=twitter
I love it when we get to hear from young people about what’s going on in their own lives. Too often, the voices of those most impacted by youth issues are ignored in favor of adults. So I was glad to read the words of a 10-year-old trans girl in England who returned to school this year presenting her actual gender.
The girl’s mom told the Worcester News (in an article unfortunately trapped in the “trapped in the wrong body” frame, but which does keep the girl’s identity anonymous) that the school administration has been supportive of letting her daughter present as a girl, but some parents have walked by them muttering, “That’s that freak family. That’s that freak child.”
Her mom said there has been some bullying from the girl’s peers, but that the cruelty has mostly come from adults. Now let’s hear from the girl herself about how she’s been treated by her friends at school. From an interview on BBC 5 Live, via Pink News:
Of her friends, she said: “They haven’t really said anything. It’s been a little eye-up and then, ‘Whatever’.
“They haven’t really taken any notice. There have been a couple of little glitches but that’ll pass.”
However, she said she was forced to change for games in the disabled toilet after parents complained.
“It is split for girls and boys, but in PE and stuff I do have to be with the boys’ team,” she said.
“But my friends stick up for me and say, ‘He feels like a girl so he can be on the girls’ team’.”
I hope it’s clear that the acceptance she’s felt from her peers is much more important than the specific pronoun they use. Yes, language matters, but I know I greatly prefer the support I get from a friend who genuinely accepts me as myself, even if they’re not up on all the lingo, to someone who talks the talk but doesn’t ultimately treat my identity as valid.
Further, this girl’s experience is a pretty great refutation of “won’t somebody think of the children!”-type moral panic. Actually, seems like the kids will be fine, provided adults don’t poison them with their own hateful ideas.
h/t Dr. Jillian Weiss