Can we have board for parents of trans identifying children and young people

[Nightmare2022]

I know trans is covered by the T in LGBT, but it’s not really the same experience at all as a parent. LGB kids don’t want to medicalise themselves for life, aren’t changing their names, insisting on different pronouns, aren’t mainly autistic girls with mental health problems. It would be good to have our own space here on MN.

Yes please

That's a good idea

Indeed. Your summary is spot on.

Yes please - this is a very specific issue and way more prevalent than people think!

It's really sad to see LGB board full of trans stories. I blame lockdown.

I agree. Sort it out MNHQ please

It's the LGBT board, not the LGB board. That's why there are trans related thread on there. It's not sad, it's literally where they go.

Yes you are right, it's LGBT not LGB @HumanSoapbox, my mistake. I find it sad because of the medical pathway that trans identified people pursue which makes them lifelong medical patients.

Morning @Nightmare2022. Thanks for raising this. We'll have a chat about it in the office but in the meantime, we'd be keen to hear more from other users about their views and and how a board like this might be used. We'll keep reading here.

I’d definitely prefer to have a separate board as like OP says, the issues are completely different and get conflated inappropriately. That can be really confusing for parents who are trying to support a child with their emerging sexuality, as well as parents whose child has absorbed the theory that humans can change sex. Totally different issues, for which both need care and support in different ways.

But, as OP says, it's not appropriate.
T and LBG are different things and need different boards.

Excellent idea. It seems obvious that the subject of trans brings up a myriad of different issues to LGB. I speak as a bisexual woman, dismayed to see young women apparently driven to what looks very much like medically supported self-harm. This issue is a ticking time bomb and the parents need very different information and support and the opportunity to discuss the issues involved in one place, not complicated by conflation with a different group of people.

I would welcome a separate section as the issues can be very specific .

I think that's a sensible idea. Same sex attraction is a a completely different topic to being trans and the other letter is the LGTQIA+ thingy

It helps no one to muddle it all together

Although I’d be glad for the T to be far away from the LGB in theory, I think a trans board has the potential to be invaded by trans activists. At the moment, the LGBT board gets a wider audience. It could end up with worried parents being told to be kind and shut up by trans activists if it has less of an audience. Maybe not, but that would be my concern.

I'd support this too.

In all honesty, I am the parent of a trans teenager, and this site is the last place I'd seek support. That makes me sad as it is such a great resource for almost all other topics.

While I respect the right of gender critical posters to express their opinions, I would not dream of posting anything about my child or my efforts to support them in such a hostile environment.

Yes please.

Mother of a lesbian, autistic girl who is going through this. Sadly lesbian seems to be cosplay for males or a porn category now. It is heartbreaking.

Another worried parent of a FTM transgender child here.. DD was on suicide watch a couple of weeks ago but got local medical help (we are some distance away, she is 19 and at Uni).

I am so sorry to hear this 💐💐

You already have the fwr board for your hate. I don't think you need more places to try to persuade parents to alienate their children honestly.

I’ve seen no hate. All I’ve seen is love and worry from caring parents who want the best for their kids. Parents trying to get as much information from all sides of the debate. Parents trying to slow it all down and give their child/young adult time to figure it all out without making irreversible medical changes.
I support my child presenting however they want to. I want them to be the best they can be, enjoy the freedom and fun of being a young adult and to give themselves time to really figure out who they are.
That’s love not hate.

The fwr board is for women to discuss defending their sex based rights. There is not much overlap with parents of teens, who are typically vulnerable and troubled, hence the suggestion for a separate board.

While I respect the right of gender critical posters to express their opinions, I would not dream of posting anything about my child or my efforts to support them in such a hostile environment.

I'm not sure this is the best place, but as a parent in this situation, what hostility do you experience? In what way are other posters hostile towards you, would you say?

I don't have any say in this other than being a lesbian, but it sounds like a good idea to me as the issues are so different.

However I have seen the responses by anti trans activists when people post with concerns for their trans child.

It might be a good idea to have a clear rule that anti trans activists and trans activists are not welcome to post on the board and will have their posts reported and removed. That it is just for parents, plus trans adults and professionals who have valid experience or suggestions to add. Of course as parents you may have a different view on who would be helpful but I would suggest strong guidelines.