If it was my own son, I’d be a) Over the moon and b) A bit amazed if he wanted to go all the way.
My older son has always been sporty, enjoys football (the correct name for soccer), and has mostly traditional male friends and tendencies. He has always got on well with girls too, and I am a bit envious of how he so naturally seems to switch between groups of boys or girls (segregation starts in the playground, and my eldest doesn’t seem to recognise that, which is wonderful!) – so maybe he has feminine tendencies, or maybe he’s just nice to everyone. He is an incredibly easy going character.
My youngest can be the opposite – very difficult and stubborn – or read that as very clear in his own mind about what he wants. He also doesn’t really recognise that boys and girls are separate – different, yes, but no boundaries. Many is the time I’ve seen him dress up in female clothing at school or at home – not regularly, but any time he feels like it, he will, and won’t be at all embarrassed – and no-one here will pick him up on it. He’s also incredibly imaginative – all his teachers confirm this unprompted, so he’s likely to be artistic and wierd like me – and too right!
If either said that they wanted to transition, it would really depend on how strongly they felt about it. As children, I don’t think they have the full picture, so I would strongly encourage waiting until say 16, but as I say, it depends.
At 12, I thought I wanted to transition, but actually wasn’t too sure – especially about people’s reactions.
Now that I care a lot less about people’s reactions to stuff that doesn’t concern them, I still wouldn’t transition myself, despite my loathing of male physicality.
After all, I don’t see it most of the time, and I wear mostly women’s clothing anyway, so I don’t feel male – I just feel like me.
So I would be supportive and listen to any child who had concerns, and try to help them celebrate and be happy with their “wierd feelings”, but not push the agenda.
Love Laura
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