“There is no point saying, ‘I wish He wasn’t trans’ because He is:” Parental experiences of an adolescent child’s social transition.

There has been a significant increase in adolescent children identifying as transgender and undertaking a social transition. Research into how parents experience their child’s social transition away from their sex assigned at birth, especially during adolescence, is limited. As gender identity in adolescence is more likely to persist in adulthood and how this process is supported and experienced by parents will influence outcomes for young people themselves, this is an important area to address. We recruited participants online through parenting websites, social media, and parental gender support groups. We conducted semi-structured interviews with nine parents via Zoom/telephone call. Interviews were analyzed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA). We identified four themes comprising of three to four additional subthemes; making sense of it all; being driven to action; providing protection; and embracing a new world. Parents in this study largely adopted an affirmative stance to their child’s social transition. The themes reflect the challenges parents faced at a micro, meso, and macro level. Parents in most cases also experienced personal growth and changes in their self-identity through their child’s social transition. Affirmative responses appeared to promote their child’s well-being. Considerations for future research and practice are made.
Keywords: transition; parenting; adolescence; gender