Comments on: It’s OK to be a gay middle-schooler—as long as you’re gender normative! http://www.acceptingdad.com/2009/09/27/its-ok-to-be-a-gay-middle-schooler%e2%80%94as-long-as-youre-gender-normative/ A Father's Journey to Acceptance of his Gender-Nonconforming Son Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:44:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Peter Welch http://www.acceptingdad.com/2009/09/27/its-ok-to-be-a-gay-middle-schooler%e2%80%94as-long-as-youre-gender-normative/comment-page-1/#comment-12 Peter Welch Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:00:51 +0000 http://www.acceptingdad.com/?p=78#comment-12 What a wonderful, thoughtful, evolved dad you are. I have been finding ways to support my trans brothers and sisters for nearly 20 years, and believe that dismantling gender's social construction will help to create gender freedom for all. We should ALL be impatient about this and demand change NOW. What a wonderful, thoughtful, evolved dad you are. I have been finding ways to support my trans brothers and sisters for nearly 20 years, and believe that dismantling gender’s social construction will help to create gender freedom for all. We should ALL be impatient about this and demand change NOW.

]]> By: Bedford Hope http://www.acceptingdad.com/2009/09/27/its-ok-to-be-a-gay-middle-schooler%e2%80%94as-long-as-youre-gender-normative/comment-page-1/#comment-9 Bedford Hope Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:25:32 +0000 http://www.acceptingdad.com/?p=78#comment-9 I'm glad you survived, and sorry you still feel that pain. I'm lucky to have gotten to where I've gotten too; if I had been shamed by my neighbors and peers and family for accepting my son...well, I hope I would have done it anyway. I can't know. We did make a conscious choice to live where we live, be where we are, even though we live in a tiny condo when we could have a McMansion with an hour commute. So we had something to do with it. Without support, even just the moral support of the internet, of a dozen or two dozen like-minded families, I'm not sure it's possible to be like we are. thanks for reading, and thanks for commenting. I’m glad you survived, and sorry you still feel that pain. I’m lucky to have gotten to where I’ve gotten too; if I had been shamed by my neighbors and peers and family for accepting my son…well, I hope I would have done it anyway. I can’t know.

We did make a conscious choice to live where we live, be where we are, even though we live in a tiny condo when we could have a McMansion with an hour commute. So we had something to do with it.

Without support, even just the moral support of the internet, of a dozen or two dozen like-minded families, I’m not sure it’s possible to be like we are.

thanks for reading, and thanks for commenting.

]]> By: Karen Hofmann http://www.acceptingdad.com/2009/09/27/its-ok-to-be-a-gay-middle-schooler%e2%80%94as-long-as-youre-gender-normative/comment-page-1/#comment-8 Karen Hofmann Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:28:58 +0000 http://www.acceptingdad.com/?p=78#comment-8 Wow! I wish I had had you for my father. Not that my father was difficult, but he was just distant and I believe afraid of me. So were other people. It's a sobering thought that at least in my generation perhaps 50 percent didn't survive to age 30, succumbing to suicide, violent deaths, drug related deaths, starvation, exposure, or disease associated with homelessness. Here I am at age 61 with post traumatic stress from my childhood, but I survived. By the grace of God... Wow! I wish I had had you for my father. Not that my father was difficult, but he was just distant and I believe afraid of me. So were other people. It’s a sobering thought that at least in my generation perhaps 50 percent didn’t survive to age 30, succumbing to suicide, violent deaths, drug related deaths, starvation, exposure, or disease associated with homelessness. Here I am at age 61 with post traumatic stress from my childhood, but I survived. By the grace of God…

]]> By: thisNik http://www.acceptingdad.com/2009/09/27/its-ok-to-be-a-gay-middle-schooler%e2%80%94as-long-as-youre-gender-normative/comment-page-1/#comment-7 thisNik Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:44:35 +0000 http://www.acceptingdad.com/?p=78#comment-7 Thank you for your articulation of binary norming; beautifully put. Thank you for your articulation of binary norming; beautifully put.

]]> By: Dave Parker http://www.acceptingdad.com/2009/09/27/its-ok-to-be-a-gay-middle-schooler%e2%80%94as-long-as-youre-gender-normative/comment-page-1/#comment-5 Dave Parker Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:21:43 +0000 http://www.acceptingdad.com/?p=78#comment-5 Please add to your Resource List: PFLAG Transgender Network - www.pflag.org/tnet.html www.TransFamily.org Please add to your Resource List:

PFLAG Transgender Network – http://www.pflag.org/tnet.html

http://www.TransFamily.org

]]> By: Dave Parker http://www.acceptingdad.com/2009/09/27/its-ok-to-be-a-gay-middle-schooler%e2%80%94as-long-as-youre-gender-normative/comment-page-1/#comment-4 Dave Parker Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:18:44 +0000 http://www.acceptingdad.com/?p=78#comment-4 Thank you!! That was very well said, and an excellent reflection of the concerns of ALL of us parents of transgender and gender variant children. Few heterosexual people - and many gays and lesbians - reconize the fact pointed out in your key statement: persecution for gender expression is the mechanism by which most gays are suppressed. Thank you!! That was very well said, and an excellent reflection of the concerns of ALL of us parents of transgender and gender variant children. Few heterosexual people – and many gays and lesbians – reconize the fact pointed out in your key statement: persecution for gender expression is the mechanism by which most gays are suppressed.

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