Arguing with some hogs about it and not sure where I stand. Feel like it's a noble goal that should happen some day, but personally, if I had a kid I wouldn't do it because I'd fear they'd get bullied for it. Thoughts?

  • VernetheJules [they/them]
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    edit-2
    4 years ago

    I only want to speak for myself here but I definitely think having social acceptance in the form of trans-positive media, culture, and knowledgeable parents would've helped me. It's literally what got me to come out so recently--even just seeing how femboys are basically a meme now made me feel more comfortable in expressing myself.

    But as a parent just a nudge here and there like "which do you like more?" And "which toys do you like?". Like if I ever have kids I'm going to explicitly ask them whether they want to wear dresses, shorts, skirts, of literally any presentation and design. Asking them if they want to wear shorts isn't enough, I want to signal to them that all of their choices are valid ones. And besides directly emphasizing that it's okay to change their mind, I'll indirectly emphasize that by asking them those same questions at various intervals when they're growing up.

    To put it in g*mer terms: I want my kid to know they're in a character creator basically up until puberty, and that they're the ones in control of the options. I might pick a few characteristics to start, but I'll get around that by making it clear they can change those traits too.

    I think if this all goes well, my child won't feel traumatized if the default setting are cis, because they'll also see all the knobs and buttons in the UI, and examples from people around them showing what you can make of yourself.

    Somewhere in the future, I think this might make the issue of gendered language and products moot. Because if my child with female genitals wants to be known as a boy or a person but still wear dresses or do whatever, then haven't we basically accomplished our goal?