tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22532272.post236923535040639580..comments2023-10-21T07:20:19.500-07:00Comments on Brandi Raae: When My Daughter Said She Wanted To Be A Boy and How I Handled ItBrandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10312594053741362073noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22532272.post-84597974538671169422016-05-25T21:46:37.362-07:002016-05-25T21:46:37.362-07:00You are welcome. Thanks for commenting and sharing...You are welcome. Thanks for commenting and sharing your story as well. 😊 Brandihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01945796733388639454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22532272.post-69101180970788546392016-05-25T20:46:25.006-07:002016-05-25T20:46:25.006-07:00Thank you for sharing this story! I am a Christia...Thank you for sharing this story! I am a Christian in a denomination that accepts LGBT people--and still I think your approach is just right. I meet many parents these days who think that if a child of any age expresses doubt about gender, it must mean that the child is transgendered and ought to be encouraged to express the gender identity that feels right. I think this is a dangerous direction to take. Children before puberty are still forming their understanding of what gender means and what sexuality is, and even into their early twenties most people are still working on their understanding of what being a man or woman means to them specifically, so it's too early to make the very drastic decision that you must have been born in the wrong body! Although I believe that gender dysphoria is a real thing that truly does affect some people, it is rare, and we shouldn't let the current trendiness lead us into seeing it where it doesn't really exist.<br /><br />My son is 11. When he was 3-6 or so, he really liked purple and pink, flowers, kittens, butterflies, and other "girly" things and did not like to play sports or fighting games. At times he wanted to put on a skirt and twirl. Sometimes in play he would portray a girl character. But he NEVER said that he thought he had the wrong body parts, although he was aware of the different parts girls and boys have. When he wanted to buy "girly" items, his dad and I would explain that kids at school might tease him about it; we encouraged him to think about whether he liked the item enough to accept teasing, and we let him make the decision. One of his preschool teachers taught him to say, "Mostly girls wear this kind of shoes, but this pair is mine, so these are boy's shoes." We encouraged his "boy" interests like trains and Legos. As he got older, he shifted to preferring clothes more like what the other boys wear and started to get interested in computer games, books, and movies that involve fighting. It's still true that most of his close friends are girls, but he doesn't want to BE a girl. He's just a boy whose tastes and interests are closer to the middle of the spectrum.Becca @The Earthling's Handbookhttp://articles.earthlingshandbook.orgnoreply@blogger.com