About the Gender Critical Support Board

[mkochend]

Hi, I’m new the forum, but I’ve been grappling with the same issue that so many of you describe. My daughter has adopted this idea that she is trans and now identifies as a boy (with the short hair, baggy clothes and sweatshirts in the summer, unshaven legs, etc.). I’ve made my stance clear, and I’ve tried to tell her that perhaps there are underlying issues causing her to feel depressed—issues with self-confidence and self-image. I’m scared to take her to a psychologist or therapist because I don’t want this belief of hers to be affirmed. I’m already feeling alienated—the high school she attends affirms this desire to identify as a boy and has allowed her to do so without contacting (or conferring with) me. I’ve threatened to take away access to YouTube and the internet in general, but she responds by accusing me not having her best interests in mind and wanting her to feel alone and depressed. I try to avoid the topic of gender as much as possible now because it always sparks argument. I can tell that her assertions in our arguments are the template types spoken by YouTube personalities who make non-supportive parents out to be the enemy. 

I’m just at the end of my rope, and I know there’s not much I can do, but it is comforting to find a group of parents who know how this feels. I totally subscribe to the idea that ROGD is real—my daughter’s closest friend is a girl who also identifies as a boy, and this whole idea really took hold of her when she entered high school last year and became friends with a group of teens identifying as trans.