Douglas County child, 8, wants to live as a girl
By Ann Schrader
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 02/08/2008 11:51:46 AM MST
The parents of an 8-year-old boy who wants to live and be treated as a girl have been working with the Douglas County School District to allow their child to attend school as a girl.
The child attended the unnamed school two years ago, and the family and the district have been talking since last fall about the child re-enrolling, said district spokeswoman Whei Wong.
"The discussion has been how best to do it," Wong said Thursday. The goal, she said, is "to ensure the kid feels safe physically and emotionally and other kids don't feel threatened in any way."
Wong said some parents have contacted school officials asking for clarification and direction. "Some parents are really concerned and freaked out about it."
A concerned parent, who asked not to be identified, told 9News, "I see this as being a very difficult situation to explain to my daughter . . . why someone would not want to be the gender they were born with."
A national nonprofit group, TransYouth Family Advocates, has provided assistance in handling the situation.
Transgender children, who are born as one sex and identify with the other, are not uncommon but are not understood by parents and society, TransYouth president Shannon Garcia said.
Parents "don't understand this is a health condition. They don't know why their children are like this, and they don't know where to find help," she said.
Society fears "what they don't understand," she said. "Gender identification and sexual orientation are two very different things."
Laura Thor, a Denver licensed clinical social worker, said parents of transgender children "are relying on the goodness and tolerance of the rest of the public to respond to this child favorably."
Schoolmates and their parents need help in becoming less uncomfortable with the child's looking different and being called by a different name, Thor said. ~~END OF ARTICLE~~
Is it just me or is something SERIOUSLY fucking WRONG here? This is an 8 year old BOY!!!! Not GIRL!!!! Transgender my fucking ass!!!! Shame on the Douglas county school system fer not putting their foot down and saying THIS IS WRONG!!!! Talk about poisoning the minds of children!!!! This kids parents need to be held accountable for this horse shit and get this kid some SERIOUS help. How sad our society has become for accepting such behavior and whats worse, ENDORSING IT!!! I would NEVER allow my child to participate at this school knowing what kind of fucked up values they have as a faculty.
