Transgendered Youth: School children face unique difficulties

[Natasha]

Transgendered Youth: School children face unique difficulties

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080113/GJNEWS_01/335083909
By CHLOE JOHNSON
01/13/2008

He said he knew from the age of 5 that he was a boy born in a girl's body. Playing on girls' sports teams and using the girls' locker room just felt wrong, he said. But schools didn't offer co-ed teams or let him try out for boys' teams.

[cindybc]

Hmmmm some of that sounds quite familiar. I was 15 years old in grade six when I quit school where harassments and bullying was the order of the day. I don't even think anyone knew anything about the word transsexual back then, including myself. The word transvestite was well known though but I sure wasn't even going to hint I might be one of them, which of course I wasn't. After hearing all the atrocious things some threatened they would do if they ever caught one of them certainly deterred me from  even daring to say anything to anyone. The best thing that happened to me is I ran away from home at 15 and lived with the hippies for a year and a half, they thought I was a girl and I certainly never dissuaded them of that notion.

Cindy

[tekla]

I find it interesting that small newspapers in out of the way locations are doing "an occasional series about transgendered youth."

[cindybc]

That's what the general public needs is some education on the subject. If people knew more about what transsexualism or if information about it was made more readily available then they, society, may not be so fearful of what it is not. But then there will always be those who will prefer to stay ignorant on the subject and continue being prejudice against anything they don't know anything about they call weird and a good many other incorrect labels. I made sure there was a good supply of information on the subject where I worked.

Cindy