Hello, My name is Elizabeth. 13 years old and an MTF yet to come out to anyone except for a few choice friends.
I really want to come out to the rest of the world and completely forget about Michael the male. But I am worried about it for a few reasons

The first is that pretty much all of my family are Mormons/LDS. This religion is currently  notsupportive of the lgbtq+ community and I have not seen a lot of good things about when people come out to mormon parents.

The other reason is that my parents are really ignorant about what trans are. They are stuck on the idea that trans people are confused and that they just need to accept who they were born as. I have tried to tell them otherwise but my parents don't particularly love this topic....

I don't know how to make them understand who I am. Should I even come out in this situation, like is it safe for me to do so?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Elizabeth, welcome to Susan's. I know the Mormon church can be against it, but I have found that many of the members are very understanding. I have many relatives who are Mormon and are just fine with my transitioning. The best thing you can do is educate them. The only way they are going to become knowledgeable is through your help and guidance which will hopefully result in them trying to learn more. Show them material and sources and explain why you are trans to them. Even give them examples from your own life to help explain to them and show them why you are trans and that this won't go away. I look forward to seeing you around the site. Good luck and Hugs
Mariah

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Welcome Elizabeth and congratulations for recognizing yourself and already coming out with those "select friends."

I think you are way smart to be somewhat cautious and perhaps building a circle of support around you might help.  Resources could include print material and on line stuff but IMO nothing beats real people as allies.  Are you in a school system that has a Gay Straight Alliance or similar group?  Any PFLAG or Q center groups in your area?

It sounds like your family has already had some transgender talk but without factual info they might as well watch Jerry Springer for advice   Without knowing your family and community it is hard to suggest how safe you might be.  Still your safety is paramount and I hope you might have a trust worthy local adult in your corner too. 

We often recommend therapists as a starting point and one Oregon based youth specific group that works nationally is called TransActive.  All the best to you on your journey

Hi there Elizabeth, welcome!

The fact that your parents think Trans people are "confused" rather than a sin against God or some such thing is a good sign. My parents felt the same way about trans people. When I came out to them, they didn't react with anger or any of the emotions that you would have thought a somewhat conservative family would have reacted. My parents always stressed that they would love me know matter "what" I was, which turned out to be true. I think this goes for a lot of parents - they are always outspoken against it until someone they know and care about comes out as trans.  I think if you take the time to explain it to them, and have them read up on it, they will be more likely to understand where you're coming from.

Parents love for you will sometimes surprise you. My parents didn't take it well but they didn't turn any emotions at me and I stayed with them until I had to move from Arizona to California for treatment(things were different in those days).

I suggest you think about one thing. While you are talking to your parents mention you know of place where they can talk to people who have far more knowledge about this than you do and the people will not judge them for any anger they may hold. If they are receptive. Bring them to this form and have them talk with us. If they are not receptive, don't tell them about this web site because you may still need to talk to us and you don't want your computer usage taken away from you.

As you know, you have a long trip a head of you and I am willing to answer any question you or your parents might have through web posting or PM. I wish you luck and strength. That was one of the most difficult things I did in my life.

Hello and welcome *hugs*

Here might be a few things that could help you :
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,189289.msg1684320.html#msg1684320


hugs