We are in the midst of a gender revolution as people change how they define their gender. There’s so much gender fluidity, especially among young people, it can be confusing for today’s grandparents.
To help grandparents better understand the rapidly evolving complexities of gender identity, our November GaGa Sisterhood meeting featured a panel of four college students who explained what their gender identity means to them.
Naomi Cruz (they/them) of Gender Spectrum, moderated the panel. Naomi oversees support groups at Gender Spectrum, a national non-profit dedicated to creating a gender-inclusive world for ALL children and youth by supporting the children and their support systems – parents, grandparents, teachers, and professionals to create lasting change for them.
Naomi gave a PowerPoint presentation with excellent slides explaining gender terms, why it’s important to understand gender, and how we grandparents can be more gender inclusive.
The terms “gender diverse” and “gender expansive” are umbrella terms for individuals who broaden their own culture’s commonly held definitions of gender and how it’s expressed. They may use different gender labels that include trans, non-binary, gender non-conforming, gender fluid, and questioning.
Our support is vital to the well-being of gender-expansive youth. The incidence of suicide attempts is one in five among trans and non-binary youth who feel alienated. While youth who perceived their parents and family strongly supported their gender were 93% less likely to attempt suicide. Using a trans child’s chosen name at school, with friends, and at home can reduce depression symptoms by 71%.
You can watch Naomi’s presentation, as well as each panelist’s unique gender journey, and hear their answers to questions from our GaGa Sisterhood members. Click on this YouTube link — https://youtu.be/olJ6SitMovg
