Transgender Youth: Perceptions, Media Influences and Social Challenges (Human Sexuality) – eBook

According to the Youth Suicide Prevention Program, “more than 50% of transgender youth will have had at least one suicide attempt by their 20th birthday.” This real data demonstrates a dire need for educators, caregivers, and providers to have a better understanding of youths experiencing gender dysphoria. Presently, our binary society makes the lives of transgender youth more challenging than they need be. Adolescence and childhood mark the start of our gender identity development, our sexual orientation development, and our racial identity development. Those intersections create enough intrapersonal and interpersonal challenges without the added stress of rejection for belonging to a minority group in one or more of those 3 developmental areas. These transgender youth are growing into transgender adults who become politicians, own businesses, join the military, and become parents. They are a natural and needed part of our society. This PDF ebook was created to give a voice to these individuals as they are being silenced by some of their school officials, caregivers, religious leaders, and politicians. This ebook Transgender Youth: Perceptions, Media Influences and Social Challenges (Human Sexuality) brings readers closer to empathy for transgender youth and transgender young adults with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life for these exceptional children and adolescents. The ebook introduces the topic of gender dysphoria and explains various terms important to this conversation regarding gender identity. It describes the challenges transgender adolescents experience to include barriers and obstacles not faced by their cisgender counterparts. We review the literature on transgender youth and the use of sexual activity as commerce. There are discussions about transgender youth within the foster care system, transgender youth athletes, and the issues they face in school-based and intramural sports programs. Readers are offered suggestions to implement and support transgender youth in their schools and communities. (Imprint: Nova)