Being Brave: Negotiating the Path of Social Transition With a Transgender Child in Foster Care

ABSTRACT

A literature review of treatment guidelines regarding children and adolescents with gender dysphoria culminates in consideration of two models: the gender affirmative model and the multidimensional family model. A single case study of a child in foster care in the United Kingdom, from the age of seven to eleven, illustrates the process of social transitioning from the assigned gender to the true gender self. The role of the context of the child in facilitating the process of social transition in the form of school, family, local authority, and the National Health Service is highlighted. Professionals working with gender nonconforming and gender-dysphoric children are encouraged to consider social transitioning as a viable option.