Trans/parent: The Politics of Transition

Parents are meant to be selflessly committed to the needs of their children over their own. This selflessness may be threatened when parents who are gender diverse make the choice to transition genders. Such parents are often viewed as selfish or self-indulgent for prioritizing their commitment to strong self-identity over the perceived needs of their children, reifying both the ideal of the selfless parent as martyr and the sanctity of gendered parenting roles. This presentation will explore the memoirs of three male to female parents who explore issues of transition and parenting. Kate Bornstein discusses the estrangement which followed her gender transition (among many other issues) in her memoir A Queer and Pleasant Danger. Joy Ladin exposes the difficulties of maintaining relationships with children in Through the Door of Life. Finally, Jennifer Boylan explores both the mundanities and exceptionalities of family life with a father who is now a woman in Stuck in the Middle with You. A consideration of these texts will allow for an understanding of the ways that life writing by genderqueer and trans parenting can offer to both a revolutionary view of parenthood and a rearticulation of the roles of mothers, fathers and parents.