Working with transgender youth by David Nylund
In the first of these two clips, David Nylund describes some of the thinking that informs his work with transgender young people.
This second clip is from an interview with William, a 16 year-old transgender male and his mother, Susan conducted by David Nylund. William has just begun hormone replacement therapy as part of his gender transition. The focus of the interview was discussing William’s journey thus far, his hopes for the future, along with acknowledging Susan’s support of her son’s transition. The excerpt from the interview centers around masculinity — William’s critique of traditional forms of masculinity along with his preferences of the kinds of masculinities he wants to express and live out as a transgender man. William’s poignant critique of gender opens up space to consider how transgender men may offer up an alternative version of masculinity that cisgender men may want to emulate. In addition, William’s ideas and practices suggest that masculinity is not the private domain of ‘male’ born bodies; that he has the right to claim and perform a legitimate and credible masculinity.
Further reading (free to download)
Resisting normativity: Queer musings on politics, identity, and the performance of therapy by Julie Tilsen and Dave Nylund
Barbies and beer: Narrative therapy with a gender variant child by David Nylund
Homonormativity and queer youth resistance: Reversing the discourse by Julie Tilsen & David Nylund
Further viewing
You may also be interested in this video of our dear bi-gendered friend and colleague Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad from Norway.
