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RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES OF TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS

Maintained by Parents of Transgender Individuals (PTI) chapters of PFLAG of Northern Illinois

DISCLAIMER: These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by PFLAG Council of Northern Illinois of any of the products, services or opinions expressed on external sites. PFLAG Council of Northern Illinois bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of external sites or for that of subsequent links. 

FREE GUIDES. 1

HEALTHCARE RESOURCES

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ILLINOIS HOUSING AND SHELTER

SCIENCE AND RESEARCH.. 1

WEB SITES. 1

SUPPORT GROUPS. 1

TRANSGENDER NATIONAL CONVENTIONS. 1

BOOKS. 1

VIDEO.. 1

PAMPHLETS. 1

 

FREE GUIDES

HEALTHCARE RESOURCES

ILLINOIS HOUSING AND SHELTER

SCIENCE AND RESEARCH

WEB SITES

GENERAL SITES

YOUTH RESOURCE SITES

  • The LGBT Health & Development Program at Northwerstern University – Resources for Transgender Youth and Parents
  • Advocates for Youth – champions efforts that help young people make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health.
  • Camp Aranu’tiq of Harbor Camps – a nonprofit program serving transgender & gender-variant youth & their families.
  • TransYouth Family Allies – coalition of parents, friends and caring adults dedicated to educating and raising public awareness about the medical and cultural challenges faced by children with gender variant and gender questioning identities and the families who love them.
  • Mermaids  – UK site providing support for children and young people up to 20 years old who are gender diverse, and their families, and professionals involved in their care.
  • Safe Schools Coalition – public-private partnership in Washington State, in support of LGBTQ youth, working to help schools become safe places where every family can belong, where every educator can teach, and where every child can learn, regardless of gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.
  • The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals – member-based organization working towards the liberation of LGBTQ people in higher education.
  • Transgender Law and Policy Institute (TLPI) – a non-profit organization dedicated to engaging in effective advocacy for transgender people in our society. The TLPI brings experts and advocates together to work on law and policy initiatives designed to advance transgender equality.
  • Campus Pride – represents the leading national nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus groups working
    to create a safer college environment for LGBTQ students.
  • The Trevor Project – the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people.
  • Trans Youth Equality Foundation – provides education, advocacy and support for transgender and gender non-conforming children and youth and their families.
  • Families Like Mine – site for children of LGBT parents

SUPPORT GROUPS

TRANSGENDER NATIONAL CONVENTIONS

BOOKS

BOOKS FOR PARENTS OF TRANSGENDER CHILDREN

BOOKS FOR TRANSGENDER CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS

  • I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings, Shelagh McNicholas (Illustrator) – children’s book
  • Be Who You Are by Jennifer Carr – children’s book
  • The Gender Quest Workbook: A Guide for Teens and Young Adults Exploring Gender Identity by Rylan Jay Testa, Deborah Coolhart, Jayme Peta
  • Parrotfish by  Ellen Wittlinger
    Parrotfish  is a peek into the life of one high-school student as he struggles with the pressures of bullying, isolation and the unknown.  Grady was born a girl.  When he announced that he was actually a boy, his mother was devastated, his sister was horrified, and his father was…. well, at least his father was trying to be understanding.  Grady’s best friend since childhood, Eve, refuses to even look at him in school.  She becomes part of the gang of girls whose primary reason for living is to torture Grady.  Grady feels totally alienated and alone.
  • Luna by Julie Ann Peters
    Here is a wonderful book for teens (targeted for 15 and older) written from the perspective of Regan, a female high school sophomore.  Her brother Liam, a brilliant senior, can’t stand the person he is during the day.  His true self, Luna, reveals herself only at night.  For years, Liam has transformed himself into the beautiful girl he longs to be with help from his sister’s clothes and makeup in the secrecy of their basement bedrooms.  Now everything is about to change.  Luna is preparing to emerge from her cocoon.
  • Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher
    A well-done tale of high school romance with a new twist.  Logan is a depressed high school senior in a western Missouri small town.  His long-time girlfriend Brenda has recently dumped him.  When a new girl at school –Sage – joins Logan and his buddy Tim’s “team” in biology class, Logan quickly is attracted to her.  Similarly, Sage is attracted to him.  As they get to know one another and spend time together, Logan’s typical male instincts lead him toward making out with Sage – but she resists.  Logan is frustrated and angry, but still wants to be with Sage and Sage still wants to be friends with him.  As Logan tries to understand why this beautiful girl is unwilling to make out, with even light petting, Sage finally tells him her secret – she is transgender.  Logan freaks out – if this gets out, his buddies will think he is gay!!

BOOKS FOR GENERAL EDUCATION ON TRANSGENDER ISSUES

VIDEO

ONLINE LISTS

MOVIES AND DOCUMENTARIES

  • Growing Up Trans, Frontline PBS, documentary, 2015, 83 minutes – Inside the struggles and choices facing transgender kids and their families, in an era where they have more medical options than ever before.
  • 3 Generations (2015) – After Ray decides to transition from female to male, Ray’s mother, Maggie, must come to terms with the decision while tracking down Ray’s biological father to get his legal consent.
  • Real Boy (2016) – An intimate story of a family in transitions.  As 19-year-old Bennett Wallace navigates early sobriety, late adolescence, and the evolution of his gender identity, his mother makes her own transformation from resistance to acceptance of her trans son.  Along the way, both mother and son find support in their communities, reminding us that families are not only given, but chosen.
  • The Danish Girl (2015) – A fictitious love story loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener.  Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
  • Becoming Us (2015) – 10 episode documentary made by a teenage son documenting his father’s transition from male to female.  The son goes through many of the emotions that parents go through.  Filmed in Evanston, IL.
  • Trans (2012)A variety of trans people speak of their lives, including a Trans female surgeon who performs sexual reassignment surgeries.
  • Becoming Chaz (2011) – Documentary following Chaz (formerly Chastity) Bono’s gender transition.  Includes interviews with family members and friends as the transition is followed.
  • Boy Meets Girl (2014) – A romantic comedy.
  • Boys Don’t Cry (1999) A movie based on the true story of Brandon who was murdered by his buddies when they discovered he was a female to male transgender man. CONTENT WARNING: violence, rape.
  • The Brandon Teena Story (1998)A documentary about Brandon Teena (the movie Boys Don’t Cry is based on the same true story).
  • XXY (2007)This is the dramatic story of a intersexed 15-year-old. She lives with her parents, who have to cope with the challenges of her medical condition.
  • She’s a Boy I Knew (2007)Using interviews, animation, old family footage, and voice mail, Vancouver filmmaker Gwen Haworth documents her male-to-female gender transition partially through the voices of her anxious but loving family, best friend, and wife.
  • Soldier’s Girl (2003)The true story of a young soldier beaten to death for falling in love with a transgender nightclub performer.
  • Transamerica (2005) – A pre-operative male-to-female transsexual takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she fathered a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York. As they travel across country she hides who she is while they forge a relationship.
  • Tomboy (2011)A 10-year-old girl, settling into her new neighborhood outside Paris, is mistaken for a boy and has to live up to this new identity since it’s too late for the mistake to be clarified.
  • Ma Vie en Rose (1997)Ludovic is a young transgender girl who is coming out. She talks of marrying her neighbor’s son and can not understand why everyone is so surprised about it. Her family and neighbors struggle.
  • Southern Comfort (2001) – Southern Comfort documents the final year in the life of Robert Eads, a female-to-male transsexual. Eads, diagnosed with ovarian cancer, was turned down for treatment by two dozen doctors out of fear that treating such a patient would hurt their reputations. By the time Eads received treatment, the
    cancer was too advanced to save his life. Filmmaker Kate Davis follows Robert and a group of trans-gendered Southerners in this captivating and truly touching documentary.
  • Beautiful Boxer (2004) – Based on the real life story of Parinya Charoenphol, a Muaythai boxer who underwent a sex change operation to become a woman. The movie chronicles her life from a young boy who likes to wear lipstick and wear flowers to her sensational career as kickboxer whose specialty is ancient Muaythai boxing moves which she can execute expertly with grace and finally her confrontation with her own sexuality which led to her sex change op.
  • Normal (2003) -A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.
  • Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She (2005) – Examines the diversity of human sexual and gender variance around the globe, with commentary by scientific experts and first-hand accounts of people who do not conform to a simple male/female binary.
  • Red Without Blue (2007) – The intimate bond between two identical twin brothers is challenged when one decides to transition from male to female; this is the story of their evolving relationship, and the resurrection of their family from a darker past.
  • Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria (2005) – The pre-Stonewall riot in the Tenderloin of San Francisco by trans women and male prostitutes.
  • Gen Silent (2011) – About older LGBT people including a transwoman dying of lung cancer.
  • No Dumb Questions (2001) – Three young sisters with their parents ponder how their Uncle is becoming their Aunt.
  • Just Call Me Kade (2002) – Trans FTM teen’s family and friends give him lots of love and support.

TV SHOWS

ONLINE VIDEOS

WEBSITES ABOUT FILMS AND DOCUMENTARIES

PAMPHLETS

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