Föräldrars förhållningssätt till sitt unga vuxna barns transidentitet

Abstract

Parental views of relationships with trans identified young adults

The shaping of identities in relationships is an important part of people’s lives and so are norms of identity expression, for example, how gender continuity is expected to be expressed. Relationships can be challenged when a closely related person does not identify as the gender assigned at birth.

This study focuses on how parents describe their views of their relationship with their young adult child who identifies as transgender. From a relational perspective, the study focuses on how parents position the child’s agency and the results are discussed in terms of care. Based on fifteen interviews with parents, three ways to relate to the child have been identified. The first is a protecting and questioning approach, which is characterized by a view where the adult child appears to be regarded as someone who needs to be protected and persuaded to change their decision. The second is a supportive and neglecting view where the significance of gender is toned down while the parent gives practical and emotional support to the child. The third identified view can be described as respectful and ambivalent, characterized by ambivalence facing the child changing, but at the same time trying to support the child’s process.

The three approaches show how the parents present themselves as caring parents, but that the interpretations of what this means differ, as well as the perception of the adult child’s position in the family. Parents’ attitudes and behaviour towards the adult child can be understood as ways of caring, but do not necessarily mean that the child’s trans identity is confirmed.