Kilroy Was Here

Feministe, USA

Feb 17 2008

A saner era? Myths about trans kids in schools, courtesy of FOX News

Posted by: Holly

For starters, if you have questions about young trans kids (and many people do) an excellent resource is the TransYouth Families Advocates FAQ. This group was started by four mothers with transgender children…

I am compelled to clarify this post that appeared in TransgenderNews and the Feministe Blog.

TransYouth Family Advocates was envisioned and founded in late August of 2006 by a transwoman named (me) who also happened to have been a foster parent of two trans teens.

The organization was originally named TransKidsPAC and then changed to TransKids Family Coalition before finally adopting the name TransYouth Family Advocates (TYFA) after some of the adolescents made it clear to us that they didn’t want to be identified as “kids”.

Note: Recently, the organization has changed its name to TransYouth Family Allies to reflect changes in its focus and outreach methodology.

Very shortly (within a week) after outlining my vision for the organization I was joined enthusiastically in developing TYFA by three other women (Kim P., Shannon G. & Amy G.) who became co-founders of the organization and who remain in leadership positions with TYFA today.

Soon after I was invited discuss my creation of the organization on GenderTalk by Nancy Nangeroni and Gordene McKenzie. I was joined on the air by co-founder Kim P. and her son. That original interview, broadcast on September 9, 2006, can be heard at the following link:

http://www.archive.org/details/gt575

The introduction to our segment of the show begins at 00:03:15 and ends 00:05:05 and the actual interview begins at 01:38:00 and runs through 01:59:00.

I was at TYFA's helm as Executive Director for the first 8 months of it’s existence. I authored or edited the vast majority of TYFA’s original literature (with the assistance & input of the three co-founders). I wrote and refined the organization’s Mission and Vision Statements, (again with input from the others) and designed and created the intial educational and advocacy outreach programs and presentation materials for use in schools and the community.

I designed TYFA's original logo (recently changed to a wonderful new design by a young transman I know) as well as all of the graphic design for the products TYFA sells through its CafePress merchant site. As with everyone in the organization at that time, all of this was done on a volunteer basis.

I led (along with my three co-founders) the organization as it moved from being a program affiliated with the PFLAG-Transgender Network (TNET) to being an independent, non-profit organization in late 2006. Upon the incorporation being final, in early April of 2007 I was elected the first President of the Board of Directors.

In April of 2007, I, along with Kim P.’s son represented TYFA in footage that was shot for the ABC 20/20 Barbara Walters show about transgender children and youth. While the vast majority of that footage was not used in the final broadcast, there is a very brief glimpse of Kim’s son and I at the 00:39 second point in the clip that can be seen at the above link. He is wearing a shirt that reads “What Kind Of Man Are You?” and I am to his left.

In late April of 2007, I chose to leave TYFA for personal reasons and went on to found TransActive Education & Advocacy in Portland, Oregon.

I wanted to develop an organization that not only served the needs of gender non-conforming youth and their families, but that employed more directly the skills, opinions and energies of those youth in the advocacy work. I also wanted an organization that more effectively
made use of the experiences of those who had been trans children and youth themselves. I applied what I had learned from the development of TYFA to TransActive.

TransActive has been committed to collaborating with any and ALL organizations that are dedicated to improving, advocating and unequivocally supporting trans and gender non-conforming children and youth.

I remain supportive of the work that TYFA does and will be forever proud of the role I played in bringing my vision for helping these children and their families to national visibility through TYFA.

I loved working with the other three women, the parents of transgender children. I loved being their friend, co-worker, sister-in-arms…sister. We were family.

The envisioning and development of TYFA was simultaneously one of the most difficult times of my life and, as I reflect now, one of the most amazing, rewarding and educational experiences of my life. It led me to where I am now with regards to my personal and professional development, both of which promise even more amazing and rewarding experiences.

You will (no longer) find any specific reference to me or my contributions to the birth, growth and development of TYFA on their website or in any of their literature. I have no problem with that on a personal level and have not spoken publicly about why the name of the transwoman who founded the organization was removed from TYFA's website and, essentially, their history.

My motivation in mentioning it now and clarifying the original posted statement is not to seek glorification for my role in the founding of TYFA. I have found though both my trans advocacy work and my previous career in the music and entertainment industry enough “glory” and “attention” to last a lifetime. Most of it positive…some of it cruel, undeserved and painfully negative, especially when coming from friends and family.

Clarifying and recording my role in the creation of TYFA as a positive force for change is completely in line with one of the goals that TransYouth Family Advocates was founded on.

TYFA was founded to not only educate and advocate on behalf of these amazing children and youth, but to show their parents, families & communities that being transgender need not sentence their child to a life on the fringes of our culture. To work to break-down trans stereotypes. To demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that trans people, like ALL people, can give back, particularly to our children so that they may have it easier than some of us did.

I always believed that my role as visionary and co-founder of TYFA would serve as another example of what a trans person can accomplish once they are able to turn their energies outward, rather than being consumed by self-preservation, inward reflection and, indeed, survival in a world far less than welcoming for gender non-conforming children, youth and adults.

We need to remember and honor the contributions that trans people make to our own communities. We need to stem the tendency of cissexist culture and individuals, either intentionally, circumstantially or accidentally to write us out of our own history. Indeed, as was made tragically clear in an Oxnard, California middle-school classroom, some want to simply erase gender non-conforming identity altogether.

Trans adults. There are many of us that can work with others to do things for our children, bringing our unique perspectives to this vitally important task.

Trans children & youth…many of your parents will fight for your right to be yourself. They are your best and most important allies. But please also know that there are those who were once walking in your shoes, living and surviving your fears, mysteries and questions who not only WILL step up on your behalf, but who already HAVE stepped up in support of you.

It’s not about taking credit. It’s about taking ownership of our trans identities, and being true to those who have and may yet contribute to trans history.

In the end, it’s about making sure the world and our children know that we were here, we contributed and that trans contributions matter.

Peace & Unity,

Jenn Burleton
Executive Director
TransActive Education & Advocacy

West Coast Sector Leader
Member of The Board
PFLAG-Transgender Network

Recipient of The Ingersoll Center 2008 Founder's Award