Transcript Slide 1

Centro Interdipartimentale
Disturbi dell’Identità di Genere-Molinette
A.O.U. San Giovanni Battista
Turin - Italy
Carlo MOLO onlus
Foundation
PARENTHOOD
AND
GENDER IDENTITY DISORDER
Chiara CRESPI, Mariateresa MOLO, Valentina MINECCIA
WPATH XXII Symposium, Atlanta 24-28 September 2011
INDEX
1. Parenthood definition
2. Parenthood in Italy: state of the art
3. Marriage
4. Creating a family
5. Criticisms about LGBT parenting
6. Our Study
7. Conclusions
What do we mean by the term
“PARENTHOOD“?
PARENTHOOD: Definition
The condition, the role of parents
PSYCHO-PEDAGOCICAL VISION
Dynamic process through
which one learns to become
a parent able to care
sufficiently and adequately
in order to respond to
the needs of children.
PARENTHOOD
Not a simple ROLE but rather a FUNCTION not
necessarily related to biological maternity or
paternity but extending to CARING
PARENTING
NEW FAMILIES
Traditional
family
One parent
family
Cohabitation
FAMILY
Homosexual
family
Open Family
In the world there are many organizations and
institutions that protect and guarantee the right
to:
- marry
- create a family
- have children
for transpeople
IN ITALY
BUT… in Italy the situation is difficult, almost
impossible.
What can transgender do if they want to:
- Marry ?
- Create a family ?
- Have children ?
THE ITALIAN LAW
LAW 14 april 1982, n. 164
•
No differences among
transsexual and
transgender people
•
No mention about the
right to medical and
health care and to create
a family or about
procreation
MARRIAGE GLBT
The marriage between persons
of the same sex
is prohibited (both religious and civil)
RELIGIOUS MARRIAGE
Transpeople are not allowed to have a
religious marriage
CIVIL MARRIAGE
YES!
AFTER
SURGERY
TRANSPEOPLE and
PROCREATION
HOW TO BECOME A PARENT
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Former relationship
Co-parenting
Adoption
Foster care
Donor insemination (not in Italy)
Sperm/ova freezing
Surrogate mothers (not in Italy)
FOSTERING AND ADOPTING
In theory, adoption is possible but the
procedure is long and complicated even for
people who are not transgender
PARENTHOOD AND TRANSSEXULISM: bias
• Transpeople are sick.
• Transpeople are promiscuous, have unstable
relationships and are often engaged in prostitution.
• Risk of damaging emotional and sexual
development in children
• Risk of making their children object of stigma and
contempt.
• Their desire is related to solve issues and painful of
their personal history
TRANSPEOPLE ARE SICK
• DSM - IV
The presence of mental illness is insufficient
to prevent a parent being responsible for the
care and control of their children and it
requires a specific assessment on a case by
case basis.
TRANSPEOPLE ARE
PROMISCUOUS AND
HAVE UNSTABLE
RELATIONSHIPS
• Often there is very low levels of sexuality
• “Undressing is often more problematic
than dressing»: relationships are often
avoided owing to the embarassment of
showing the body
RISK OF DAMAGING
EMOTIONAL AND SEXUAL
DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN
• Every parent influences the development
of their children but the problem is:
Is there anything about a transgender
identity that leads to confusion about
family roles by either the parent or the
child?
Does the transgender identity weaken family bonds
– parents to child, child to parents, siblings to
sibling – in any way?
The "normal" family is becoming the exception,
but in any case the development of sexuality not
depends ONLY on the attitude and conduct of
parents towards their children
RISK OF MAKING THEIR
CHILDREN OBJECT OF STIGMA
AND CONTEMPT.
• IT PERHAPS CAN HAPPEN!
• The family is an institution that is influenced
by the changes produced by social context
TO SOLVE ISSUES AND PAINFUL PERSONAL
HISTORY
• An expectation can be projected toward on
children and parental role in order to solve
issues and painful personal history (EVEN FOR
NOT TRANSPEOPLE)
• This desire to have children MAY NOT
NECESSARILY BE AN ARTIFACT OF T*: many
men and women want to have children for this
reason even if they do not live in a transgender
condition
Trans condition could involve distress and
discomfort at not having the desired body traits
and at being excluded from a specific gender
role.
The problem is:
COULD THIS DISTRESS
OF TRANS PEOPLE AFFECT
THEIR ABILITY TO TAKE CARE AND RAISE
OF CHILDREN?
(MINORITY STRESS)
Few studies provide answers concerning these
quesions
Green (1978) “Available evidences does not
support concerns that a parent’s transessualism
directly adversely impacts on the children”
“Sexual identity of thirty-seven children raised by
homosexual or transsexual parents” – Am J
Psychiatry 135;692-97
Green (1998) revised the matter but found nothing
that required him to change that judgment
Di Ceglie (1998) underlines some problems
 It is important to consider the child’s age at the
time he begins to be conscious of the parent’s
gender dysphoria
 Considering the “selfishness” of transpeople: the
transition process is often heavy and stressful
event; it also has got a lot of influences on body
image. What influence may have about being
parenting?
 Considering the social stigma
OUR STUDY
THE SAMPLE
THE SAMPLE
(N= 225)
N = 62
N = 163
MtF
FtM
SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS
• 163 MtF
• 62 FtM
• Mean age MtF: 39
• Mean age FtM: 33
PARENTHOOD
PARENTHOOD
N = 15
N = 210
PARENTS
NO PARENTS
NO PARENTS
NO PARENTS (N = 210)
N = 60
N = 150
MtF
FtM
PARENTS
PARENTS (N= 15)
15)
N=2
N = 13
N = 15 (100% )
AfterMtF
SRS
FtM
Before
SRS
IN OUR EXPERIENCE
• At the beginning of the transition process the
idea of parenthood is idealized, as if actually
being a woman or a man necessarily
presupposes a desire to have a child.
• At the end of the transition, after surgery, such
desire in most cases becomes less urgent or
disappears
WHY DOES THE DESIRE OF
MOTHERHOOD /
FATHERHOOD OFTEN
DISAPPEAR?
WE THINK THAT…
 Our gender team was created only six years
ago and the surgical team performed a small
number of surgery of FtM (15 more or less)
so the possibilities of being “father” are very
small
 In Italy we think that it depends on the
context which does not support and does not
encourage non biological parenthood
CONCLUSION: PARENTHOOD
The question is not
«to be or not to be a transpeople»
but
TO BE OR NOT TO BE A GOOD
PARENT.
CONCLUSION: PARENTHOOD
As far as parenthood is concerned
we should not just talk about
RIGHT PARENTING but also about
PARENTING DUTIES
CONCLUSION: PARENTHOOD
• Everyone has the right to create a
family regardless of their sexual
orientation and gender identity
• No family should be discriminated
because of on sexual orientation or
gender identity of its members
FOOD FOR THOUGHT….
Robert Mapplethorpe
Autoritratto, 1980
What does it mean to be good parents?
Can each of us be a good parent
regardless of being transsexual or not being?
I have to ask myself how my personal history
may impact on growth and well-balanced
development of my baby
If I am a single mother or father or a mother
with psychiatric problems or a carrier of some
kind of disability I MUST ask myself about the
effects that these characteristics may have on
my baby
So a good parent has to wonder if being a
transperson can have some effects on the
growth of his/her child JUST LIKE OTHER
CONDITIONS OF LIFE.