Between Pink and Blue: A Multi-Dimensional Family Approach to Gender Nonconforming Children and their Families

Families of gender nonconforming children need to negotiate the interactions
between two gender systems: a rigid gender binary imported from familial, social, and
cultural experiences and a fluid gender spectrum articulated by their child. This article
reviews parental reactions to nonconforming gender developments and poses that
the parental mandates of protection and acceptance are problematized by the difference
of gender norms between the child and the family, as well as the child and the
environment. Through multiple therapeutic modalities—parental coaching and education,
parent support group, and child and family therapy—the author illustrates interventions
supporting both parents and prepubescent children in their negotiation of
safety, connection, and fluidity. Case vignettes illustrate the method in action.