Gendered Holidays, Transgender Families: How PTPs Navigate Mother’s and Father’s Day

• In Event: 21014 - Kinship and Family Diversity

Abstract

Throughout much of the world, “mother” is synonymous with “nurturer” – one who provides emotional and physical care of dependents, creating a secure home environment that supports stable identity development. Yet when parents fall outside of these narrow gender parameters, how do their families recognize, understand, and celebrate these days? This project explores how people with transgender parents (heretofore referred to as PTPs) navigate the gendered holidays of Mother’s and Father’s Day. Drawing from a private online support group discussion board, I shed light on the ways trans families navigate and resist the cultural scripts surrounding gendered holidays.

Author

• Jaclyn Ann Tabor, Illinois College