ABSTRACT
Following the entry into the second decade of the twenty-first century, a sea change has occurred in both the sensibilities about and practices with children and youth who do not conform to the culture’s expectations for their gender, regarding either their gender identity (who I am as male, female, or other), gender expressions (how I “do” my gender), or both.For those of us working in the field as pediatric gender specialists, this shift has been experienced more like a tsunami, with a significant surge of controversy as to the best mental health and medical approaches for caring for gender-nonconforming children and adolescents.This chapter will begin with a review of the three major approaches developed to treat gender-nonconforming children and adolescents and then hone in on the one the author of this chapter has participated in developing:the “Listen and Act” gender affirmative model.
