ABSTRACT
The author's research team and the author first met Violet and the Addley family (a pseudonym) in the spring of 2015 when they interviewed them for their research study on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) families in Ontario schools. The author also shares the experience of 6-year-old Violet Addley (a pseudonym) who transitioned from a boy to a girl in Grade 1. While Violet identifies transgender, all the others identify as cisgender. The goals of the study are to interview LGBTQ families about their experiences at school, document how families have worked with schools to create safer and more respectful classrooms for their children, and share the families’ interviews with teachers and principals so they can begin to think about the ways they can best work with LGBTQ students and families. In her conversation about the kind of advocacy she has engaged in at Violet’s school, parent May talks about the importance of fielding questions for Violet.
