I love you no matter what: A creative enquiry into the experiences of parents supporting trans youth

Hubbard, Rachel 2024. I love you no matter what: A creative enquiry into the experiences of parents supporting trans youth. DSW Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Trans young people and their parents’ lives are contested in contemporary public life, while being absent from these debates. My review of the current qualitative research found most was conducted by clinicians, including some LGBT researchers, allies and parents. Studies found parents trying to support their child with limited access to formal support and encountering ignorance, hostility and prejudice. My research aimed to make space for supportive parents of trans youth to tell their stories, using creative methods. Five parents of trans young people (aged from 16 to early 20s) in England participated in online narrative interviews between December 2022 and March 2023. Object elicitation was used as the starting point to enable the parents to set the agenda for their accounts using meaningful objects. The anonymised interview transcripts were initially analysed thematically, then metaphors and symbolism opened up the development of transcript poetry, offering non-linear approaches to interpreting the data. A meta-narrative was constructed from the stories the participants told, which structured the academic presentation of the findings, and cross-cutting themes (e.g. Choosing Love) were identified and represented in transcript poetry, alongside others such as Fear. The findings suggest these parents were challenged by their ignorance of trans identities, prompting exploration of their experiences of difference leading them to supportive attitudes. Limited support from schools and GPs sent them looking elsewhere, finding informal support from other parents, trans role models and private gender healthcare. They encountered hostility, privilege (or not) regarding accessing NHS care in the post-Bell v Tavistock (2020), during-Cass Review world and hoped for positive futures for their children. The conclusion notes participants’ pragmatism and advocacy for their child, supported by their child’s certainty in their identity. Creative research methods show potential for anti-oppressive social work research exploring the lives of parents supporting trans children.

Item Type:	Thesis (DSW)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	11 February 2025
Last Modified:	11 Feb 2025 17:03
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/176096

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