The Crossdresser
and His Children
A crossdrcsser's children
don't appear at any greater risk of becoming crossdressers themselves. Indeed,
children benefit from exposure to a father who is usually more sensitive,
creative and involved in their lives than the average. The decision to tell the
children about one's crossgender expression is a highly personal one, to be
arrived at jointly by the parents, with the needs of the child paramount.
Crossdressers are usually torn between the desire to "protect" their
children on the one hand, and the negative effects of deceit on the other.
Telling the children at a time and under circumstances controlled by the
parents, however, does forestall the children finding out somehow at a time when
they are least prepared to deal with it.
In our experience, timing - when the children are told - is more important than
what they're told. Adolescence, a time of struggle to establish social and
sexual identity, is not the right time (especially if the children are boys). If
boys are not told earlier in childhood, it is generally best to wait until
adulthood. On the other hand, children who are told in early childhood accept
crossgender expression as "no big deal". Such children are well
prepared to deal with the diversity of modern society.