Hello,
This is my first time posting on CC. I am a parent of a transgender son, freshman in HS. It’s very early to be thinking about college I realize but my son’s trans identity makes me want to jump in and start gathering info from other parents/students. I’ve been to Campus Pride and looked at their list, and other lists too. Just want to get more first hand info from parents who have gone down this path. TIA
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My friend’s trans son is at the University of Arizona, he started hormones in HS and had his breasts removed sophomore year in college I believe. He’s very happy there.
Ironic as several parents have warned me that Uof Arizona and the surrounding town is not a good place for lgbtq kids. I think staying in the blue bubble, northeast or Cali, is by far safest bet. I do have a friend whose son who is trans went to UChicago and had a great experience. Generally I would worry more about the surrounding town (especially outside immediate college area) and state and local level attitudes than the college campus itself.
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Georgia Tech. Atlanta has a large LGBT community. I think you’ll find most college campuses are more open today even the religious affiliated schools. The Jesuit Catholic schools tend to be very liberal.
The college process is a marathon, not a sprint. I wouldn’t bring it up until junior year. Enough pressure on these kids already. Good Luck.
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Putting the university bubble aside, Pima County tends to be more left-of-center than the rest of the state, and was the only county to reject the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in 2008. I can’t speak for trans kids in particular, but the area is more accepting of LGB than other parts of AZ.
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We started touring colleges with my older daughter in her sophomore year. It was actually very beneficial. It kind of got her excited about the whole process and more focused in school. Gave her some perspective. Plus it took pressure off instead of adding pressure b/c it was so early in the game she could just enjoy the process and not feel rushed. I highly recommend it to other parents.
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Lgbtq friendly, in general, is not the same as trans friendly. The trans community still has a ways to go to reach the level of acceptance that gay people have today.
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check out University of Puget Sound
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Definitely check out New College of Florida. When we took a tour there this summer the guide told us all about the new trans health center and trans-inclusive health insurance. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more accepting environment.
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I pm’d you
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Bard
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Good idea to start looking now. I would gently point out that you want to pick the school and the area. A very good example is Arizona. Yes U of A and Pima county are more liberal than the rest of Arizona, but no one in the state of Arizona openly proclaims they are a democrat or LGBTQ without checking over their shoulder to see if its safe. The same is going to be true of Florida and Texas. If you live in a more moderate state, I don’t think you can quite anticipate that “more liberal” could be considerably less comfortable than your current state. A lot of it depends on whether your kid leans activist or just wants to blend and be accepted without questions.
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Do you have regional preferences or budgetary constraints?
I have found these maps maintained by the Human Rights Campaign to be very helpful in clarifying the legal environment for LGBTQ folks. You can specify which issue is of most interest - education, employment, housing, transgender health resources, gender markers on ID, etc. This might be a good place to start if you are concerned about resources and rights on a state level beyond the campus bubble.
Best of luck to you and your son.
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Thank you for this. I think my son could end up in New England or Northwest. We are in CA but I don’t see him at one of the large universities. Smaller, liberal arts schools seem like a good fit for him. He’s a good student - maybe not as hard working as Ivy league good - but smart and talented. Tufts would possibly be on his interest list too.The only large school I could potentially see him at would maybe be UMass. He likes the area too - his sister went to boarding school in central Mass so he is familiar with it.
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I don’t have school names for you, but have a trans son as well, and wishing you luck, you are not alone.
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Thank you!
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We started in freshman year, and I’m so thankful that we did because those visits are the only normal campus tours we’ve had the opportunity to do. The pandemic hit during spring of D’s sophomore year (when I had other campus tours scheduled), and it’s been disappointing to visit campuses since then, to say the least. We did some over the summer, of empty campuses, and while it was somewhat helpful to see the environment and local vibe, there’s no comparison to pre-pandemic visits. We did go visit UW Seattle earlier this month, and that was the most close-to-normal experience we’ve had. UW Seattle ranks quite high with Campus Pride, and WA is one of the more progressive states re: LGBTQ+ issues. We missed the bomb cyclone over this past weekend which is both good and bad; bad because D didn’t get to see what the weather can be like when it’s bad.
I live in CO and it also is LGBTQ+ friendly. CO recently required private insurance to cover gender-affirming care. Our gov is openly gay, married with kids.
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Some of the Portland area colleges should be something to research. Lewis and Clark, Reed and possibly U of P. U of P is catholic but because it’s in north Portland it’s possible it’s much friendlier to trans students than other religious based schools. Willamette in Salem might be ok but if it was my child I’d be concerned for the areas around Salem being hostile. I’d avoid all the other schools in the state simply because of the surrounding areas being unfriendly. I wish you and your son all the best and whichever school is fortunate enough to enroll him will be the one benefiting.
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You can Google lists of colleges that have gender inclusive housing.
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Yes, definitely using Google for research. There’s a lot of good info out there.