The role of family in trans youths' naming practices

One of the first ways some trans youth narrate their gender is through the process of choosing a name. Trans youth's negotiation of naming is particularly complex as they juggle family affinities and independence, as well as try on new identities and build relationships with peers. In the midst of transitioning, and often while still materially and emotionally dependent on their families, trans youth re-write their birth stories through, in part, the process of choosing a new name. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 10 racially and gender diverse trans youth in Canada, I explore how trans youth choose a name in relation to their family. I analyze these stories using Cavarero's theory of the formation of the self to think about what the work of names and naming exposes about how trans youth navigate their relationships with their family and their identity development. In their naming practices, trans youth discussed the relationship they have with their family and their negotiation of family reactions to the disclosure of their trans identity. Their narratives about naming and family challenge the binary discourse about family reactions as acceptance or rejection and provide stories about the complex ways trans youth navigate their relationship with their family in their daily lives.