I’m not really posting for advice per se, as my wife and I have already given this sort of thing a ton of thought and have a plan to deal with it, but it surprised me to learn today that two of my eldest daughter’s friends have decided they aren’t “girls” anymore. This friend group is all 13 +/- six months, and of the four “core” friends, only my daughter and one other apparently still see themselves as girls. Of the others, one no say she’s “gender fluid” and the other says she’s “non-binary”.

Note that I’m using quotes on these terms even though I’m aware of their actual definitions in our current culture because I’m not convinced they know the definitions.

Interestingly, the one who claims she’s gender fluid is from an extremely “Christian Conservative” household. It’s going to be interesting to hear how her parents are handling that. The one claiming to be non-binary has apparently background that’s a bit less known to me, because she’s rather new to the group and just moved into the area. I’m planning on doing some digging there.

The craziest part to me is that the new girls is really seriously into pageants. I know that’s a contentious issue here, but I’ve never even heard of a “top tier” pageant contestant going this way. She’s a beautiful young lady and my impression was that she had her head on straight in general and is about as girly as can be expected.

Anyhow, I’d love to see some discussion about how other parents have handled this sort of thing, especially in a homeschool/non-traditional setting.

It's fashionable to be LBGTQBBQ these days.

Kids are being taught their gender is how they feel. For the girl in a strict conservative household it can be hard to live up to what their parents hold value for women. "Modern" women don't feel like women of generations past, so it is easy for them to not feel like women when they feel those are the expectations they need to live up to.

It can also feel like a sense of rebellion from what they feel they can't or don't want to amount to, as well as inclusion in a group who is overwhelming in acceptance, acceptance they feel like they are not getting from home or social groups.

Tomboys used to just be that. Now if a girl feels like a Tomboy they can think they're non-binary or gender fluid. It's a confusing time during adolescence and environment plays a much larger factor than people realize.

It's best to chart a more neutral understanding path. If it is partly an act of rebellion, chastising too hard will only push them further into the groups you seek to keep them from. Again they are drawn to these groups for inclusion and acceptance they often feel they are not getting at home. It's a fine line, but you as parents need to be the ones providing that acceptance or they will conform to the norms of those they get it from.

I've never come across anything like that, but we've distanced with other families over far less.

I handle the subject with ridicule and scorn, mostly.

No one wants to be the butt of a joke.

This was an interesting Rogan episode… interview with a journalist that wrote a boom on the recent spike in transgender ID by teen girls…

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4SIh4Pt39AtGQYzMJMNkv1

Here’s the lady’s book

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_Damage

this.  If you have a daughter read this book.

That would be my best. Insane but...

It started out that us young kids were to wear flared "hippy" jeans in the 70s.

Now it has turned out that kids should be sexual freaks.

This isn't by accident.

This.

Being called a democrat is a bad thing in my house.  Don't give in to leftist garbage.  Make fun of it and do not accept it at all.

This is how I would handle it.  We home school and I would not allow this mental illness in.

The best thing to do for your kids is to lead by example.   Never allow anything or anyone satanic into your family circle and stand up for what God says is right.  Its isn't always easy to do what is right.  But doing it anyway is called character.  Personal character,  faith, responsibility, and respect for that which is sacred is what our society lacks.