Jennifer and Blue Chapman: A Story of Love, Learning, and Mutual Respect Between Parents and Kids

04/06/21 • 51 min

Most children can recognize and label stereotypical gender groups between the ages of 18 to 24 months. They also categorize their own gender at about age 3. As gender stereotypes are usually reinforced, kids might choose to behave in the most rewarding way, according to the gender they perceive as the one they should express. Gender and expression are related, and still, gender identity is not always suggestive of a gender expression, and children's gender expression is not always indicative of gender identity. As parents, we must reduce our interference to none and elevate our support to the maximum; even the slightest indication that we get it can mean the world to them.

In this episode, we had a fantastic conversation with Jennifer Brookings Chapman, host of the Parentingology podcast, Organizational Psychology Doctorate, business owner, and mother of 9-years-old Blue Chapman, who transitioned at age 4. Jennifer kindly shared her experience and some details of Blue's transition and how it was for her and the rest of the family.

Following his older brother Cade, Blue decided to become an actor. He got a part on the show Council of Dads, where he played the role of a transgender boy. Jennifer related how it was for her and Blue to be broadcasted for such a massive audience and the impact she believes more shows with stories like that would have in our society.

Tune in, and hear Jennifer's supportive, evolved, and loving story of her and her son, Blue.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The latest news on the Equality Act (5:50)
Jennifer's diverse house and how it helped with Blue's transition (10:48)
The channels Blue chose to communicate his gender choice (15:32)
The importance of not enforcing gender norms on our kids and the impact of little gestures of support (17:25)
Being an ally and the hero complex (24:11)
Loving our kids, diminishing hierarchy, and showing them respect (48:03)

Resources:

Parentingology Podcast

Connect with Jennifer and Blue:

Connect with Jackie and Bridget:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tune in, and hear Jennifer's supportive, evolved, and loving story of her and her son, Blue.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The latest news on the Equality Act (5:50)
Jennifer's diverse house and how it helped with Blue's transition (10:48)
The channels Blue chose to communicate his gender choice (15:32)
The importance of not enforcing gender norms on our kids and the impact of little gestures of support (17:25)
Being an ally and the hero complex (24:11)
Loving our kids, diminishing hierarchy, and showing them respect (48:03)

Resources:

Parentingology Podcast

Connect with Jennifer and Blue:

Connect with Jackie and Bridget:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

A Father's Journey With His Transgender Daughter

Perhaps a common mistake we can make as parents of transgender children is to think that something must be fixed, that we need to say or do something to solve a problem. We might feel stuck in the mud when we see our children suffering and we aren’t able to help them in the way we think would be best. But the truth is, the only thing they want from us is our love and support.

In this episode, we add a special guest to the conversation, Bridget's spouse and Jackie's father, Neal Thornhill. We talk about the journey of having a transgender child from a parent's perspective and how Jackie's experience with announcing her transition publicly made her a stronger person. In the last episode, Bridget shared her first reactions to Jackie coming out as transgender, and today you'll hear how Neal dealt with the news initially and what are, in his opinion, the things every parent should avoid.

Tune in to hear Neal's internal battle between wanting to prevent his family from suffering and feeling powerless in the face of the unknown territory he stepped into.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

How is it for an unprepared father to deal with his child's transition (8:07)
The priceless value a support group can bring (10:25)
The generational differences in accepting and understanding transgender people (14:58)
There is no problem to be fixed (16:02)
Community, family, and parents' support have a massive positive impact on transgender youths (20:19)

Connect with Jackie and Bridget:

Connect with Neal Thornhill:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Understanding The Lack Of Trust Between The LGBTQ Community And Law Enforcement

If we compare our society with the way things were 10 or 15 years ago, we can see advances regarding trans equality and safety. Still, there is often a lack of trust between members of the LGBTQ community and the law enforcement professionals who are meant to protect them. Reports indicate that approximately half of transgender people feel uncomfortable seeking police assistance. We wanted to understand the issues and talk about the ways to increase awareness and equity.

In this episode, we had a fantastic conversation with Delwin Lampkin, Founder of Harbinger Horizon LLC, which provides professional development for individuals and organizations in the areas of workplace harassment prevention, cultural diversity, team building, workplace safety discussions, and adult learning. Del is also a law enforcement professional. He generously shared his story of how and why he decided to become a law enforcement officer and his constant striving to become a better, more empathetic servant. We talked about the importance of educating society on transgender identities and how to communicate respectfully across differences. We also touched on diversity courses for law enforcement officers and the importance of starting the change with ourselves.

Tune in, and listen to Delwin's vision of what we can all do to make the world a safer, more compassionate, inclusive place.

Some Questions We Ask:

How can we build trust between law enforcement and the LGBTQ community? (4:52)
What kind of training on diversity and cultural diversity inclusion are law enforcement officials learning? (13:19)
Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you came to be this incredibly successful person? (22:23)
How do you create that shift of heart and mind when teaching people to understand all this? (41:36)

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

The police are the public, and the public are the police (7:10)
Misgendering and deliberate misgendering by law enforcement officers (10:34)
Creating policies not because they’re the flavor of the month but because they want to make a real change (20:08)
Inequality in schools as an enemy to attack (40:10)
Starting the transition with ourselves. The individual contribution to society (44:21)

Resources: