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May 7, 2008 9:00 pm US/Eastern
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Pa. Student Decides To Make Gender Change
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
It is extremely rare for a child to decide that he or she wants to change gender, but it has happened at a local elementary school.
CBS 3's Stephanie Abrams spoke with school officials who say they view this as a private matter and are very concerned for the child's safety.
In order to protect the privacy and safety of the child in question, we are not revealing the child's age, or the location of the school. We are also not identifying the parents we spoke with so as not to reveal which school the child attends.
The children and parents at the elementary school say they're learning a lot about gender identity. It's defined as "the internal sense of feeling feminine or masculine, not always congruent with biological gender."
The lesson is very real for the young students since a classmate they knew as a boy, now comes to school in dresses and has taken a girl's name. The child is considered transgender.
One parents we spoke with said, "I as a parent would not feel comfortable with it and would not allow my child to make that decision so early."
The child's parents told the school they felt it was the only decision they could make.
Although there's outrage on the town blog, we found most parents in the district very understanding.
One father said, "I don't see it as being a big issue. It's part of modern society now."
A woman whose son knows the transgender child explained how she discussed it at home saying, "We did talk about it at home, I explained to Matt sometimes people are born into the wrong bodies."
In a letter sent to parents, school officials advised a discussion at home and said, "We are taking steps to become educated about transgender children and how to meet their needs in the school environment."
Most parents are impressed with how the school handled it.
People we interviewed said, "I think it's being handled good that all the parents were alerted."
Another mother said, "I'm amazed that such a young fellow would know at such a young age that he would like to change who he is and I'm proud of him for doing that."
The children and parents in the district have been accepting of the transgender child's choices, and are doing their best to help make the transition into a little girl, as normal for her as possible.
Gender specialist Michele Angello says children become aware of their gender identity way before puberty. The average age is five. So when there's a conflict, it's not a sexual issue. It's a medical problem.
"It's more about the hardwiring in the person's brain, not about their anatomy. It's more the neurological aspects of how their brain is hardwired in utero," Angello said.
For more information on transgender children you can go to the Web site for
TransYouth Family Allies.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)