Gender Creative Child

Dr. Diane Ehrensaft has devoted her career in psychology to the care of children and teens who do not identify with their biological gender. In her first book, Gender Born, Gender Made she coined the phrase gender creative’ for what the American Psychiatric Association at the time officially termed adisorder.’

Now, in The Gender Creative Child, Dr. Ehrensaft gives parents, teachers, families, and therapists a totally up-to-date, comprehensive resource to caring for children whose gender expression is fluid or who question the gender they were assigned at birth. In nine easily digestible chapters, she encourages parents to listen to their children, support their quest for a true identity, and undertake a highly nuanced assessment of their particular needs.

A thought leader and champion of gender-creative identity, Dr. Ehrensaft illuminates the many routes that children may take and answers the many questions that parents and others will have.

“" The Gender Creative Child should be required reading for all therapists, pediatricians, and K-12 educators and for parents whose children express their gender differently from societal expectations. Diane Ehrensaft deftly shows that many trans and gender-nonconforming children can be identified from a young age and how critical it is to provide support to them." -- Genny Beemyn, PhD , trans educator and coauthor of The Lives of Transgender People " The Gender Creative Child is a must-read for parents of transgender and gender-expansive children and the professionals who work with them. Dr. Ehrensaft, a leading authority on gender development, uses an inviting, engaging, and humble style to present the gender affirmative model and provide insight into achieving gender health for all people. Dr. Ehrensaft's concepts of gender webs, gender smoothies, gender ghosts, and gender angels, and her methods of distinguishing 'apples,' 'oranges,' and 'fruit salads,' are illuminated by her use of multiple real-life stories of families with gender creative children. There is no other resource like The Gender Creative Child and I am thrilled to recommend it to my clients." -- Colt Keo-Meier, PhD , licensed psychologist and cofounder of Gender Infinity in Houston, Texas "In The Gender Creative Child , Diane Ehrensaft illuminates the tremendous variation in gender identity and expression that we find in children. With a depth of understanding that comes from years of experience, she shows parents, professionals, and the culture at large how to foster authenticity and psychological health. Dr. Ehrensaft's emphasis on the uniqueness of each child reminds us to be thoughtful, keep an open mind, and listen carefully. I highly recommend this book!" -- Irwin Krieger , author of Helping Your Transgender Teen”

The Gender Creative Child is a critical resource for anyone who loves or works with gender-nonconforming children and youth. In addition to providing an insightful overview of the medical and social context in which our misperceptions of gender have been passed down and the efforts underway to correct them, the author of Gender Born, Gender Made once again brings us into the room with a wide array of gender-nonconforming children to hear their struggles and wisdom as they communicate their experience of gender. True to her word as listener and translator, the author articulates what she has learned and faithfully guides families, professionals, educators, and communities to create safe, accepting environments that foster the full development of all.--Candace Waldron, author of My Daughter He: Transitioning With Our Transgender Children, trans-parent coach, and speaker.
The Gender Creative Child is a must-read for parents of transgender and gender-expansive children and the professionals who work with them. Dr. Ehrensaft, a leading authority on gender development, uses an inviting, engaging, and humble style to present the gender affirmative model and provide insight into achieving gender health for all people. Dr. Ehrensaft's concepts of gender webs, gender smoothies, gender ghosts, and gender angels, and her methods of distinguishing 'apples, ' 'oranges, ' and 'fruit salads, ' are illuminated by her use of multiple real-life stories of families with gender creative children. There is no other resource like The Gender Creative Child and I am thrilled to recommend it to my clients.--Colt Keo-Meier, PhD, licensed psychologist and cofounder of Gender Infinity in Houston, Texas
The Gender Creative Child is an invaluable resource for families and practitioners wanting to understand the complexity and beauty of gender development and the value of affirmative care. I'm struck that Dr. Ehrensaft's most revolutionary idea is also her most straightforward--if we really learn how to listen to our children, they will tell us what they need.--Aron Janssen, MD, director and founder NYU Gender and Sexuality Service
The Gender Creative Child should be required reading for all therapists, pediatricians, and K-12 educators and for parents whose children express their gender differently from societal expectations. Diane Ehrensaft deftly shows that many trans and gender-nonconforming children can be identified from a young age and how critical it is to provide support to them.--Genny Beemyn, PhD, trans educator and coauthor of The Lives of Transgender People
2016 Foreword INDIES Honorable Mention

"Insightful.-- "Vox"
An amazing book! It is a must-read for anyone whose daily life involves children, from parents and pediatricians to mental health providers and family court judges. The Gender Creative Child is a comprehensive, thorough, and accessible resource written by the preeminent expert in the field. The book holds the reader's hand along as it takes them through basic concepts and complex issues, answering common questions and concerns.--Asaf Orr, Esq., Transgender Youth Project Staff Attorney, National Center for Lesbian Rights
Diane Ehrensaft's timely book offers parents, practitioners, and community members an invaluable roadmap for supporting children who are transgender or gender-nonconforming. Highly accessible, Dr. Ehrensaft offers the adults in the lives of transgender children a compelling analysis of the dangers of trying to change a child's gender expression and/or identity. Dr. Ehrensaft draws on her vast clinical experience and an emerging body of research to argue that we should instead strive to cultivate a child's gender health by 'listening and acting.' The Gender Creative Child should be required reading for anyone wanting to support the well-being of transgender and gender-nonconforming children.--Kimberley EnsManning, founding board member Gender Creative Kids Canada, principal The Simone de Beauvoir Institute Concordia University
In The Gender Creative Child, Diane Ehrensaft illuminates the tremendous variation in gender identity and expression that we find in children. With a depth of understanding that comes from years of experience, she shows parents, professionals, and the culture at large how to foster authenticity and psychological health. Dr. Ehrensaft's emphasis on the uniqueness of each child reminds us to be thoughtful, keep an open mind, and listen carefully. I highly recommend this book!--Irwin Krieger, author of Helping Your Transgender Teen
This exciting book from the author of Gender Born, Gender Made is an essential guide for any parent whose child goes against the grain of society's expectations about gender. Diane Ehrensaft has delved deeply into the hearts and minds of gender-non--Julie Tarney, author of My Son Wears Heels

Diane Ehrensaft, PhD, is a developmental and clinical psychologist. At the University of California-San Francisco, she is the cofounder and director of mental health at the Child and Adolescent Gender Center, an associate professor of pediatrics, and an attending psychologist at the Benioff Children's Hospital Child and Adolescent Gender Clinic. Her work with--and advocacy for--gender creative children has been widely covered, including by The New York Times, the Huffington Post, and NPR. She has been featured on the Los Angeles Times online, Wired online, and has appeared on Anderson, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and The Today Show.
Norman Spack, MD, is the director and cofounder of the Gender Management Service clinic at Boston Children's Hospital, the first US clinic to medically treat transgender children. Dr. Spack has helped pioneer the use of hormone blockers to delay puberty and of hormone replacement therapy in teens. He has received national attention for his 2014 TEDx Talk "How I Help Transgender Teens Become Who They Want to Be" (over one million views) and was featured in Diane Sawyer's landmark interview with Bruce (now Caitlyn) Jenner. Dr. Spack is associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Dr Diane Ehrensaft has devoted her career in psychology to the care of children and teens who do not identify with their biological gender. In her first book, Gender Born, Gender Made , she coined the phrase 'gender creative' for what the American Psychiatric Association at the time officially termed a 'disorder'.Now, in The Gender Creative Child , Dr Ehrensaft gives parents, teachers, families, and therapists a totally up-to-date, comprehensive resource to caring for children whose gender expression is fluid or who question the gender they were assigned at birth. In nine easily digestible chapters, she encourages parents to listen to their children, support their quest for a true identity and undertake a highly nuanced assessment of their particular needs.

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