Sometimes we look around, or turn on the news, and it feels like we’re just being pummeled with injustices and it can feel overwhelming.

Maybe you’ve already been fighting social biases based on race, income, or ability - and now here comes this kid that you love more than life, and they’re thrusting you into a whole new world of oppression that you probably didn’t even know existed.

I think that advocacy and inclusion work as a parent of a trans kid is almost inevitable. You’re going to find yourself in positions to educate and advocate over and over and over and over again. Some parents find this to be overwhelming, others find it empowering, and love being able to find their voice as they fight for their child’s rights. 

I don’t think any parent recognizes that this is going to be part of their parenting journey until they’re facing discrimination head on. They didn’t know that the people they might have to push back against are their friends, family members, and colleagues. And sometimes they can get resentful of how their child doesn’t have the same privileges they thought they did, and how their lack of gender privilege also spills onto them.

Today’s campfire guest is a therapist, social justice advocate, racial equity trainer, small business owner and overall badass, Martha Stebbins. Martha owns Mente Counseling and Consulting in Seattle Washington. She is bilingual/bicultural and her pronouns are she/ella.  

Martha is incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to working with little kids and trauma, and she also has a wealth of knowledge and experience in helping families of color navigate mental health and social injustice. 

Check out the full episode to hear about:

• How intersectionality interacts with our implicit calculations of danger and safety
• How intersectionality is impacted by both self-identification and external perceptions and interactions
• Why oppressive forces and intersectionality matter for everyone, even if we hold privilege
• How parents can approach their trans kiddos’ intersecting identities with openness and curiosity

Find out more about Martha Stebbins-Aguiniga:

• Mente Counseling and Consulting

Find out more about Mackenzie Dunham:

• Wildheartsociety.org
• wildheartsociety.org/downloads
• Wild Heart Society on Facebook
• Wild Heart Society on Instagram

Resources:

• The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together, Heather McGhee
• LGBTQ Students Face Unfair School Discipline, Pushing Many Out of School | GLSEN
• Study: Black Girls Are Being Pushed Out of School : Code Switch : NPR
• A Battle for the Souls of Black Girls