“A lot can change when a parent recognizes when they might be acting from a place of - I want you to confide in me because it confirms my self image as a trusting, caring parent. Versus, when parents operate from a perspective of - I want you to confide in me to the extent that it affirms your own self-image and helps your own growth.” Ray Watson

Welcome to the Parenting Well podcast with Parent Engagement Network!  I am Dr. Shelly Mahon, your host and today’s well sources are Ray Watson 

Raye Watson (they/them) is a 23-year-old writer and designer living in the Denver metro area. Between grassroots nonprofits and student organizations, they’ve led hundreds of hours of workshops and fallen in love with storytelling for change. Drawn to social justice by their experiences as a queer student and artist, Raye lives happily in the intersection between art, academia, and advocacy. Their diverse body of work is connected by themes of design thinking, disability equity, and gender freedom. Their whole vibe is less "sex, drugs, rock and roll" and more "naps, meds, mellow jazz." 

Raye Watson’s monologue - “Gender Play & Possibility” shares an experience of negotiating limiting and pathologizing narratives to access gender-affirming care. But on the other side of transition, their new freedom to expand into their true version of being nonbinary - an experience, not of neutrality, but multiplicity.

In this podcast, we talk about:

• The variety of narratives a person experiences in the transition to non-binary or transgender.

Resources:

1. Event: Transformative Stories from Transgender and Nonbinary Leaders