“It's Always the Mother's Fault”: Secondary Stigma of Mothering a Transgender Child

This instrumental case study (Stake, 2003) explores the process of transition and secondary stigma experienced by a white single mother who is parenting her six-year-old transgender daughter. Using an online chat interview format, a mother living in a rural U.S. community was asked to describe her parenting experiences as well as her perceptions of support services involving her child. Specifically, the aspects of mental health services that she deemed both helpful and not helpful are explored, as well as other contextual factors that contribute to the overall experience or impression of the therapeutic environment for a family with a transgender child.