Gender Journeys & Transcend Nanaimo

Gender Journeys and Transcend Nanaimo are in session

Peer Support Groups for Transgender, Non-binary, Two-Spirit, & Gender Diverse Youth and Adults in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island

Our inclusive, Nanaimo-based peer support groups are for all gender identities: transgender, non-binary, two-spirit, etc. – or gender questioning. We offer a safe space to explore, learn, connect, and build community. No matter where you are in your journey with gender, you are welcome here! We offer support groups for adults, youth, and (coming soon) their parents and caregivers.

Please note: Both youth and adult groups are now closed groups for everyone’s safety.

We do not accept drop-in participants,  if you would like to participate please fill out the form below:

Participation form

For more information, please contact:


gender_journeys@nflabc.org
(250) 754-3331 ext. 710

We offer peer support groups for:

Gender Journeys: Adults 18+ Transcend Nanaimo: Youth 12-17

Why Gender Journeys is important

Gender identity and expression are central to the way we see ourselves and engage in the world. Gender identity and expression is something everyone has! However, that intuitive knowledge can be muddled as we grow up in a cis-normative society (which is, that everyone is assumed to be cisgender, or have a gender identity that matches what they are assigned at birth). It is also made more difficult by an assumed binary system with strict gender roles, which doesn’t allow much space for gender diversity and the full continuum of identity.

As a result, transgender, gender diverse and nonbinary (TGDNB) and questioning children and youth can feel lost, depressed, anxious and detached from reality. Research shows that transgender youth are at greatest risk of suicide (compared to their cisgender peers). This, however, is most often the result of outside influences and behaviours such as rejection, lack of acceptance and validation, bullying, and/or victimization from family, peers, employers, are larger systems like cultures, governments, etc.

Support is essential, and knowing they are not alone can be the difference between life and death. Having a safe space to process difficult emotions and connect with others on a similar journey means that they can not just survive, but thrive.

Transgender: is an umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth

Gender Identity: refers to a person’s internal sense of being male, female or something else; gender expression refers to the way a person communicates gender identity to others through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, voice or body characteristics.

Did you know?

  • Most children have an inherent sense of their gender identity between the ages of 3-5.
  • Parental social support is one of the strongest protective factors when it comes to the mental health and social well-being of trans youth.
  • Being transgender is NOT a choice.
  • The 2021 census was the first Canadian census to account for transgender individuals. It found 0.33% of the population 15 and older reported identifying as transgender. This can sound like a small number but that’s a few hundred thousand more people than the population of Winnipeg!
  • Transgender people have been documented in many Indigenous, Western, and Eastern cultures and societies from antiquity until the present day.
  • The average regret rate for surgery is 14.3%, the average regret rate for gender-affirming surgery is 1%.
  • There are many cultures worldwide with multiple gender identities such as Hijra, Muxe, Calalai, Calabai, Bissu, Sekrata, Bakla, and Two-Spirit people.
  • TGCNB people are valid in their identity, regardless of whether they chose to, can, or want to socially or medically transition.

References:

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