Identities that differ from what is expected of each gender challenge the crystallised binary form of social organisation. Furthermore, having a gender-variant child is an experience that confronts parents with something unknown to them that questions most of their assumptions. In the Italian context, there is a lack of awareness about the population of transgender and gender-variant minors, and what their or their families’ needs are. In the present study, we interviewed the parents of gender-variant minors from Italy and asked them to describe the ways they got to know their child’s gender identity and how they managed such a completely new situation. The interviews were transcribed literally and analysed through discourse analysis. We carried out descriptions of how parents configure this topic and the different positionings adopted thorough their experience of understanding and managing gender variance. Overall, we discussed and promoted parent-children interacting modalities aimed at co-constructing and sharing the process of gender identity development, instead of adopting self-referential or ideological positionings. The present article offers a qualitative exploratory study of gender-variant minors and their families in the Italian context. The limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also presented.

ObjectiveThe aim of this research was to explore the ways in which Italian parents of gender variant (GV) children construct their experience of seeking medical–psychological support and their experience with local services.BackgroundWe refer to gender variance in minors as the process of identification with a gender, other than the one assigned at birth. Parents taking care of their GV children often search for professional support to better understand them and promote their overall well‐being. International research has shown that parents often meet health professionals who are ill‐equipped to support them.MethodWe interviewed 26 parents in Italy with children who are GV. Through discourse analysis, with a focus on Harré's discursive positioning, we discuss how throughout their experience, parents have turned to information from professionals who were mostly uneducated about gender variance, and therefore, unable to help.ResultsA mostly adequate support was received when the parents eventually turned to specialized services for transgender and GV people; however, the fundamental source of support and empowerment is the informal relational network of services and “gender” families.ConclusionParents' reports show that in Italy, health professionals and services addressing gender variance are highly heterogeneous and patchy, thus necessitating a specific training for professionals on the needs of transgender people.ImplicationsThis study is particularly important in the current context of the medicalization of children who are GV, as it offers valuable insights into the experiences of families navigating the complex and often stigmatized world of gender identity development.