Hi!! And help!!!

[Ant]

Hi!!!

i am a 17 year old oldest sister, I have always tried to be a role model for my little siblings and tried to show them the world outside from my kinda conservative and very catholic family. The things is that my baby sibling just told me that their preferred pronouns are they and him, they were born female, so despite me being pretty open minded, this was a big shock for me because I still think of them as a baby girl who used to wear princess dresses with me and stuff. It’s also hard bc i have always tried to protect them, and being anything other than normal in my town is guaranteed bullying, and I really don’t want them to go through that yk? I just don’t know how to process this, and how to keep protecting and supporting my sibling without reflecting my biases and stuff into them you know? So if anyone has some advise or word of wisdom I would love to hear them please!! Thx

[Monsoon]

Hey @Ant

Thanks for sharing this with us. It's good that you want to keep protecting and supporting them without reflecting your biases. Can I ask, what do you mean by your biases? It's interesting because when someone close to us comes out like this, it can come as quite a shock and the person hearing the news can struggle to adjust to this new reality. In a way, it can feel like you're losing the person almost, and it's completely normal to feel this way. On the more positive side, I think its great that they have trusted you enough to tell you about this. I completely get what you're saying about how being different in your town is guaranteed bullying, but I'm sure you will be there for them if it does come to this. You sound like a great big sister. 

In terms of processing the news, it's important to talk to others about how you're feeling and be completely candid about it. This situation might bring up some complex emotional responses for you, and you can always talk to us here. This is a completely safe and non-judgemental space. Do you think there is anything else you can do a this point? I guess the most important thing is to continue being there for them.