Using Selective Disclosure
Selective disclosure is purposely not letting others know about your trans and/or nonbinary identity. (“Selective disclosure” significa no permitir a propósito que otras personas sepan sobre tu identidad trans y/o no binaria.)
You can use selective disclosure around people who are likely to be transphobic or in spaces where you feel unsafe. This skill can be useful when you want to maintain your privacy, feel unsafe, or simply prefer not to have conversations that can trigger the gender dysphoria.
Important: there is nothing wrong with protecting yourself by not sharing parts or all of who you are. You get to make decisions that help you feel safe and empowered! (Importante: no hay nada malo en protegerte al no compartir partes o todo lo que eres. ¡Tú puedes tomar decisiones que te ayuden a sentirte seguro/a/e y con poder!)
Selective disclosure can potentially increase the gender dysphoria due to concealing important aspects of ourselves. So, it’s important to balance it out with other coping skills! (“Selective disclosure” puede potencialmente aumentar la disforia de género debido a ocultar partes importantes de quiénes somos. ¡IPor eso, es importante equilibrarlo con otras habilidades de afrontamiento!)
For example, let’s say I’m worried my new teacher might be transphobic: I might not tell my new teacher my pronouns until I’m sure it’s okay and safe to do so. But this could lead to them using the wrong pronouns, which can make me feel the gender dysphoria in the meantime. To make myself feel better during that time, I’ll talk to my trans siblings for support and understanding. I’ll also create moments of gender euphoria in other places to balance this out.
The key is to find a balance between who you share things about your gender with and using other ways to feel good about yourself and your gender. That way, you can stay safe and take care of yourself emotionally! (La clave es encontrar un equilibrio entre con quién compartes cosas sobre tu género y usar otras formas de sentirte bien contigo mismo/a/e y con tu género. De esa manera, puedes mantenerte seguro/a/e y cuidarte emocionalmente!)
Just remember, it’s up to you to decide if you want to share or keep information about your gender identity to yourself. (Solo recuerda que depende de ti decidir si quieres compartir u ocultar información sobre tu identidad de género.)
It is important to acknowledge that choosing when to disclose may not be an option for all trans and/or nonbinary teens. (Es importante reconocer que no todas las personas trans y/o no binarias pueden elegir cuándo divulgar.) This is why it is so important that you decide for yourself if selective disclosure works for you and determine if it will be helpful or cause you more distress. If you know that selective disclosure is not right for you, just put N/A in the reflection text box. (Si sabes que la divulgación selectiva no es para ti, solo escribe un N/A en la actividad de reflexión.)