Family is a Feeling (Video 1)

(narrator pronouns: they/them, he/him)

Topics: adoption, disability, boundaries, chosen family

Family is a Feeling is a video by a trans young adult who uses they/them and he/him pronouns and identifies as Asian and white. This narrator describes their family as adoptive, and engages with themes of adoption, disability, boundaries, and chosen family.

Below is general discussion guide with questions that apply to all videos, and a video-specific discussion guide with extra discussion questions specific to this video.

General Discussion Guide

Please take some time to reflect on your own after watching these videos before talking with others. Taking the time to sit with information that is new and/or linked with strong emotions can make it easier to express your feelings and ideas when talking with others.

General
  • What was it like to watch this video? 
  • What stood out to you about this video?
Emotions
  • How did you feel as you watched this video?
  • What are people in this video feeling?
    • How do you know?
    • Do you relate to some feelings more than others?
Relating to the Video

 

  • Where do you see your family in this video?
  • Where do you not see yourselves in this video? How is your family different from the family in the video?
  • Where do you see yourself in this video?
  • What sorts of conflict came up in this video (if any)?
    • What kind of internal conflict (within one person) was there?
    • What kind of interpersonal conflict (between people) was there?
  • Do you have similar experiences in your family?
  • What were some things that made members of this family happy?
  • Do you have similar experiences in your family?
Safety and Security
  • What are the sorts of feelings or ideas that you may want to communicate but feel scared to share?
  • How do you communicate love?
    • How do you communicate fear, hurt, or anger?
    • How do you communicate your boundaries?
  • When do you communicate love?
    • When do you tend to communicate fear, hurt, or anger?
    • When do you tend to communicate your boundaries?
  • Do you use symbols or special language to communicate?
    • Is this for a specific reason?
  • What do your friends and family do that makes you feel safe?
  • What do your friends and family do that makes you feel understood?
Culture and Family History
  • What are each of you grateful for?
  • What are differences in the ways you and your family members have grown up?
    • What are your family members’ individual hardships?
    • Do these differences affect how you approach problems?
  • Are there parts of your family history that are really significant to each of you?
Support and Acceptance
  • What opportunities for supporting each other do you have when someone “comes out”?
  • What is important about having confidants (people with whom you can share personal or sensitive topics) in a family?
  • How can “silence” be a good and bad thing in conversations?
  • When do you need someone to listen, and when do you need them to give advice?
Gender Roles
  • How is gender demonstrated in the video? (examples might be: clothing, expression, the way folks talk, the roles that are assumed…)
    • What are ways that you ‘do’ gender? (If you are interested in talking about this more, check out our External Resources.)
  • Are there ways that you express gender in your family?
  • What are your gendered roles? (For example, are there ‘boy’ chores and ‘girl’ chores?)
  • What are your gendered expectations of one another? (For example, do you expect different things from your mother, father, parent, son, daughter, child, brother, sister, or sibling?)
Transitioning
  • Do you see gender affirmation (or “transitioning”) as a family process? In other words, when one person transitions, does the whole family transition?
    1. In what ways may this be true for your family?
    2. In what ways may this not be true for your family?
  • What do gender-affirming (steps a transgender person may take toward their gender identity) …
    1. Medical procedures (like chest surgeries or hormone therapies)
    2. Experiences (like using a different bathroom or playing a different sport)
    3. Processes (like using a new name or pronouns)

 …mean to us in our family?

  • What was “coming out” like within your family?
    1.  Was this similar to what was anticipated?
  • What was “coming out” like outside your family?
    1. Was this similar to what was anticipated?
Family Changes
  • What’s true at the beginning of the video vs. at the end of the video?
    1. Did a situation change?
    2. If a situation didn’t change, did a person’s response to a situation change?
  • What do you hope can change for this family (if anything)?
  • Are there similar changes you have seen or would like to see in your family?
Family Communication
  • When you hear something you do not agree with in your family, what happens next?
  • How do family members communicate curiosity or confusion?
  • Who is responsible for educating whom about topics related to gender?
  • What is a helpful and safe way to ask questions or provide clarification?
  • Where can family members access resources or be resources for each other?
Wrap-Up
  • What are you feeling after discussing this video?
  • What do you hope to take away from watching this video and talking about it with your family?

Video 1 Discussion Guide

Emotions

What were your feelings as the narrator’s mom expressed vulnerability?

Relating to the Video

The narrator describes the process of finding safety in a family different from their  family of origin.

Does safety feel like something to you? How do you know when you are safe? How do you feel in situations that are safe?

Safety and Security

Hamburger to mean, “I love you”.

What role did codewords play in constructing safety and security?

Socioculture

This narrator is also navigating the world as someone who uses a wheelchair. How might this affect their experiences with family? With safety?

Which other identities or characteristics that affect…

  • how you navigate the world?
  • how you interact with your family?

Video Gallery

Family is a Feeling (Video 1)

Family is a Feeling
(Video 1)

Expectations
(Video 5)

Iced Coffee
(Video 2)

Hello, How Are You?
(Video 6)

Blue Dream Conditioner
(Video 3)

Birth Certificate
(Video 7)

Off the Shore
(Video 4)

Have You Met My Son?
(Video 8)