Cardinal Support Network
Cardinal Support Network is an American support group for parents, family members, and friends of young people with gender dysphoria, as well as for people who are detransitioning. The group is based in the state of Ohio and focuses primarily on families there; contacts from outside Ohio are handled through an admissions process. The group describes itself as nonpartisan and nonreligious.
What you will find
The site contains a description of its mission and principles, advice for family members, a list of resources and media, and a contact form. The group connects parents with one another and refers people to professional support.
Why it is on this list
Cardinal Support Network advocates a wait-and-see approach and investigating underlying psychological problems, and opposes transition for children and adolescents. This is an explicit position that differs from the guidelines of major American medical professional associations. More on the subject can be found under young people and detransition.
Founding and principles
The group has existed since 2021. According to its mission statement, it offers support, information, and resources to families who have questions or are seeking other solutions for a child with gender dysphoria. The site refers to this as adolescent-onset gender dysphoria, dysphoria that begins during the teenage years. The group lists protecting children, supporting families, and the slogans mediation not medication and empathizing not medicalizing among its guiding principles. It also says it values state laws that protect children from medical harm. Its services consist of support from parent to parent and friend to friend, as well as referrals to professional support.
Recommended resources
The list of resources is long and points in one direction. It includes organizations such as SEGM, Genspect, Transgender Trend, 4thWaveNow, and Post Trans, as well as books such as Irreversible Damage and When Harry Became Sally. The group refers to Lisa Littman’s studies on rapid-onset gender dysphoria and on detransition, as well as to the documentary series Dysphoric. Under the heading of legislation, it lists Ohio laws HB68 and HB8 and refers to the State Medical Board of Ohio, where complaints can be filed.
How to assess this source
The website does not name its founders or board members and provides no figures on the number of affiliated families. It is therefore impossible to determine who prepared the advice or what expertise they have. Publications by practitioners or professional associations that support the affirmative approach are absent from the list. The site is useful for seeing which sources circulate within this circle of parents.