“Both have settled at this time on their assigned gender at birth but for both, there was a time when that wasn’t what they felt was true for them.”
‘We’ve had two children go through some form of gender identity struggle. ‘How can you deal with that?’ It’s a life or death question.’: Mom says ‘be affirming and accepting of your kids, however they identify’
‘My manager interrupted. ‘Wait, what? You need to get that checked out.’ I’d lie and say I was ‘gay.’ It was easier to explain.’: Woman shares candid reality of being asexual, ‘I’m not broken’
“It all hit me in high school. ‘Why is everyone obsessed with sex?’ It had never occurred to me sex was a huge part of life. Couples would make out in the stairways. Sexually active friends would re-tell their experiences in detail. I was disgusted. My therapist would ask if I was ‘this way’ because of my parents, who didn’t have a good relationship when I was growing up. People think a person, especially a woman, need to have a partner to be happy.”
‘I know they’re super cute, but please don’t call my sons ‘heartbreakers.’: Boy mom says ‘let’s raise men who move through the world with their hearts forward’
“I’m not raising heartbreakers. I’m raising sons who care for the hearts of others AND who tune into the frequency of their own heart. Our boys need more options than the stock characters of Boring Nice Guy and Hot Heartbreaker. Masculinity can come from the heart.”
‘Why is a 13-year-old girl in the men’s room?’ His voice was louder than necessary. My son emerged, looking pale. He was just trying to poop in peace.’: Mom proud of son for ‘continuing to stay true to himself’
“He exited the public men’s toilets at the truck stop and looked right at me. ‘He is a boy. Just because he has long hair does not mean he is a girl.’ He turned a corner and walked back to us, just so he could get the last word in: ‘Not in a man bun…’ I didn’t even let him finish. My son emerged, mortified. He was just trying to poop in peace.”
‘I was holding this huge secret. My husband yelled, ‘IT’S A BOY!’ He got to know first. The waiting was killing them!’: Mom stresses why she waited to find out the gender of her babies, ‘It drives everyone else INSANE!’
“‘How could you not know!?’ I was holding this huge secret. I had power nobody else could have. When you don’t know which child you’re about to meet, it gives you an unmatched energy and grit to get through the pains. There’s no comparison to the emotion before your baby comes out. Pushing was so much easier when I knew I was about to get the biggest surprise of my life. Waiting drives everyone else INSANE. People get so frustrated you chose to wait.”
‘Just give her time. She’ll come around.’ My mom has yet to use my correct pronouns. To her, I’ll always be her first ‘daughter.’: Trans man finds courage to live his truth, ‘Transitioning was the biggest act of self-love’
“Everyone kept telling me I was a girl. When my mom would take me clothes shopping, I found myself cutting looks to the male section, wishing I could cross aisles and pick something I’d feel confident in. I struggled so much with trying to feel ‘pretty.’ Now, I miss being able to pick up the phone and just say ‘hi’ to my mom. Years pass, with little to no communication. I’ll always be her ‘daughter.’ No amount of hormones or surgeries will ever change that.”
‘My son chooses to wear makeup, dresses. ‘But…what if he catches The Gay?’ Well, then I’ll have a gay son. Simple as that. It’s a non-issue.’: Mom embraces son’s fluid gender expression, ‘it’s their body, their choice’
“My son has had autonomy since he was a toddler. As he grows, he makes as many decisions about his own body as possible. Our only limits are safety and hygiene. We often hear, ‘…But..but…but…it’s PINK!’ ‘Why don’t you just cut your hair like a boy?!’ ‘That’s for girls, you don’t want that!’ He informs them with absolute integrity, ‘No, it’s for PEOPLE!’”
‘Uh, where’s the wine?’ I ask for club soda. Blank looks. ‘Wine. Immediately!’ They don’t know I’m newly sober.’: Woman gives up alcohol and dissects female drinking culture, ‘it shattered me’
“‘Thank God there’s places like this where we can have lady time,’ a woman in a yellow dress says. ‘I’ll be hungover by dinner,’ says another. When did women drinking become self-care? Another group sips champagne through straws. ‘Girl time! We’ve earned this!’ Driving home, I pass billboard ads for Cinnamon Churros Smirnoff. I learn my yoga studio is now practicing monthly wine events. I feel sick.”
‘I was told to ‘man up’ after being thrown into a dumpster. I believed I was an abomination.’: Trans woman believed she’d ‘go to hell’ for transitioning, now feels ‘worthy of happiness’
“’Can you leave? We are having girl chat.’ I left and sat alone in the field. Teachers would laugh when I’d tell them I was being bullied. I cried and prayed to God, ‘Please let me wake up and be a girl.’ This is me. I am a woman.”
‘My teenage boys helped me shop for their little sister’s first bras today…because breasts happen, y’all.’: Mom challenges ‘stigma’ of female puberty, ‘my boys know picking out a bra is no big deal’
“Lucy came downstairs one night to ask if her ‘nipples should be sore.’ I instantly realized puberty was around the corner. She told her dad, who was sitting RIGHT NEXT TO ME, that she needed bras. I, the one with breasts, was right there! Fast forward to Target. I explained to my boys Lucy needed some plain bras. They were shocked. ‘What are bras for? She doesn’t look different. Why does she need them? Is she starting puberty?’ By taking them, the stigma was already GONE.”
