“After SO much pain and anguish, I felt relief. I wasn’t changed, but for the first time, I accepted myself. For the first time, I said out loud, ‘I am gay.'”
‘You’re too young to have a sexual preference.’ I was bullied RELENTLESSLY. I was to find a wife and lead my household.’: Non-binary LGBTQ person shares journey, ‘Your queerness is your MAGIC’
‘My Tinder date said, ‘Let me see what SHE wants to drink…’ I felt a huge, warm feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was the first time I was addressed with female pronouns.’: Woman comes out as trans with support from co-workers, friends
“I was born on January 25, 1995. The name on my birth certificate is recorded as Derek Sabado with the letter ‘M’ next to it. The year is 2021, and as I’m writing this, I have never felt more happy and proud of the woman I have become.”
‘She said, ‘I am a girl in my heart and brain.’ She had to be physically restrained for haircuts. I felt guilty.’: Mom advocates for transgender daughter, ‘She blossomed before our eyes’
“‘YOU made her this way!’ Dempsey had a strong interest in princesses and sparkly trinkets. She’d put fashion pajama pants on her head to simulate long hair.”
‘Mom asked, ‘Will boys find you attractive?’ But I wasn’t a boy OR a girl. I acted feminine to avoid bullying.’: Non-binary person shares journey, ‘I want my body to feel like mine’
“I destroyed all my relationships because I was living a lie. ‘Will people think I’m a freak?’ I wanted to be proud of who I was.”
‘What did you do to make *her* like this?!’ Wow. My son was just 4 years old.’: Mom shares lessons learned raising trans son who ‘is blazing trails’
“I thought I was being so progressive when I ‘allowed’ my son to dress ‘like a boy’ when he began voicing his opinions. Now, I laugh at that notion. I’ve transformed into a completely different person.”
‘I started binge eating. ‘Do you want to be a boy?’ I was so ashamed of being the ‘fat friend’ of the group.’: Transgender man struggles through eating disorder on road to self-acceptance
“I didn’t quite look like the other girls. I was curvy and had a big chest. I stood in front of the mirror in my grandparents’ bathroom, analyzing the shape of my body. I was peeling off an old layer of me and discovering the depth of my true identity.”
‘Please give me a miracle. Turn me into a girl overnight.’ I kept it a secret. I was on a train headed for a dead end.’: Transgender teen embraces identity after life-long battle, ‘I am finally me’
“My family began deteriorating. My parents separated. My mom went from a healthy, loving parent to an alcoholic who couldn’t care for herself. She disappeared, temporarily, and then forever. I accepted I would have to continue living in fear and shame.”
‘I want to be a girl, Mom! Just make me a girl!’ Getting into the shower, she threw her fists down in anger. I could feel the air suck right out of me.’: Couple throw second gender reveal party for transgender daughter
“I threw open the bathroom door in tears. ‘Our son just asked us to make him a girl.’ My husband looked like a deer caught in headlights as he sat there silently processing what he heard. I knew right then we needed help.”
‘A friend broke up with him after he was outed to her as trans.’: Mom of 11-year-old trans son shares ‘frightening’ story
“The child’s parent who dropped her off chastised me (out of earshot of the kids) for having a pride flag outside my house and asked me to ‘not talk about inappropriate matters with his daughter.’ My heart literally couldn’t handle it.”
‘I am carrying a child and I’ll also be his dad.’ Yes, you read that right.’: Trans man births son, ‘I wouldn’t have been able to survive this journey without the people in my life’
“I always had a perception of what ‘outside people’ would act like when I told them, ‘I carried my son as a dad.’”
