My name is Jeremy. My wife and I have been married for 20 years and have 2 great children. One in middle school and the other in high school. They are both in advanced classes and get straight A's.
Several years ago, my 13-year-old daughter (at the time) told me she thought she was a boy. She said she felt like that since she was born. Both my wife and I freaked out. We didn't know what just happened. We told her to take a month-long break and we would regroup and revisit the topic. A month later she told us that she had changed her mind, that she didn't know what she had been thinking.
It was a tough middle school year for her, and we noticed she was spending more and more time in her room. Six months later we found her cutting herself. After months of counseling, she came to us and said, "Mom, Dad - I really am a boy. I always have been." She had been afraid to tell us the truth, thinking that we might kick her out of the house if she really was a boy.
My wife and I struggled with our child’s gender identity and finally (and fully) accepted that our daughter was our son. Once he understood that he was loved and accepted, he stopped hanging out in his room, he stopped hating school, and he stopped cutting himself. He is a happy, healthy, smart child.
We thought the community might not be accepting. We were wrong. He still babysits for the same people and is still invited to all the afterschool get-togethers. We found out that most people don’t care about a child’s gender identity, especially if they’re a nice and respectful kid.
Finding out about the proposed legislation making it a felony to provide accepted and expected medical care for transitioning minors stunned our son, his friends, and their parents, as did the hateful words and phrases used in the press release announcing the proposed legislation.
It is critical that transgender youth like our son have access to the appropriate treatment and care to ensure their health and well-being. Policies concerning the diagnosis and treatment of transgender individuals should be based on science, not politics. Legislation regarding the treatment of transgender youth that directly opposes the evidence-based care recognized by professional societies has no place in Georgia.
It was a tough middle school year for her, and we noticed she was spending more and more time in her room. Six months later we found her cutting herself. After months of counseling, she came to us and said, "Mom, Dad - I really am a boy. I always have been." She had been afraid to tell us the truth, thinking that we might kick her out of the house if she really was a boy.
My wife and I struggled with our child’s gender identity and finally (and fully) accepted that our daughter was our son. Once he understood that he was loved and accepted, he stopped hanging out in his room, he stopped hating school, and he stopped cutting himself. He is a happy, healthy, smart child.
We thought the community might not be accepting. We were wrong. He still babysits for the same people and is still invited to all the afterschool get-togethers. We found out that most people don’t care about a child’s gender identity, especially if they’re a nice and respectful kid.
Finding out about the proposed legislation making it a felony to provide accepted and expected medical care for transitioning minors stunned our son, his friends, and their parents, as did the hateful words and phrases used in the press release announcing the proposed legislation.
It is critical that transgender youth like our son have access to the appropriate treatment and care to ensure their health and well-being. Policies concerning the diagnosis and treatment of transgender individuals should be based on science, not politics. Legislation regarding the treatment of transgender youth that directly opposes the evidence-based care recognized by professional societies has no place in Georgia.
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