The other day I was reading the touching story of a young transgendered girl in Omaha. Her parents had made the courageous decision to allow their child, born male, to dress and present as a girl. Naturally, the headline in the story reads ‘Transgender Boy Barred From Catholic School’, because ‘Transgender Boy Receives Support From Loving Parents’ doesn’t have quite the same ring.
Unfortunately the Catholic school has decided to come down on the side of intolerance. I would normally make some ill humored remark about love and acceptance of the church, but I’ll forgo that for this post. Since the young girl-to-be has a bright future ahead of her. A short quote from the article struck me:
Omaha mental health therapist Ellie Hites said she’s worked with more than 200 transgendered clients in Omaha over the past 35 years.
Hites said she does psychological evaluations on all of her clients.
“One hundred percent of the time, I’ve never had anybody show up anything other than healthiest in the chosen gender role, as opposed to biological,” Hites said.
She said her adult transgender clients have lived through nervous breakdowns, suicide attempts and deep depression because they could never truly be themselves. She has four transgendered clients right now.
“The story that I get is that ‘I’ve known since I was real little, but everybody laughed or nobody paid any attention,’” Hites said.
The therapist said transgendered children insist they are the opposite sex, consistently.
“It’s like they arrive here with one biology but the mental set is counter to that,” Hites said.
Her adult transgender clients have lived through nervous breakdowns, suicide attempts and deep depression because they could never truly be themselves. How beautiful it is, that the young girl in the article gets a chance to grow up as a happy, normal child. One who doesn’t need to hide the person inside.
I think this is the true blessing that her parents have given her. Their selfless love will reap rewards through her entire life, and for generations to come. I think the urging of her mother is something all of us should take to heart:
“Just take the time to listen. It is different. It’s something most people have never heard of, but it doesn’t make it scary or pathological,” she said.
I am against those who take an ideological stance on whatever side as opposed to what’s right for the child and helping the parents with what to do in what can be a confusing and distressing situation.
I hope the child does grow up to be happy and well adjusted adult.
Perhaps some folk feel the need to say no, but is it any of their business? Really?
TG stuff aside, and parent mode on, I’d rather see my kids happy (even if they had to struggle) than repressed and damaged.
Lynn, well said love!
Lucy, I agree. Too often we let ideology get in the way of compassion, and long-held beliefs keep us from fulfilling the purpose of those beliefs.