This is my dad on my 21st birthday. It has taken him 21 years to call me his son. It’s taken 21 years for him to tell me that he’s proud of me. It’s taken him 21 years to tell me that he loves me. It’s taken us 21 years to love each other.
When I first came out as transgender my dad didn’t understand and so he reacted with hatred, anger and disappointment. He shamed me for my gender expression and we had to cut off communication.
But after my chest surgery in December of 2016 he finally opened his eyes to how happy I finally was. He made the decision to attend rehab and therapy to better himself and focus on his own mental health issues in order to restore our relationship.
Since my surgery he’s been nothing but loving and supportive. He always calls me Liam and uses the correct pronouns. He calls me his son and we’re more connected now then ever.
In these photos I’m opening a birthday present from my dad. His present was a black ball cap that read “The Jet-Lag Club”. He explained that it was a bar in Japan only for international flight crews. A bar that his father had gone to and he had frequently gone to as well. He got the hat from being such a frequent customer, but it has closed since and now there is no possible was to get one of these hats. He told me it’s his most prized possession. And then he handed it to me and said…
“It’s yours now. It’s tradition, from father to son.”
Remember that people can grow and change. They can accept and love even after hatred emerged. Remember that people can see who you are. Don’t give up just yet, things can change and they can get better.
-seems more than happy to give his name out, seems proud of it. Full name aswell so like maybe he changed his last name aswell whilst changing his first name?
i love experiencing how my classmates work to avoid misgendering me. for instance, today one classmate greeted the rest of our small group: “All right ladies and gentlemen — and Avery”
another time a classmate went: “Pardon me, ma’am — uh, sir, uh….esteemed one”
and, my absolute fave: “Hey ladies! — and gentleThem”
i love these moments both because they’re humorous and because they show how hard these folks are trying! it’s not about getting it right every time at first, but consistently correcting yourself!
Little message of hope for those afraid to come out to their friends.
My core friend group: cis bros.
Dude bro cis bros. Chicks. Drinks. Games. Gym. Those were my pals.
So, as you’d imagine, I was a little afraid to come out to my boys, and left it at “I might be gay or something, idk.”
When I bit the bullet and came out as a trans chick, none of them were surprised.
In terms of “adjustment”, there wasn’t any. And each one of them worked hard to understand, brush up on terms, learn more about transgender things, and even went as far to chastise each other for “a weak pronoun game.”
They complimented me when I felt down, encouraged me to try new things, and the only way my friendship with them changed is that our bonds grew even stronger.
There is no perfect formula for coming out, and no matter what your relationships or circumstances, you’re well in your rights to feel a little nervous.
It’s perfectly okay, but the ones you love can truly surprise you in amazing ways you never thought were possible.
Best wishes to any of you waiting for your moment. Love, Tina
Okay so first of all, I had no idea my true story of friendship would make the rounds like this, so I’m happy it’s doing some good and making peoples’ day. That being said hehe shoutout to this silly sausage.
@facing-the-opponent , darling. This happened. These are real folks. Don’t believe me?
My golden boys.
Oh, by the way, that’s what we call our friend group. The Self-Esteem Team.
this is especially nice because this isnt even like apologizing for overt transphobia this is like something i probably wouldnt have even recognized personally in context as being transphobic? and hes apologizing anyway
i guess the point im trying to make is that justin is a good dude and also my standards for Popular Youtube Men are very, very low
the tweet he sent out after this was really nice too, he’s really a good dude and it’s really refreshing as a trans person to see someone you admire being humble and recognizing their mistakes
i love experiencing how my classmates work to avoid misgendering me. for instance, today one classmate greeted the rest of our small group: “All right ladies and gentlemen — and Avery”
another time a classmate went: “Pardon me, ma’am — uh, sir, uh….esteemed one”
and, my absolute fave: “Hey ladies! — and gentleThem”
i love these moments both because they’re humorous and because they show how hard these folks are trying! it’s not about getting it right every time at first, but consistently correcting yourself!
Let’s add “Esteemed one” and “GentleThem” to popular lexicon/ the dictionary this year.
Pass Through Fire 