Not So Saved By the Bell
So many things happened yesterday. I chased a wasp around my house for 20 minutes and finally nailed it with a kitchen towel and bug spray. I took a shower. I actually washed my hair. I took Grace to therapy and Lily and I went to a friends house to swim. At the end of the day, we ate Trader Joe's salads, my girls fell asleep to a Disney TV show and I, well - I got caught up on Handmaids.
But while all of these things went on around me, my mind was occupied with something brought to my attention earlier in the day. It was video of a podcast where an actor was being interviewed about a number of things. And at around the 11 minute mark the topic of the new "Hollywood Trend" of celebrities 'allowing' their children to switch genders at 3 years old came up.
Deep breath.
I won't go into the details of the interview. If you haven't seen it already, you could easily find it and watch it for yourself. And to be completely honest, I didn't watch the interview in its entirety because it made me sick to my stomach. Mainly because in this actor’s words he said "Yeah, my kids won't be having play dates with THOSE kids".. like they have some weird, contagious rash.
Now, since the interview, the LQBTQ+ community has put him under fire for his comments, and he has apologized, but the sad part is, his comments, his influence, his prejudice against kids like mine is out there for all to see and hear.
The interviewer went as far as to say that kids are "sitting up in the bathtub and saying, 'Mommy I'm a boy'.".. and how is that even possible?
I've said it before, and I'll say it again.. I GET IT. I didn't understand the complexities and actual possibility that ANY three year old could make such enormous determinations about themselves at such a young age, until it was MY child.
But you guys, this didn't happen overnight or in the bathtub one afternoon like this woman is stating. For Grace, it progressed over time. It intensified. For quite a while, we thought she was likely gay. Her mannerisms and her personality were so feminine and unique. But it wasn't until she told us she was a girl that it all clicked. And hers is just one experience. Some trans youth don't understand what they're feeling until they've gone through puberty, and that's when it all clicks for them.
The truth is, if you aren't living it, it can be incredibly difficult to understand or make sense of it.
As someone said to me yesterday "ignorance sparks hate".. which I agree, it can. But for me, it didn't. Ignorance was just that - ignorance. I wasn't hateful, but I definitely didn't see or understand how a child could determine their own gender at such a young age, but it is VERY possible - it's happening before my very eyes..
I'm sure I sound like a broken record, but I beg of you - PLEASE be kind. I tell my children all the time "think before you speak.. will your words hurt someone?".. I am an open book. You can ask me ANYTHING.. there is no honest question that will offend me, because I promise i've already asked it myself.
But please do not use politics, or religion, or influence to derail your knowledge on this topic. My child is a human that has feelings. A LOT of feelings. She does not need to spend her childhood defending herself to anyone. Being a kid is already tough enough.