The Importance of Transgender Parent Day
There are so many reasons to be proud as a transgender individual. And of these is the pride of being a transgender parent. Today, we’re going to discuss the significance, history, and fundamentals of the Transgender Parent Day.
You don’t have to have children to celebrate this as you can pay homage to the selfless love that transgender parents provide their children. Keep reading if you want to know how to participate.
What is the Transgender Parent Day?
Also known as Trans Parent Day, is a celebration and homage for parents who are transgender individuals. It’s similar to Mother’s Day and Father’s Day but was created specifically to embrace the familial relationships of trans-oriented people.
Added to that, this day doesn’t only celebrate transgender parents. It also celebrates non-trans individuals who have transgender children.
Where is it celebrated?
It isn’t widely celebrated yet and there are no known huge events about it. But it’s slowly but surely getting traction because of anecdotal documentation available on Google.
Some people shared that they celebrate it by giving gifts to their trans parent or caregiver.
When is it celebrated?
The Transgender Parent Day is observed annually on every first Sunday of the month of November.
History
According to WeSpeakGay, the day was established first in 2009. However, Taimi.com says otherwise because, from their report, it was first established in 2021.
There is still not much information available online but we will update this as Transgender Parent Day progresses.
Challenges of Transgender Parents
They say that parenting is tough. But in this case, tougher. Being a non-conventional parent is not like a walk in the park. Bigotry, discrimination, and prejudice are all part of the package.
In this section, we’re going to discuss the common challenges that transgender parents face. This will give you a better idea as to why it’s vital to honor them even if it’s just once a year.
Other people’s prejudgment of how Transgender Parents promote Bad Parenting
This is the most common thing that bigots do. They judge transgender parents based solely on their gender identity. Most of them often think that because trans parents are living an alternative lifestyle, it will heavily influence the child and grow up to be transgender even if they’re not.
What’s worse is that they’re very vocal with it. Not only will they think about it, but they will also discuss it with their friends and promote it on social media. Being transgender is not caused by environmental influences and it’s a fact that they fail to accept.
Some kids bully their children
In school, on the playground, or wherever available, improperly raised children by transphobic parents will most often bully the transgender parents’ child/children. Although the hurtful attacks are not directed at the trans parents, it’s the latter who hurt the most.
The sacrifice of a trans man’s physical and mental health
When a trans man gets pregnant (the ones undergoing HRT), he temporarily stops taking hormone replacement medication. This is not something that’s easy to do most especially for a person who has heightened gender dysphoria levels.
It can be very challenging because they do not only stop the moment they want to get pregnant. It could take them several months before they ovulate again, which means that they have to endure the manifestations of the secondary sex characteristics that they do not want to have.
Added to that, some of them choose to breastfeed, which means a longer amount of time living with a body that they’re not comfortable with just to nurse the child.
Lack of breast milk from a trans woman parent
Whether it is the trans woman’s biological or adopted child, if she’s taking care of the baby from infancy, this means that she has to nurse the child. Not to say that formula doesn’t work but it’s a known scientific fact that breast milk provides the best nourishment.
And most parents would choose this to ensure that their child’s immune system is being built well. Because of this, a lot of trans women regularly seek breast milk donations from friends or organizations.
Their genders aren’t socially and legally recognized
In some countries, it’s not legal to change one’s gender marker. And in most of these countries, a lot of people will tend to discredit the fatherhood or motherhood of transgender parents.
For example, transgender women won’t be allowed to join the mothers’ circle of their school because biologically, “they’re not women”. This discriminatory act may be passed to the logic of the child which will make them discredit their own mother’s motherhood.
There are so much more challenges but we’ve just enlisted the most common ones.
Meet these Transgender Parents
We’re only going to include parents who are openly transgender. Moreover, we’re only going to include celebrities or transgender parents who have made it in mainstream media.
Caitlyn Jenner
She’s probably if not the most popular transgender parent, one of the most popular transgender parents in the world. She’s an Olympian many times over and is best known for appearing in the biggest reality TV show in history, Keeping up with the Kardashians.
Caitlyn has 6 children and some of them are prominent in the entertainment industry:
- Kendall Jenner
- Kylie Jenner
- Brody Jenner
- Brandon Jenner
- Cassandra Marino
- Burt Jenner
- Caitlyn Jenner Website
- Caitlyn Jenner on Facebook
- Caitlyn Jenner on Instagram
- Caitlyn Jenner on Twitter
- Caitlyn Jenner on Youtube
- Caitlyn Jenner on IMDb
Thomas Beatie
Beatie is best known as The Pregnant Man. He’s paved the way for many trans-male parents who choose to carry their own child.
Not only is he known for that, but he’s also an advocate for transgender issues, mostly focused on transgender fertility and reproductive rights.
Tessa Ganserer
Tessa is a trans politician who served as a member of the Landtag of Bavaria. She’s from Germany and has 2 children.
She’s an advocate for:
- Saving the environment
- Conserving nature
- Nuclear safety
- Sustainable development and Consumer protection
Elon Musk (Bonus)
Albeit not being a transgender person himself, he can celebrate the Transgender Parent Day because he has a transgender child.
His child with ex-wife Justine Wilson, who’s assigned male at birth (AMAB) with the deadname Xavier Alexander Musk, just recently announced that she wanted to change her name legally to Vivian Jenna Wilson.
How to celebrate?
For now, not a lot of corporations and organizations promote the day. But there are several ways to celebrate it.
Even if you don’t have a transgender parent or child and you just want to pay homage to your trans parent friends or trans parents in general, you may do the following:
- Post an inspirational greeting and message and use the hashtag #TransgenderParentDay on the first Sunday of November
- Share the photo of the trans parent that you know and tell their story. Don’t forget to include the hashtag #TransgenderParentDay
- Give gifts to trans parents you know
- Send trans parents you know greeting cards or e-cards to let them know that they’re special
- Plan a mini get-together with food and gifts, kind of like how you would celebrate Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, and surprise the trans parent/s you know
- Do something nice for them. If one of both your parents are transgender, prepare their breakfast and let them know that you love them and you appreciate all of their efforts in raising you
Do you know anyone who has trans parents or do you have trans parent friends? Don’t forget to share this with them. Help spread the word so we could all break the stigma!
Happy Transgender Parent Day to all of the Transgender Parents and the Parents who have transgender children! Keep doing what you’re doing and we wish you nothing but your hearts’ desires!
