The Defiance Of Love: On Glennon, And Hate, And Moms With Transgender Kids

…my youngest child is gender non-conforming. Identified as female at birth, she started several years ago to identify more and more as a boy. Now she has short hair, wears boys clothes, and looks to most of the world as a boy. She hasn’t fully committed to making a transition; she might not be sure exactly what box she fits in or if she even feels like she fits any of our given categories at all. She also might be terrified to make a transition to being a boy because of the culture to which you have contributed that tells her she is wrong. She knows for sure that the world was not built for people like her. She is reminded of that every time she needs to use a bathroom in public.

Oh the bathrooms! Let me tell you about bathrooms. My child does not feel like she belongs in any gendered bathroom, and do you know how hard it is to find a unisex public restroom along rural highways? (Shout out to Starbucks for being a reliable supplier of such restrooms – I will always remain a loyal customer even though your coffee isn’t my favorite.) Because if we can’t find one, my child freezes in terror and tells me in a tiny voice, “I’ll just hold it.” She knows that she is different, and as her mother every day I try to affirm that whoever she is, it is okay. That she is okay. That she is God’s gift to me.

But guys, what about Starbucks pagan coffee cups???

Listen. Please just listen. We need more listening in this world. Hear this mom, and her love for her child, who isn’t being conditioned into anything, who isn’t “making a choice to be gay.” This is a kid who’s just living out the identity that came with the original packaging. We need to love them both enough to let them figure that out.

We need to love Glennon enough to let her figure herself out.

We need to love our LGBTQ friends enough to let them be who they are. And we don’t need to bludgeon them for it.

I leave you with the words of Jesus: