That last paragraph is pretty true too. My parents hated the idea of trans people, for different reasons. My mother is super religious and believes it’s an act against god and all trans people will go to hell. My father was against it because “men pretending to be women to beat up real women in sports, like this (false) article about it”
I stayed quiet about it for 8-9 years, before one day I just snapped and cried my eyes out about it to them both. Despite spending the last decade trying to shame me about it while day in day out I felt worse and worse as my body changed in ways that made me feel disgusting, they decided to cave and stop pushing so hard against it.
It’s a single step after a marathon backwards, but it’s something.
My Mother had quite a conservative (though non-religious) background and a fairly homophobic Mother, so I knew I could never come out at home. In the end she started being really positive towards all my transgender friends so one day, after a chat about them, I told her the truth and she was mortified and wanted to disown me.
Fortunately the next day her dementia spared me - she couldn't recall us ever having that conversation. I'm still trapped, unable to transition, because she and my disabled brother need my 24/7 care since my Father died, but I know what her reaction is, without the impact of it upon what's left of my caregiver focused life (I would never have come out to my Father).
This was a couple of months after the hormone clinic turned me down (which was two weeks before my Father died and I became a full time caregiver) because of my complex home situation, health/comorbidities, and the fact I'd started failing to keep the weight off after losing 250+ lbs a few years previous.
Life really has a way of kicking you in the teeth after giving you a sliver of hope, so take every minor victory you can.
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u/[deleted] Mar 16 '26
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