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A heartwarming story of a 13-year-old coming out as transgender to his mother through a creative booklet of drawings and puns has gone viral on Twitter. The mother, Amanda Mancino-Williams, shared the story to inspire others to express themselves. In contrast, a father from Missouri spoke about his struggle to accept his transgender daughter during a meeting discussing a resolution to ban transgender high school athletes from participating in girls’ sports. The father’s emotional plea to let children be themselves has resonated with many. https://scoop.upworthy.com reported
While anti-trans bills are being introduced in state legislatures across the United States, there are numerous heartwarming stories that give us hope. Amanda Mancino-Williams, a writer, shared a touching story about her 13-year-old child coming out as transgender. It wasn’t just the fact that he came out, but the creative and thoughtful way he did it. He drew a booklet filled with illustrations, puns, and images to express his identity to his mother. Mancino-Williams shared the drawings on Twitter, stating, “Got a note from my 13yo tonight, under the door, like they always did when there was something important to say.”
The 13-year-old, who was assigned female at birth but identifies as male, used puns like “dot-er” for “daughter” and “sun” for “son” to come out to his mother. In his note, he wrote, “I was originally expected to be an artist who specialized in pointillism, but I have discovered that being a ball of gas suits me better.” The booklet is a beautiful representation of his self-discovery.
Mancino-Williams revealed that her son wanted her to share the story on Twitter to inspire others to embrace their true selves. She wrote, “This is a fantastic gift for all of us. And, he wanted me to share to inspire others to be themselves.”
Your son is more punny and funny than me. Don’t ever let that change. You must be a great mom if he can talk to you openly like that too. My mom would’ve torn it to shreds and said I killed her and her “daughter” publicly.
— Cass (Simp Bizkit) (@casscois) December 21, 2020
Mancino-Williams expressed her gratitude for the kind messages she received. She wrote, “Just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have reached out with words of delight and support and kindness. We’ve been reading through them together, and it’s been a morning of a thousand smiles. Love to you all.” It’s important to remember that not all transgender children receive the same acceptance as her 13-year-old, and we hope this story inspires other parents in similar situations to embrace and support their children.
The only appropriate response to this is to go serenade them with ‘you are my sunshine’, right? (also, this is an amazing and brilliant little booklet, I wish I had come out so creatively)
☀️☀️☀️— charlie mills (@ctmpoet) December 21, 2020
This is 100% heartwarming and 100% lovely and indeterminably funny. Different kids have different ways of expressing themselves, and he put his entire heart into that book. Someday, your son will look back and realize it’s 0% cringe, IMO. 💙💗🤍💗💙
— Richard Shifman (YA: R.B. Shifman) (@rshifman) December 21, 2020
Brandon Boulware, a business lawyer from Missouri, shared his journey of accepting his transgender daughter. Boulware spoke about it during a meeting of the Missouri state House, where lawmakers were considering a resolution to ban transgender high school athletes from girls’ sports. He revealed that for years, he had not allowed his daughter to wear girl clothes or play with girl toys. He forced her to wear boy clothes, get short haircuts, and participate in boys’ sports teams due to fear of teasing from other kids. However, he realized that his refusal to accept her true self was making her miserable. Boulware emotionally urged the committee to vote against the resolution, emphasizing the importance of letting transgender children be themselves and have a happy childhood.
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