From
CNN, (and those people probably went “Ooh” and “Oh, isn’t she just lovely!”)
‘A mom threw
a belated gender reveal party for her transgender son 17 years after she “got
it wrong”'
(CNN) -- Love and Brandon Gwaltney's gender
reveal party started out like any other.
The
couple from Akron, Ohio, wore matching outfits of pink and blue. There was a
cake decorated with pink and blue sprinkles and a big question mark on top. And
then, of course, there was the big box that typically contains the pink or blue
balloons that serve to reveal the gender of their baby.
But
as they counted down to one, what popped out were balloons of yellow, white,
purple and black -- the colors of the nonbinary flag -- followed by their
17-year-old child, coming out to the world with his new pronouns of he, him and
his.
"We wanted to announce that we got it
wrong 17 years ago when we told the world we were having a little girl, and
named that child McKenzie," Gwaltney, the mom, wrote in a Facebook post on
Saturday. "So we'd like to introduce you to our SON: Grey."
Schoolcraft,
a rising high school senior, helped organize the party. He chose the colors of
the balloons to represent his nonbinary gender identity and the colors of the
cake to be pink, white and blue to represent the colors of the transgender
pride flag.
"I
wanted the transgender flag in there because I still feel that going from
whatever you are originally to nonbinary is also a transition and it doesn't
just have to be straight female to male," Schoolcraft told CNN.
He
said it's been a long journey for him to discover his new identity as
nonbinary. When he came out to his parents a couple months ago, they supported
him, but he was nervous other relatives wouldn't feel the same.
Turns out, he had nothing to worry about as
the rest of his extended family also took it well and are doing their best to
use his correct pronouns, according to Gwaltney.
To
have that burden lifted off his shoulders felt "refreshing," the teen
said.
"You've been going by one name all
your life and to suddenly go by a new name, especially when your parents call
you by it, it's weird and has to register in your brain. But it's definitely
100% worth it and I'm glad we had (the reveal party)."
The
teen's happiness was captured in heartwarming pictures taken by Sarah Bride Photography, which Gwaltney shared
to her Facebook page. After forgetting to make the post private, it blew up,
being shared more than 50,000 times and garnering thousands of comments.
"What
a world this would be if all parents reacted this way, to their LGBTQ+
Children," one person commented.
Gwaltney
said she's been receiving lots of direct messages from people who are sharing
their own stories of coming out to their family.
"A lot of people have been reaching
out to me through messenger telling me their own stories of coming out to their
family," Gwaltney told CNN. "I've even had people ask me for advice,
saying 'I think my child might be nonbinary or transgender. How did you know?'
Those kinds of questions."
Her
best piece of advice for these parents would be to "have an open
mind."
"Don't
try to put them in a box. Regardless of what stage your kids are in, always
support them," said Gwaltney, who is now pregnant with her fourth child.
As
for Schoolcraft's advice for others who might be questioning their gender
identity or are too scared to come out, he said they should remember that only
"you get to make life what you want it to be."
"So
no matter what happens, even if someone doesn't accept you, that's not your
fault because you're loved and you're going to find people who will love and
support you," Schoolcraft said.
Link at
knuckledraggin.
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