A doting mom has warmed the heart of the internet after throwing a gender reveal celebration for her six-year-old trans daughter.
Mother Zoe Lynn took to Facebook to share pictures of her daughter, Avery, jumping out of a gender reveal box holding a bouquet of pink balloons. Zoe also opened up about the difficult journey she and her daughter had been on over the last few years, as Avery - who was born a boy named Colton - told her she was born the wrong gender.
Zoe started her post by explaining that she's always raised her children without assigning gender to specific things - such as clothing, cars, and toys. The mom also revealed that when Avery was two, she didn't bat an eyelid that her son wanted to wear a princess dress. She wrote:
"I’ll admit. I’ve fallen short on understanding the journey of different groups of people. Over the years, I’ve tried to educate myself about the LGBTQ Community and the struggles they’ve faced. I like to think I’m empathetic. That I’m open minded.
"At two my child requested a princess dress and without blinking it was in the shopping cart. Their bedroom was half cars and half baby dolls and princesses. They liked singing and performing so we signed them up for musical theatre and when the teacher said 'oh the boy costumes are over here!' They didn’t flinch, pointed to a purple princess dress and said 'that’s ok I want that one!'
"I don’t believe clothes or colors or toys have genders. Cory and I have always made that clear and kept all the choices open."
However, back in September, Zoe revealed that her husband, Cory, had called her to explain something that Avery - then known as Colton - had said to him. At just five years old, Colton told his parents: "My life didn’t turn out the way I planned. I think I should just stab myself in the throat."
Explaining how she felt hearing those words come from her child, Zoe said:
"And oh my god. I have never felt a worse feeling in my body. How. How can a 5 year old who doesn’t even know a fraction of what the world is or what life or death is even think like that??? Did we do something?? How do we fix it???
"I called the pediatrician, psychologists, friends. I went into panic mom mode from the school parking lot. And then I paused. Pulled up to the school and got my baby in the car."
When Zoe picked Colton up from school, she asked her young son what he meant when he said that his life hadn't turned out the way he had planned. To which Colton replied: "It’s a secret. I can’t tell you".
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After expressing her concern, Zoe managed to get Colton to explain how he was feeling and what he meant. Recalling that moment, Zoe says:
"Squirming in their seat, visibly bashful and nervous - my little kindergartener said, clear as day, 'I was supposed to be a girl but I’m a boy. So I think I should just stab myself in the throat.'"
Zoe explains that no matter how open-minded she has always been about breaking gender roles and stereotypes, she still "was not prepared".
"But we drove 30 minutes to the GAP and we went dress shopping," Zoe explained. "And the whole way there I told her about how she CAN be a girl. That people feel the way she does. That we have friends and family that were born and people thought they were one way but they always felt another.
"And I swear there was a little lightbulb of hope that went off in her brain."
"We went to Barnes and Noble and bought every book I could find (there were unfortunately only 3) and we read them that night."
Related - Dwayne Wade recently spoke out about his own daughter revealing she was trans:Fortunately, Zoe's incredible support brought her child comfort. A week later, Avery turned to her mom and said: "Mom. Thanks so much for teaching me about transgender. It really made me feel like I’m not alone."
Zoe ended her lengthy post with a message to all those reading it:
"And y’all. Please don’t get me wrong. I’ve CRIED over this. I fell in love with a baby boy for years and had to let that go. I had to mourn the memories of naming my child and the 'boy' things she will probably spend the rest of her life trying to forget. I cried because I KNOW that my child’s life is going to be so SO much harder than other kids lives now. I cried because I know I didn’t understand before and now so many other people who didn’t understand are going to target their lack of understanding at my baby.
"But then I stopped crying. Because as much as I feel I’ve struggled, it will be so much harder for her. And while we already have a few people in our lives who are vocally unsupportive - we have an INCREDIBLE, AMAZING group of people that have never made her feel more loved.
"So, as the proud mommy of a six year old girl, I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, Avery."
A truly heartwarming and very important story. Congratulations to Zoe and Cory on their wonderful and strong daughter - we wish Avery all the best in the future.
And as Zoe says in her post: "Your choices, as always, are to be KIND, be QUIET and educate yourself or to LEAVE. Thank you in advance."
