By Karen Ocamb
February 19, 2015 :: 11:23 AM
Not too long ago, there was a mumbling backlash against the tabloids exposing the very private hush-hush fact that famous actors Warren Beatty and Annette Bening have a transgender son. Well, Stephen Ira, now 23, came out as trans at 14 and developed a life of his very own as a writer and political activist.
And in the past several years, more and more progressives groups have recognized the need for trans kids to come out early—and have honored the trans unit at the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital for helping them do that.
On Thursday, California Rep. Mike Honda (D- Silicon Valley) added his name to the growing list of parents and grandparents who support their transgender children:
Honda is not the only member of Congress with transgender relatives. Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has a 28 year old trans son, Rodrigo Lehtinen, of whom she, too, is proud. (See interview with him here.)
Her words of advice for other parents of trans kids:
“Don’t freak out, stay calm and don’t be afraid. Love your child because that person is your child whether it’s the person you wanted him or her to be or not. That’s my advice to parents: Never, never reject your child. That’s unconditional love no matter what.”
Of course, non-celebrities have trans kids, too.
Debi Jackson, a Southern conservative mother of a six-year-old transgender daughter named A.J., garnered media attention last July when her speech about her transgender daughter for the Listen To Your Mother series went viral with 535,335 views and led to attention from multiple news outlets.
Per GLAAD, Jackson also released a statement via the Transgender Violence Tracking Portal, which she addressed to religious families, after the tragic suicide of Leelah Alcorn, a 17-year-old transgender girl from Ohio.
While the Religious Right and anti-LGBT groups create intentionally misinformed and cruel initiatives such as the failed attempt by Privacy for All Students, others are coming forward offering love, support and hope.