Isaac
he/him, 22,
Port Richey, Florida
“I don’t have to think about what she thinks of me.”
At first when I came out to my mom at sixteen, she didn’t want me to tell anybody, because she was worried about her image. She was afraid of being judged by her family and her colleagues. She kind of had the attitude that a transgender child could never be her child. It was frustrating, and I dealt with a lot of self-hatred at the time. I felt ostracized from her, like part of who I was wasn’t good enough.
Things are better now, because there is more distance between us. I don’t see her as often, and I don’t have to think about what she thinks of me. There’s part of her that’s still expecting me to get over this and detransition, but I have enough of a grasp on who I am to know that’s not going to happen.
In the last couple of months, she’s been trying to use my new name, and I can see she’s making an effort. It’s been seven years since I came out to her, and finally having a little bit of acceptance is like a breath of fresh air.