This Transgender 10-Year-Old Has Her Parents’ Full Support

With all the crappy news lately about homophobia and bullying in the schoolyard not to mention idiot parents doing idiotic things it’s refreshing to hear this story about a 10-year-old child named Jackie, who lives in rural Ohio. The story goes like this: Jennifer and John had a baby boy, named him Jack. Jack was always “different,” and at first his parents thought he might be gay. He was bullied at school, never quite fit in. Then, one week after turning 10, Jackie came home from school and told his mom through tears, “I’m a girl and I can’t do this any more.” And so Jack became Jackie.

What’s remarkable about this story, which was featured today on ABC News, is not only Jackie’s young age but also Jennifer and John’s complete and utter acceptance of their child. It’s heartwarming, really. At first, they let Jackie dress up as a girl at home but go to school as a boy. But they’ve since decided to let their child live as a girl. She is now happy, with a thriving social life (in fact, she has more play dates now than ever before).

“When I look back I don’t feel like we ever truly had a son. We had a daughter that was unfortunately born in the wrong body,” Jennifer told ABC News (the couple has an older daughter, as well). The article quotes Dr. Johanna Olson, who runs the Transgender Youth Clinic at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, which has so far treated around 600 transgender kids.

“This idea that we’re going to support people at a young age is very, very new,” she says. “We often ask parents, Would you rather have a dead son than a life daughter? … These kids have a suicide rate that is astronomical compared to any other group.” She also believes that the earlier in life kids make the social transition, the better they function.

According to the report, Jennifer and John plan to put Jackie on puberty blockers this fall, which will prevent her from developing into an adolescent boy.

You can watch the full video below.

(Photo: abcnews.go.com)

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