"When Stephen Chukumba's son, Hobbes, came out to him as trans at the age of 11, Chukumba didn't have anyone to turn to. His wife had passed away from breast cancer the year prior, and Chukumba didn't know any other parents of trans children who could help guide him or explain the kinds of medical treatment his son would need. Google searches were actively unhelpful, telling Chukumba that his child's gender was a "phase" and claiming that he "shouldn't give into his fantasies.""
"Being a Black father of a Black trans son added an additional layer to the isolation they felt. Although Chukumba eventually found support groups that allowed him to connect to a vast network of parents with gender-diverse children, he says that many of those organizations unintentionally centered the perspectives of white families. There was little room to talk about the fact that, as a man of color, advocating for his son means fighting not only transphobia but implicit racism."
Stephen Chukumba's son Hobbes came out as trans at age 11, and Chukumba had no immediate resources after his wife's death. Initial online searches labeled his child's gender a "phase" and dismissed transitions as fantasies, leaving him without clear medical guidance. He later connected with support groups but found many centered white family perspectives, limiting space to address the intersection of transphobia and racism. Advocating for Hobbes required confronting both healthcare barriers and implicit racial bias. In medical settings staff repeatedly misgendered Hobbes despite explicit corrections, contributing to ongoing isolation and mistrust.
Read at LGBTQ Nation
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]