Julia Fletcher vividly remembers the day her child, Elliot, came out as transgender. "It was August 21, 2013," she says. "It was the second day of his senior year of high school. He was 17." Elliot had been designated a female at birth, but identified as male. And on that August day in 2013, he told his family that he wanted to begin living as a boy. Despite the enormity of the announcement, the family wasn't surprised. "We had said goodbye to the concept of a little girl in her Christmas dress long before," says Julia. "So by the time he came out to us,...
- 1/8/2015
- by Steve Helling, @stevehelling
- PEOPLE.com
When transgender teen Leelah Alcorn committed suicide by walking into traffic on Sunday, her death - and suicide note - sparked a nationwide debate about how families should react when a child comes out as transgender. "I immediately told my mom," Leelah wrote about coming out in an emotional suicide note posted on her Tumblr account. "She reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn't make mistakes, that I am wrong." When the note went public, the reaction was swift - and heated. Leelah's name began trending on Twitter,...
- 1/2/2015
- by Steve Helling, @stevehelling
- PEOPLE.com
When transgender teen Leelah Alcorn committed suicide by walking into traffic on Sunday, her death - and suicide note - sparked a nationwide debate about how families should react when a child comes out as transgender. "I immediately told my mom," Leelah wrote about coming out in an emotional suicide note posted on her Tumblr account. "She reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn't make mistakes, that I am wrong." When the note went public, the reaction was swift - and heated. Leelah's name began trending on Twitter,...
- 1/2/2015
- by Steve Helling, @stevehelling
- PEOPLE.com
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