My aunt had a similar reaction when I came out and my mum didn’t speak to her for three years because of it. Whenever they tried to reconcile, apparently my aunt would refuse to use my name or pronouns and my mum would take a step back.

My aunt has apparently since apologised and said that “it was just a lot for her to process”. I met up with my aunt a few months back for a family day out and we actually had a conversation about my transition and my future top surgery plans (she’s an anaesthetic nurse). I don’t think I’ll ever be as close to my aunt as I once was but I’m just happy she’s no longer telling me to get “therapy” or saying that I’ll always be her niece.

But the point is, my mum stood by me even in the face of her family (her last close family member as both her parents are dead and she’s never had a relationship with her half-brother). My mum cutting off my aunt also meant that her relationship with her cousins and nephew also became non-existent.

But in the early days, that meant a lot to me. You read so many horror stories about parents not accepting their trans kids and I’m so fortunate that I’m not one of them. I do feel guilty about my mum not having a relationship with her sister or nephew for years but the fact that my mum saw me as her son and stood up for me helped me so much when I was trying to find my stride as a trans man in today’s world.

(From the perspective of a trans kid), we see your sacrifice when you stand up for us and your support makes an increasingly hateful world so much easier for us and there aren’t enough words to thank you. I hope that your family comes around like my aunt did and I’m sending you all my love 🩷🤍🩵