Posted on 08/19/2019 3:36:51 PM PDT by Morgana
The first thing Braiden Schirtzinger felt was the pop like a bursting balloon.
A doctor had said today could be the day, and a Google search said exercise could help speed up the process. So here Braiden was, under a warm late-April sun shaded by oak and willow trees, taking a third lap around a suburban Virginia neighborhood, determined to walk out a baby.
Braiden stopped on the sidewalk, feeling the liquid trickling through baggy gray basketball shorts.
Mom, get in the car, Braiden said over the phone. My water just broke.
For nine exhausting months, Braiden had lived in a body that felt more feminine, with its swelling belly and breasts, than Braiden had ever felt inside. And yet this transformation was the means to what the 26-year-old had always wanted to become: a mom.
Braiden was born biologically female but has always identified as more masculine than feminine. For months before the pregnancy, Braiden had taken testosterone shots, leading to a deeper voice, a sharper jaw, more muscular arms. But Braiden is no longer a transgender man.
At an LGBTQ support group almost two years ago, Braiden heard someone use a word that resonated: non-binary. It felt like the best way to describe who Braiden was not a he or a she, but a they, part of what appears to be a growing group of Americans who identify as genders other than male or female.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The other day, I saw a bunch of young boys with their skate boards and cell phones, waiting to be picked up by someone. They were having sincere conversations together, and it struck me that I didn’t hear a bad word out of any of their mouths. There must have been 3 different ‘races’ represented. They were good, very natural, kids.
Every time I start to worry about the future, I see something like this, and my faith is restored.
We hear about all of the broken ones, while the many good ones don’t make the news.
Baste not, want not
I’m getting really tired of this “slice of life”, emotional style of writing. Pure propaganda.
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