VANCOUVER – In the wake of Bruce Jenner’s highly-rated TV interview, a B.C. teen is speaking out about his transgender journey.
Jason Nahirney is a twin. He and his sister Kaylin were adopted by a Vancouver couple when they were young.
Even though Jason was born a girl, he felt he was supposed to be a boy and started asking questions around age three.
“I just kind of thought about it as being tomboy and then realizing, no, it’s not a tomboy, I’m actually a boy,” says Jason. “But I didn’t know what it was called then.”
His mom, Lois, says she suspected Jason was transgender when he was persistent in asking questions about it.
Two months ago, 13-year-old Jasmine became Jason. He told his friends, cut his hair and joined cadets. “I’ve been watching a lot of transgender videos lately,” he says. “I used to watch them all the time, before I came out, because I wanted to be like them and have the courage to actually do the transformation.”
His parents say they just want him to be happy.
“I think, for me, the thing that I think about most is I was worried for her at school and how that would work out,” says Lois, who adds she will eventually start calling Jason a ‘he’.
However, everyone at school has been very supportive.
This summer the family is travelling to Vietnam to reunite the twins with their biological family. Jason says he is worried because they have only known him as a girl.
“I don’t know what to think about that when I come out to them as transgender,” he says.
Lois says they are a family and whatever they need to do to support each other, they will do.
– With files from Randene Neill
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