A veteran political journalist in the United States says his daughter’s transition from female to male hasn’t been an easy road, but that he has come to accept and even embrace it.
Jon Ralston, a contributing editor to Politico and the host of Ralston Live on PBS, is using his public pulpit to share the very personal story of his son Jake’s transition. Until recently, when Jake had the name on his birth certificate changed by a judge in Nevada, he was Madeline, or “Maddy” for short.
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“I admit I sometimes still have a hard time with it all,” Ralston wrote in a blog post that has since been shared widely on social media.
He titled it simply “The child I love.”
“I look around the house, see the pictures of me with my little girl and my eyes fill with tears. But those memories are forever, and Maddy told me not to take them down, that she cherishes those, too.”
By the end of the post, Ralston begins referring to Jake as “he,” reflecting his son’s new identity. Ralston recalls Maddy’s childhood, saying she always preferred dressing like a boy. After losing her mother and having to switch schools, however, he figured she was just going through a “phase.”
But the truth, he explains, was that he was the one in denial.
“When she got to high school, she was bullied during her freshman year,” he wrote. “High school girls are the worst. They whispered she was a lesbian, and I figured they were right. I didn’t care. She was my Maddy. That’s all that mattered.”
In college, his now-son faced even more backlash, Ralston adds, and was told he is “an abomination of God,” that his mother killed herself because she was ashamed of him, and that he is going to hell.
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As he prepares to meet Jake formally for the first time, Ralston said the political and moral debate raging in the United States over transgender rights is not top-of-mind.
“I don’t want to talk about bathrooms or locker rooms. I don’t want to debate the public policy issues in North Carolina … there will be plenty of time for that.”
Speaking to the Washington Post, Jake said he is proud of his father’s blog post and his willingness to share the family’s story.
“He has not only stood up for our family, but he’s stood up for thousands of families like us.”
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