Transgender Awareness Week is an annual observation that runs from 13 November to 19 November, ahead of Transgender Day of Remembrance that is observed on 20 November.
The week aims to educate people about transgender issues, and has included screenings of films close to the community as was as personal testimonies from transgender and gender-nonconforming people. The community faces many hardships, including a lack of acceptance, but these celeb parents have shown what it means to embrace and support their trans children.
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Marlon Wayans
© Jason MendezActor and comedian Marlon Wayans revealed in November that he was the father to a transgender son, Kai. "I have a daughter that transitioned into a son," he explained on the Breakfast Club podcast, before revealing that his upcoming comedy show was inspired by Kai's transition. "I talk about the transition. Not her, his… their transition, but my transition as a parent, going from ignorance and denial to complete unconditional love and acceptance."
He continued: "I just want my kids to be free. I want them to be free in spirit, free in thought, free to be themselves. The more you know yourself, the more you can govern yourself; the more you live your truth, the happier your existence.
"So, if they can't get that in the household with their father and their mother, who the [expletive] do I send them out into the world with that kind of confidence? And I'm just so proud of them for being them. But that don’t mean that they ain't got jokes!"
The 51-year-old admitted that he sometimes "messed up" with Kai's pronouns, but shared the joy that his son has in seeing him trying.
Cher
© Photo: Getty ImagesCher is a proud mom to son Chaz Bono, and became involved in LGBTQ+ activism when Chaz initially came out as a lesbian, before he transitioned between 2009 and 2010.
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Like many, Cher admitted that she initially struggled with the news before growing to accept it. In an interview with Christine Amanpour in 2020, the Believe singer explained: "It wasn't easy. Like I remember calling, and the old message — the old Chaz message was on the phone — and that was very difficult. But then you have one child, but you don't really lose them — they just are in a different shape."
She added: "Chaz is so happy, so unbelievably happy, and I don't know what the people's problems are. They're fearful, and they just don't understand how to react to it."
Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest
© Photo: Getty ImagesJamie Lee Curtis and husband Christopher Guest proudly support daughter Ruby, who came out as trans last year. Last July, the Halloween star spoke about her daughter's transition in an interview with AARP where she said her and her husband "have watched in wonder and pride as our son became our daughter Ruby".
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And just last month, the star stepped out at the premiere of Halloween Ends with both Ruby and other daughter Annie supporting her.
Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade
© Photo: Getty ImagesGabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade are proud parents to their children, including their trans daughter Zaya. The couple shared their daughter's identity in February 2020, with Dwyane saying it was their "job as parents to listen" to their children and give the best "advice and feedback" where possible.
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Speaking to Variety in 2020, Gabrielle said: "We're just loving and accepting our kids, which is not revolutionary. To some people it's nuts. For those people who have spoken out so publicly against our family … I'm not standing on my own. The cavalry is arriving, and they are unafraid to stand in their truth and not be compromising when we look at right and wrong."
Cynthia Nixon
© Photo: InstagramCynthia Nixon is a doting mom-of-three, and in 2018 she revealed that her eldest son, Samuel, is transgender. Speaking about accepting her son, she told Homo Sapiens hosts Alan Cumming and Chris Sweeney that she had been browsing articles where parents of trans children had spoken about their struggles with initially accepting their child.
"There was one dad who said 'At a certain point, the decision seemed to me I could have a dead son or a live daughter' and it's like, after you say that, what more is there to say?" she explained. "You can make all the arguments that you want… but the fact is, as a parent, as a human, you should listen to what people tell you about themselves."
Charlize Theron
© Photo: InstagramCharlize Theron has been supporting her daughter's exploration of her gender identity from a very young age, explaining to the Daily Mail back in 2019 when speaking about her oldest daughter: "I thought she was a boy, too. Until she looked at me at 3 years old and said, 'I am not a boy!'"
Although Charlize didn't initially wish to share the news, she went public after seeing her daughter getting hurt by publications using the wrong pronouns to describe her. Speaking to PrideSource, she shared: "I think it became harder for us the older she got that people were still writing about her in the wrong pronouns, and also I was still talking about her in the press using the wrong pronoun."
However, she has not shared many details about daughter in order to protect her privacy, saying: "My daughter's story is really her story. And one day, if she chooses, she'll tell her story."
Adjoa Andoh
© Ken McKay/ITV/ShutterstockBridgerton star Adjoa Andoh is a proud parent to her three children, and has fiercely defended her transgender son, Liam, who came out when he was a teenager, from anti-trans trolls.
In an interview with Red, the star shared: "My feeling is hold your peace until you know of what you speak. Self-harm and death among young trans people are disproportionately high. Why on earth are we creating a society that means people feel so reviled and un-allowable that they would rather end their lives? For me, your gig as a parent is to raise your child up, keep them from falling under a bus and teach them to do unto others."
She added: "I'm a mother and I want all my children to thrive; it's a no-brainer."
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