This is such a tough situation for a parent to be in. R. Kelly and ex-wife Andrea have a daughter named Jaya. Jaya is now 14 years old and has decided to live her life as a male named Jay. She’s considered transgendered. She identifies with the opposite sex, feels she was born in the wrong body and chooses to live her life as a male. Jay prefers to be called “handsome” other than “pretty”. Jay wants to be referred to as “he” not “she.” Some blog sites found the 14 year old’s Facebook page, and put out the child’s sexual orientation, forcibly outing him. Jay’s mother Andrea publicly came to Jay’s defense and has been quite supportive. R. Kelly on the other hand has continued to not only be a absent from his child’s life, refused to speak on the matter. As a parent, what do/can you do?
Here’s my thing, you can’t pick your child’s sexual orientation. I’ve always felt that trans was a harder pill to swallow than a child being gay because trans doesn’t mean your child likes the same sex, it means they don’t agree with the sex they were assigned. It’s internal. It’s a struggle. That said, a child needs their parents through something like this. It’s hard for them, especially when BOTH parents are in the public eye and they become the topic of blog discussions. ESPECIALLY when blogs are saying it’s an unstable upbringing that “made your child transgender”. You can read that foolishness HERE. Kids need to know that you support them. For R. Kelly, whether he’s been absent all Jay’s life or not, to not publicly offer words of empowerment to his own child is quite sad to me.
How would you handle your child opening up to you that they feel they are transgender? Do you support your child or tuck it away and try to change it? Sound off!
