I was scrolling down my Facebook timeline last week when I came across an Odyssey article titled "My Child Will Not Be Allowed To Be Transgender." (If you'd like to read it yourself, click here.) I didn't want to click on it, knowing that it would give the author undeserved publicity, but I couldn't contain my curiosity. I wondered, What reasons could this author possibly have to back up this statement? The article left me feeling angry, shocked, and ready to write a response. I know the author began the article with a disclaimer, but I was still upset at the callousness of her word choice and her insensitivity to a very personal and private subject.

Throughout the article, the author said things like "[Being transgender] is not fine, and to me, it never will be," "There is nothing normal about being transgender because human design wasn't intended to be this way," and "My child will not be allowed to express themselves as transgender." All of these statements are full of hate. It's painful for me to read such close-minded, negative language. I can't imagine how horrible it must be to read words like that as a transgender individual.

However, this wasn't the worst of it. The author went on to call being transgender "a mental illness" comparable to anorexia and depression that can be cured with the help of therapists, counselors, physicians, and prayer. As someone who suffers from a mental illness, I couldn't believe that the author is so misunderstood about what a mental illness actually is. A mental illness is a personal journey that takes a lot of work to overcome. If you have a mental illness, you do need the help of therapists and physicians to find a treatment plan that works for you. Being transgender is not a mental illness.

Being transgender is also not a choice. Transgender people feel like they are trapped in the wrong body, and many of them have felt that way since birth. They live their whole lives feeling like they cannot express who they truly are. Coming out as transgender takes a lot of courage. It's no surprise that transgender people are fearful of discussing their journey, especially after reading hateful language from a cisgendered, heterosexual author on Odyssey who was fortunate enough to identify with the body she was given.

I am also a cisgendered, heterosexual female, meaning that I identify as the gender I was born as and I am attracted to the opposite gender. But unlike the author of the "My Child Will Not Be Allowed To Be Transgender" article, I don't believe that this makes me any better than transgender people. We are all just that: people. We all deserve to be happy and loved. If that means that, someday, my baby Tim will want to be called Tina, then that is okay. If my son wants to date other men, then that is also okay.

I will always provide a safe and trusting environment for my children. They will be able to come to me with anything and know that I will still love them and support them, no matter what. A parent's ultimate goal should be to support and love their children in every decision, even if it isn't exactly what they had expected. It does not matter to me one bit what my child's gender identity is as long as they are happy.