Tuesday 30 December 2014

RIP Leelah - Why I am so damn lucky to have my parents

Today I read the heartbreaking story of Leelah Alcorn the 17 year old girl who commited suicide yesterday because of her parents ignorance and bigotry in refusing to acknowledge her wish to live as the woman she was supposed to be. Leelah was born as Joshua Alcorn but identified as a woman. As you can read in the link above she was treated horrifically by her parents who refused to support her.

How anyone can treat their child with such narrow-minded prejudice sickens me. To make it worse her mother posted a tribute to Leelah on her Facebook page still referring to her as a "son" and completely neglecting to mention that Leelah's death was suicide due to her and her husband's attitude.

It bought home to be how damn lucky I am to have such fantastic parents who have supported me through all of my troubles with love, patience and understanding - even when I am being erratic and difficult. So I want to thank them over and over again for not being like Leelah's parents and effectively casting me out for being 'wrong' or broken.





If Leelah had parents a fraction as supportive as mine have been then she would still be alive today, hopefully taking steps towards the full transition she dreamed of. 

Whilst reading through the posts on my Tumblr I came across a story the polar opposite of Leelah's, it concerned a Reddit user HeMeYou who found out that his son had been googling "I'm gay what now?". The father wanted to make sure that his son felt supported and loved so reached out to the internet community for their advice on how best to handle the situation. To cut a long story short his son reached out to him and his father responded with the love and support he needed ( read the full story here). A beautiful story of how families should be, full of love and support and encouragement. 

So Mum and Dad thank you, thank you, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for everything you've done and continue to do for me.

Leelah I really hope that you can see that the world is offering you the love and support you so badly deserved. RIP beautiful girl. 

Love Jen
XxxX



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