Brave Parent Carefully Explains Non-Binary Gender To Kids, And Twitter Is Rallying Behind Them
by MADISON VANDERBERG Published Sep 28, 2018
Advertisement
An anonymous parent went viral recently after their cool and inclusive “talk” with their kid about the gender spectrum ended up on Twitter. Jay Jackson, who identifies as non-binary, was at work when a kid asked them if they were “a boy or a girl.”

Jay told The Independent that when the kid asked, they were “nervous to respond to the kid’s question at all because of how the parent might react, but they were asking so politely and curiously so I just blurted it out as simply as I could.”

Jay blurted out “neither.”

Jay Jackson / Instagram
“At work a kid asked me if i was a boy or a girl so i said ‘neither,'” Jay began their post on Twitter.

Then, the child's parents stepped in to help explain.
Then, the child's parents stepped in to help explain.
Jay Jackson / Twitter
“Their parent explained that some people are ‘he,’ some are ‘she,’ and others are ‘they’ – the kid replied that they had never thought of that, and the parent said they could think about it more together later,” Jay continued.

Jay Jackson / Instagram
“Parenting done right, i welled up, my coworkers were emotional, it was everything,” Jay added.

Jay Jackson / Twitter
“The parent also said that just because we’re told by other people that we are something doesn’t mean that its true,” Jay wrote.

Jay Jackson / Twitter
After the thread went viral, Jay’s boss joked that they’d hire security if needed to deal with Jay’s newfound fame viral fame.

Jay Jackson / Twitter
“My manager is enjoying the story going viral as much as I am I reckon,” Jay wrote. “Love my job, love the team I work with.”

Jay Jackson / Instagram
“It was a lovely and heartwarming interaction to have, that I wish was more common,” they later told The Independent.

Jay Jackson / Twitter
Luckily, the response to the interaction was overwhelmingly positive.

Jay Jackson / Twitter
“I do hope more parents respond like this in the future,” wrote on Twitter user.

Jay Jackson / Twitter
Something that was continually pointed out was how children accept the gender spectrum with ease, despite the fact that so many adults are resistant to the idea.

Jay Jackson / Instagram
Sadly, Jay did receive their fair share of negative and hurtful comments.

“The tweet getting so much attention was very unexpected, and the responses have been harder to deal with than I would have thought,” Jay told The Independent, who added that they’ve received death threats over the tweet.

Jay Jackson / Instargam
“It’s been a very emotional couple of days seeing so much interaction with my experience from all perspectives,” Jay added in the interview.

https://www.littlethings.com/parent-viral-explaining-non-binary-mea...