Published in Huffington Post “You had a beautiful baby boy.” Those were the first words I heard after my child was born. I named them Daniel and started dressing them in clothes made for boys. But, raising a child is often full of the unexpected. It soon became obvious that Danny wasn’t a stereotypical boy. They loved Barbie dolls, dressing up in skirts and shimmery things, and preferred playing with girls. I didn’t know...

Also published in the Huffington Post, here. This year we’ve broken a record, and it’s not a good one. More transgender women have been killed in the U.S. than in any other year on record. I’m heartbroken and angered that women keep dying, most of them women of color, most of them Black. Most were between the ages of 17-25, just coming into adulthood, when their lives, dreams and futures were stolen. They were sisters,...

My early parenting experiences were sometimes hard. I had a child who I thought was a boy. They liked to play with dolls and dress up as a princess and I didn’t know if that was okay. I’ve learned a lot since then, and today I’m sharing some of what I’ve learned about the impact of gender boxes on children. As early as two years of age, children learn that there are different rules for boys and girls that they are...