Tuesday, February 11, 2020

NBA star Dwyane Wade talks candidly about accepting and empowering his trans child



It bothers me tremendously when people generalize about the African-American community when it comes homophobia and such. Forget the lazy idea expressed by some folks that black people are more homophobic than other groups because it's simply not true. That's not to say that homophobia doesn't exist in the black community. There is nuances and intricacies. But one thing is clear -  family is always important.

From Out:
With everything else going on in the world, it feels nothing short of amazing to watch Dwyane Wade, noted NBA star, talk about how he and his wife Gabrielle Union are not only supporting but also empowering their teenaged child Zaya. 
“First of all me and my wife, Gabrielle Union, we are proud parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community and we’re proud allies as well,” Wade said in a new interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The spot was to promote a new ESPN documentary based on the basketball player, called D Wade: Life Unexpected. “We take our roles and responsibilities as parents very seriously. So, when our child comes home with a question, when our child comes home with an issue, when our child comes home with anything, it’s our job as parents to listen to that to give them the best information that we can, the best feedback that we can, and that doesn’t change now that sexuality [and gender] is involved.” 
In December, Wade did an interview where he referred to the 12-year-old with she/her pronouns. Now, Wade has revealed that one day the child came home and sat Wade and Union down and asked not only to be referred to with those pronouns, but to also be called Zaya, as she comes into her identity.

With all of the lies propagated against trans children by the anti-LGBTQ industry, it's awesome to see a public figure telling his family's personal experience and steamrolling over all of the fear tactics and distortions.

1 comment:

Frank said...

Very encouraging to see a professional sports figure advocating for both his child and the LGBT community. His very personal and matter-of-fact discussion is the kind of discourse that ordinary sports fans and others will hear and hopefully take to heart.