While it shouldn’t be, loving a transgender person is a brave thing to do.

It is well known that when coming out of the closet, the risk of us losing family and friends is very real and much too common. Something that is talked about a lot less though is what happens to our friends and family that stand by our side when we come out of the closet. Our friends and family also have to come out to others as somebody who is the mother/father/daughter/son/sister/brother/friend/boyfriend/girlfriend of somebody who is transgender and they have to bare the societal shame of being so just like we do.

While it shouldn’t be, loving a transgender person is a brave thing to do, and as we lose friends and family who cannot accept us, the ones who do accept us also risk losing friends and family just by loving who we are.

Thank you all who are brave enough to stand with us, to fight with us and to love us.