"I want other parents to know that it could be a life-or-death decision if you don't handle it right. Love your child. Carry the same love you had when they first came out of the womb, and you first saw them."

In today's special episode, we’re joined by Peggy Gillespie, author of "Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families." Peggy's book, with a foreword by Jazz and Jeanette Jennings, depicts life stories and portraits of transgender and nonbinary people and their families. We get to know some of the stories in "Authentic Selves" first-hand since we are joined by Lana, Ted, Joseph and Tamira, and Christian, who are featured in the book and also in the award-winning traveling exhibits that Peggy organizes through Family Diversity Projects. 

In this first part of our two-part series panel discussion, you'll learn more about Peggy's background and motivation for developing her beautiful works of art, not only for the trans and nonbinary community but for society as a whole. You'll hear a little of Lana’s story and her struggles coming out as a transgender woman within her Caribbean-American culture, and you'll enjoy meeting Ted and hearing about his wonderful rainbow family.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• About Peggy's background and how this extraordinary project was born (3:40 )
• The importance of starting meaningful discussions with our children (9:50 )
• A short introduction to the panel's guests and their stories (13:10 )
• Lana shares her experiences coming out as a transgender woman (24:20 )
• The moment Ted realized his assigned gender wasn't aligned with who he was (32:00 )
• About a rainbow family with three dads (35:50 )

Resources:

• Book: Peggy Gillespie - Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families
• Family Diversity Projects: a non-profit organization with award-winning traveling photo-text exhibits, co-founded by Peggy Gillespie and Gigi Kaeser

Connect with Jackie and Bridget:

• Transgender Support: Becoming a True Ally Video Course on Vimeo
• Transgender School Patreon Membership with all exclusive content
• Transgender School on Medium
• Instagram
• Website 
• Facebook
• Community Facebook Group
• YouTube

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