On Wednesday, December 4th, York House School’s Gay-Straight Alliance was joined by GSA members from Crofton House School and Collingwood to welcome Michelle and Tracey Wilson as guest speakers at YHS.
Ten year old Tracey was born a boy with the name “Trey”, but self-identified early on as a girl. Together with her mom, Michelle, Tracey opened up to her audience at YHS about being transgender and about their family’s personal experiences in learning about Tracey and supporting her through her ongoing transition into becoming a girl.
Michelle documents their family’s journey on her blog, Truly Tracey where she also offers resources for other parents, kids, and family members interested in learning more about trans-health and support.
Many transgender people face discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression. Michelle described how she and her husband, Garfield have been careful to develop a positive community around Tracey, whilst also speaking out as a family for transgender rights within British Columbia.
It was evident in hearing Tracey speak that her experiences have already left her wise beyond her years and that the process of freely embracing her individual gender identity has her expressing newfound confidence. To the GSAs, Tracey offered a take-away message, that “when you do not accept yourself, you are being your own bully. You must love and accept who you are”.
To learn more about transgender issues, click here. To watch Tracey and her family featured on Global News’ 16X9, click here.
Alannah
Grade 11