Dear friends,
Just wanted to share this with you: An essay I wrote for the the New York Times about trans kids around the world. It was such an honor to collect these stories, and I'm so happy to see them shared far and wide via the Times.
As always, thank YOU for s...
2021-06-24 18:11:21 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear friends,
In my last post, I shared the first part of the documentary I helped produce for the BBC World Service.
Part 2 is now available here. I'm particularly excited about Part 2, because it shares sto...
2021-05-10 16:53:32 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear friends,
One of the reasons I've been slow to create any new podcast episodes is that I've been hard at work on another project: Telling our story on the BBC World Service! Even better, I've had a chance to help share the stories of other parents like me - from around the planet.
I've always wondered how my counterparts were faring in other countries. I...
2021-04-30 18:54:04 +0000 UTC View PostDear friends,
I hope that 2021 is starting off well for you. I hope it finds you healthy and safe and surrounded by love.
We are so very grateful for your support for us, through the ups and downs of the past months and years. It sustains us when things get bumpy to know that you are listening and cheering us on. And I am grateful for your patience, as I don...
2021-01-28 21:01:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear friends,
I have known this day was coming for nearly ten years, ever since my three-year-old child first began to tell me that “he” was actually a girl. My child has been anticipating it, too, for all these years, asking me again and again, “When do I get the medicine to make sure I don’t become a boy, Mama?”
And for years, my answer was, “Not for a long...
2020-11-10 22:14:59 +0000 UTC View PostDear friends,
In my last post, I explained how my daughter asked me to delete the latest episode of the podcast, because it shared some things she wanted to keep private.
A few days later, she told me that she thought I should put the episode back up, but without the parts that she wanted kept priv...
2020-11-02 20:52:42 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear friends,
You may have noticed that I removed my latest episode from the “How to Be a Girl” podcast feed. And because you have been supporting us with your love, kind words, and hard-earned dollars, I wanted to explain why I did this.
Basically, Mom made a mistake. I included material in the episode without getting my daughter’s clear approval in advance. ...
2020-10-19 20:34:19 +0000 UTC View Post
I wanted you to know first!
I'm so incredibly grateful for your support of my podcast. I hope you'll enjoy my book, too!
Published by Audible and narrated by yours truly, it's an audio memoir that tells the whole story of my daughter's transition and our struggles (and triumphs!) over the years. &...
2020-10-08 21:37:15 +0000 UTC View Post
So much time has passed since my last episode. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so very long. (Oh my, I just checked and it is now just shy of a YEAR since my last episode! Where does the time go?!) I want to thank you for hanging in there with me. It's been a weird and wild year for us, much of it good but much of it very hard.
But we are safe and healthy...
2020-09-19 00:48:52 +0000 UTC View Post
I want you to meet my good friend, Emma. When she was a little girl, she was just like my daughter. But no one knew her for 60 years. I'm so glad she's here now.
You can hear Emma's story (and the story of her friendship with me and my daughter) in the latest episode:
2019-09-23 20:40:32 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear friends,
Just checking in to let you know I'm OK (though still hacking my way through a fairly dense forest), and to wish you a Happy Pride Month!
I also wanted to share this drawing that my daughter M. made. (She gave me permission to share it with you, by the way. I think she's pretty proud of it.)
Here's the story behind it: Last week, M. told me that...
2019-06-10 22:24:21 +0000 UTC View PostDear friends,
I wanted to check in with an update, as it’s been a fairly long stretch since you’ve heard anything from me. First and foremost: My kiddo is doing GREAT. So far, she’s told a handful of friends at her new school that she’s trans, and thus far they (and their parents, whom I spoke with) have been kind, supportive, and respectful of our request that they keep this info...
2019-05-13 17:22:45 +0000 UTC View Post
It's official: She's a tween.
It seemed like a good time to sit down and ask my 11-year-old about her world, and get a snapshot of what she thinks and how she's doing. We covered some pretty typical tween girl stuff: Gossip, fashion, cliques. And we also covered some not-so-typical stuff, including what puberty looks like from the perspective of a transgender girl. 2019-01-25 04:13:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Happy (almost) New Year!
2018 has certainly been a big year for us - a wedding, a move, a new school. We're looking forward to more good things (but perhaps a little less change!) in 2019. It promises to be an interesting year: As you'll hear in this episode, my daughter...
2018-12-31 20:59:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Dear friends,
This latest episode gives you a little update on our new life here in the suburbs and some of the challenges we're encountering. You'll also get to hear how my daughter is faring in her new school, plus: Wedding audio!
Listen here: 2018-11-29 23:23:01 +0000 UTC View Post
As we wait for the results of today's elections, I wanted to share a political story with you that gives me hope.
You can listen here:
http://www.howtobeagirlpodcast.com/episodes/episode-xxvi-sarah-mcbride
I hope Sarah's story gives you hope, too. 2018-11-07 00:51:44 +0000 UTC View Post
At long last, the follow-up episode with advice from my (AMAZING) listeners is here. I'm sorry it took so long for this one.
Thank you to everyone who sent me advice, via voice memos and emails. Your response was so helpful and wise...
2018-10-30 21:58:59 +0000 UTC View Post
In the latest episode, we're grappling with how to handle my daughter's transition to a new school. In just a few weeks, she'll be the "new girl" in fifth grade at a school where we know practically no one, and where no one (except for a handful of staff member...
2018-08-20 17:32:29 +0000 UTC View Post(Note: If you haven't listened to my latest episode yet, you might want to do so now - otherwise this post won't make much sense.)
I decided to take my friend's advice and try baking for the new neighbors.
Can't ...
2018-07-31 17:41:42 +0000 UTC View Post
We've moved to a new part of town. And we're just starting to get to know our new neighborhood.
It's pretty different from our old neighborhood. We used to be in the heart of the city, and now we're in the suburbs. My daughter loves the fact that there are kids everywhere and trampolines in every other back yard. I love the quiet and the big garden.
<... 2018-07-31 17:14:20 +0000 UTC View Post
This is the rare month when I manage to create a second episode, and I had a lot of fun working on this one. It features two people I love very much: My daughter, as usual, and her soon-to-be stepdad.
They were both reticent to sit down and do the interv...
2018-05-17 07:55:25 +0000 UTC View Post
I'll never forget the day, soon after my four-year-old "son" told me she was my daughter, when I went online and found a video of little Jazz talking with Barbara Walters. Her family's courage literally changed the course of our lives.
It was such an honor to get to talk with Jazz and Jeanette Jennings for this episode. They are my heroes!!
You can listen here: 2018-05-10 16:53:23 +0000 UTC View Post
This was a tough episode to produce. But making it has helped me work through what happened when one of my daughter's friends let her down.
My daughter and I both learned a lot from the experience - about secrets, trust, friendship, and forgiveness. I hope you get something out of it, too.
Dear (MUCH appreciated!) supporter of "How to Be a Girl,"
I'm releasing the first episode of the new season tomorrow, but I wanted my Patreon supporters to get the very first listen. Here's a little bit of the episode, just for you.
And yes, it's a bit on the dark side. This has been a rough one, I have to admit. It was hard ...
2018-04-25 22:54:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello friends! Thank you SO MUCH for supporting "How to Be a Girl" on Patreon. I really am grateful for it. Your donation is instrumental in helping keep this podcast going.
I wanted to let you know that I'll be launching a new season of HTBAG next week. You can listen to the preview here: 2018-04-19 08:31:00 +0000 UTC View Post
This isn't exactly an episode - it's more of an update on the past few months, which have been both really horrible and really wonderful, all at once.
Listen here: 2017-07-06 23:35:50 +0000 UTC View Post
I thought I was pretty brave until I met my counterpart from a red state.
http://www.howtobeagirlpodcast.com/episodes/episode-xix-red-state-mama
2017-02-27 19:00:15 +0000 UTC View Post
This tiny episode is mostly silly, and a little bit serious. I also have some news. Plus, cat videos!
(And this is just a little update, so Patreon will NOT be charging my wonderful patrons for it - I just wanted you to know about it!! xoxo)
I'm not transgender, but my daughter is. That means she needs someone to model the future who isn't me: A transgender big sister.
http://www.howtobeagirlpodcast.com/...
2017-02-02 00:35:26 +0000 UTC View Post
In 2013, Obama opened a window for transgender people when he made it easier to change the gender on your Social Security record. But with Trump coming into office, it looks like that window is about to close. I hadn’t been in much of a rush to change my 9-year-old transgender daughter’s Social Security record, 2017-01-13 17:56:00 +0000 UTC View Post