<i></i> <i></i> <i></i> 1<p><img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/12/c-users-mahad-downloads-20-12-3533-jpg.jpeg"/></p> <p>In the past half century, ideals of freedom, liberty and equality have been promulgated like never before. The era of globalization has allowed for these ideals to flourish; resulting in, amongst other things, movements the world over for the rights of minorities. Despite the positive changes brought forth by many of these movements, minorities in many parts of the world continue to be persecuted and to face harsh social constraints.</p> <p>One of these minority groups that continues to be discriminated against in large numbers is the transgender community. Many individuals bash the community by referring to the individuals within it as ‘mentally ill’ or by asserting that the desire to change one’s’ gender is not due to biological differences, rather it’s ‘in the person’s head’.</p> <p>Many transgenders have tried to challenge societal gender roles through their actions. Kaci Sullivan in a quest to extinguish the existing stereotypes has become the first person to give birth on one occasion, whilst living as a woman, and on the second occasion, whilst identifying himself as a man.</p> <h2>Who is Kaci Sullivan?</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/12/word-image-1499.jpeg"/>News Dog Media <p>Kaci Sullivan is a thirty-year old transgender from Wisconsin, USA. He was born as a female and identified as such till his mid-twenties. Prior to his transition into manhood, he met his ex-husband and the relationship resulted in the birth of a baby boy. Three months after the birth of his first child, Kaci came out to his family and friends. The declaration cost him his marriage and many of his former friends. Despite the huge social repercussions, Sullivan says that he felt ‘totally liberated’. Soon after, at the age of 25, Sullivan began his transition by taking male hormones and undergoing a double mastectomy.</p> <p>He then met his current partner, Steven, through an online dating service. The union resulted in Kaci becoming pregnant naturally and after enjoying a normal pregnancy, he gave birth to a healthy baby.</p> <h2>The Pregnancy Journey</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/12/word-image-1500.jpeg"/>News Dog Media <p>Kaci Sullivan became pregnant naturally and went on to enjoy a regular pregnancy. The entire journey of his pregnancy was documented on social media. A YouTube channel, My Trans Pregnancy, was set up and many pictures and posts were shared on platforms such as Facebook.</p> <p>As the baby bump grew larger, Sullivan mentions that he was nervous about journeying about in public. This was due to the stigma attached with the pregnancy and the fact that people in public would stare. Despite the anxiety associated with how the people around would react, Kaci mentions that the most important thing for him was sending a message across. The message being that pregnancy is not a gendered thing.</p> <h2>Thoughts on Birth</h2> <p>In order to give birth the second time, Kaci underwent a c-section after seven days in labor. The baby, named Phoenix, came out healthy on Nov. 11, 2017. Upon being asked about the birth of the newest addition to his family, Kaci said, “The moment the baby came out and I got to hear them cry was indescribable. It’s incredible to think that I had made this little human.</p> <p>After 26 weeks of morning sickness and seven days in labor, it was such a beautiful moment.” His words show that no matter whether a man or woman, the love for one’s child remains.</p> <p>He further goes on to comment on how much the birth of this child means to him and how grateful and happy he is to have had a supportive family during the experience. The pregnancy and subsequent birth have allowed him to form a deeper connection with his family and have bought Kaci and Steven even closer together.</p> <h2>Responding to Critics</h2> <p>Due to the nature of his pregnancy and his lifestyle which seeks to do away with traditional gender roles, Kaci has been unsurprisingly subject to a great degree of criticism from conservative quarters.</p> <p>These quarters were in Kaci’s words, ‘perturbed’ by the idea of him giving birth. He went on to state that these individuals “will try and find our safe space and violate it with their opinions, but they are jerks.” Kaci stated that she refuses to engage in conversation with these people and just chooses to ignore the negative comments. He does not believe it is worth his time or energy to respond to these ‘jerks’.</p> <p>Kaci does not believe in make believe gender roles and does not see pregnancy as inherently feminine. As such, she was not threatened by the idea of having a child whilst living as a man. He states that it did not affect how he viewed himself and the pregnancy did not make him feel any less masculine.</p> <h2>On Raising the Child</h2> <p>Kaci has mentioned that the baby will refer to him as ‘dad’ in a way which has become fairly common amongst homosexual male couples that adopt. Furthermore, Kaci refuses to answer questions regarding the child’s sexual orientation as he believes it is ‘irrelevant’ whether the child is a boy or a girl.</p> <p>Speaking on the child’s sexual orientation, Kaci stated, “I wish people realized that they’re not asking me about the baby’s gender identity. There is no way anyone could know that. They’re asking me what my baby’s genitals look like. This is a creepy question when we break it down.”</p> <p>Kaci feels that the baby should be put in an environment whereby they can decide their own identity without worrying about social norms. There is no need to sexualize little children, and the child will discover its own gender identity in due time.</p> <p>Kaci and her partner, Steven, will raise the child as gender-neutral. In order to do so, they will dress the child in gender-neutral clothing and buy gender-neutral toys. The couple believes that this will allow the child, Phoenix, to ‘express themselves in the way they feel right.</p> <h2>Views on Traditional Gender Roles</h2> <p>Kaci is of the view that, “our sex and gender identity have nothing to do with socially constructed gender roles. These are three entirely separate concepts. The architecture of your brain does not change depending on what color you are dressed in as a baby,”</p> <p>Such a viewpoint suggests that sex, gender identity and gender roles are three distinct concepts. Sex is related, in layman’s terms, to the reproductive organs that a person has at birth. On the other hand gender identity is related to which gender the individual themselves identifies with. Societal gender roles, on the other hand, relate to how society perceives a person of a particular gender should act.</p> <p>There is no doubt that these concepts are connected and interrelated but they it is important to understand the distinction. The crux of Kaci’s statement implies that gender identity whilst being a personal choice is entirely dependant on biological factors that one has no control over.</p> <p>He believes that this identification is not based in any way on environmental factors as well and so the clothing of the baby does not affect this identity, and can only affect whether or not an individual represses their instincts.</p> <i></i>