Here’s a thoughtful read to end your week: Aren Aizura’s piece at Mutha Magazine: “Chestfeeding,” about parenting as a trans, queer dad with another trans, queer dad.
Aizura asserts the lack of contradiction in being a male, trans dad who gave birth and is “feeding my child with milk from my body” despite top surgery. He writes about the joy of feeding his child and looks at what happens when he is misgendered—with pronouns and parental titles—by extended family.
The power of this piece, however, is in how Aizura shows us that apparent incompatibilities can be held in balance. “Somewhere in the between of these things people call ‘contradictions’ but are really just differences, different ways of knowing and seeing, that is where our family lives,” he writes. Whether you’re transgender, genderqueer, or cisgender, if you’ve ever thought about gender and the expectations that come with parenthood, I encourage you to go read the full essay.
