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  • Essay / Reflections on the book Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family

    Being yourself can be scary – even more so when being yourself isn't welcome in your home or where you live. People either accept you for who you are, or they accept the “fact” that you shouldn’t even be considered a human being. Becoming Nicole is the journey of not only Wyatt, now known as Nicole, but also his family. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay For some people, it can be more difficult to understand or accept someone for who they are, they have a way very different from seeing life or being raised. differently. For others, it is easier to accept other people's lifestyles and be able to provide more support to that person in the situation. It's okay to not be as tolerant as other people might be – that's exactly what happened with Nicole's father Wayne. From a young age, Wyatt knew that he didn't feel like a boy even though he had a body like one. He continually expressed it during his childhood by wearing tutus, playing with Barbies, or being girly with his friend Leah; the problem was that his own father, Wayne, couldn't accept the fact that he felt and was a she in every aspect except physically. The turning point for Wayne in accepting his daughter came in late April 2007, when he, Kelly and Wyatt were watching the show 20/20 with Barbara Walters about transgender children. In that moment, he understood that his family was not the only one going through a similar journey to the one she had experienced, that Nicole (Wyatt at that time) was not the only person who did not feel at home in the body in which she was born. Nicole was not alone in this transition because even though having a transgender child was a taboo subject, that didn't mean it didn't happen or that it was viewed with respect by society. I think Wayne had a harder time accepting this reality than he did. Kelly because he wanted a “perfect” family, that’s how he was raised. He believed that you were what you were based on the gender you were born with. The “perfect” family consisted of a husband, wife, son and son – not a transgender husband, wife, son and son who is now a girl. Ever since the babies were born, he had already planned the different things he was going to do or teach his boys as they grew up, things he had done with his own father and wanted to pass down from generation to generation. Having such expectations, aspirations and plans planned out that you can't wait for them to come true with your children and then having them change over time is not as easy as it seems. Kelly was more open to change and acceptance since she hadn't really grown up with the basic image of what a family should be, so she didn't expect to have the "perfect" family that the society has painted over time. Nowadays, in the 21st century, society is more open to change and tries to make everyone welcome and safe, no matter who you are. An example of this would be the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, religion, gender, etc. Every human being has the right to have a shelter over their head. A place where you will feel at home, where you can be comfortable and be yourself. Thanks to this law, the quality of life of transgender people can and will improve. They can live wherever they want without fear of someone threatening their personal space..