My BROTHER become TRANSGENDER
I saw my baby brother wearing female cloth and it changed our lives
Hi! I’m Charlotte and a few years ago I saw my baby brother wearing my cloth. Even though I couldn’t realized it at the time, that moment change my family life forever.
I was 14 years old when it happened. Frankie was only 5. I was coming home, tired from violin lessons. I just wanted to take a quick shower, grab some dinner and go to sleep. I arrived and rushed to my room to pick my pajamas and leave my belongings, but as soon as I opened the door, there was Frankie wearing one of my old tops and applying my lipstick in front of the mirror. We both froze in a split second. I wasn’t expecting that and he definitely wasn’t expecting me.
I was not mad or anything, simply filled with confusion. In fact, when I look back in retrospect I actually think he looked very funny because the top was too big for him and it looked like he was wearing the cutest parachute! Frankie might have misread my face and confuse it for anger or disappointment, because he started crying and locked himself in the bathroom.
Dad was at work and mom noticed nothing. When Frankie came out, he wore his regular cloth and cleaned most of the makeup. There was a bit of lipstick left on his forehead haha. He was calm, but. I hugged him, cleaned what was left on his face and assure him that everything was alright. “I won’t tell anyone”, I said. Thinking back to it, that was probably a mistake.
After the incident, Frankie seemed somber. My parents were worried. None of them had any idea why, they thought my baby brother was being bullied at school. I knew the reason and said nothing...until a year after, where I catched him again, just this time, he wore a pair of my mom’s heels. He tried to walk and fell, but hey he almost pulled it off! I laughed and he heard me. I laughed because he fell, not because he wore heels. He cried out again, hard, and mom noticed.
She rushed to see what happened and I could see in her face the scene blew her mine. Yet mom knew how to respond better, after all she is a psychologist. I stood behind the door to listen. She calmed Frankie in a couple of minutes and asked him about the whole deal. To which he replied the most unexpected and sincere lines that I’ve ever heard. “Do you believe people are born again, mommy?”, Frankie said and mom just smiled…”When I born again, I’m going to be a girl like you and Charlotte, mommy”. I cried.
Mom talked to Dad that night and they decided to take Frankie to a therapist. He was reluctant at first. I guess it hurt his man-pride. To him this meant he would have no one to drink beer while watching the UFC or football or talk about sweet rides or whatever manly men do! Sorry dad, I know nothing about cars either.
After a couple of months, the therapist suggested Frankie might be trans and suffering from gender dysphoria. Even though he was quite young, he already felt like a girl, not a boy. That was baffling to me. I’ve met a couple of transgender before, but they were both teenagers, not 5 year old kids.
I was going through puberty, which was already quite weird, and a dumb part of me thought Frankie was doing it for the attention. Stupid hormones!
I shut them out as best as I could because I knew Frankie needed all the love and support in the world to come to terms with his/her gender identity. The therapist recommended us to go out of town for a family weekend where Frankie would try out the other gender, wear whatever makeup and cloth he wanted, and change to a name of his choosing. “Let’s see what happened when Frankie is perceived by strangers as a girl”, she said.
We did as she said and it was illuminating. We let his hair grow out and from that weekend on, Frankie became Alice. He was she forever now. She was happier than I’ve ever seen. She felt so comfortable and honest. And she actually looked freaking gorgeous! I had a lot of pimples because as I said, I was going through STUPID PUBERTY, and I was a bit jealous.
Alice wanted a fresh start, so she changed schools and she was very well receive by most. We found one with connections to a support group and it truly help her and us as a family since a lot of things changed all of the sudden. Dad had a bit more trouble with it but he eventually came through and he loves her deeply. Sometimes he calls Alice “My one and only princess” just to tease me. I don’t get mad...anymore haha.
A few years went by and the doctor told my parents to get her puberty-blocking drugs and later estrogen pills to go through female puberty. So don’t worry Alice, you’re still getting pimples, ha!
I know the future will be harder for her than it was for me. My family will always be there for her. I’ve not lost a brother, I gained a sister. If your family is going through something similar, I sincerely hope this story means help. I know it’s confusing, but it will all be alright...
