This Morning/ITVA mum and dad are set to swap genders in a double transition after revealing they’re raising their five-year-old son as a ‘person’ and not a ‘boy’.
Middlesbrough natives Louise and Nikki Draven say they feel ‘incomplete’ and plan to undergo gender reassignment surgery so that young Star Cloud grows up feeling happier.
Louise, who is the biological dad, and who Star calls mummy, is on track to become a woman following a December operation.
Birth mum Nikki, now going by Charlie and daddy to Star is also planning a transition before Star turns 10.
The couple made headlines last year when they revealed on This Morning they were leaving it up to let their son to decide his gender.
Beginning her transition in 2011, Louise has shed a lot of weight, going from 25st to 9st in order to continue surgery.
On top of that, in part thanks to the side-effects of hormone treatment, she shaved off her hair.
Nikki, a former bouncer, initially identified as a pansexual who would alternate between dressing as a woman and a man, but is now more comfortable as the former. Star, they insist, is ‘still gender neutral’ and happy.
Nikki told the Daily Mirror:
I’ve always been daddy and Louise has always been mummy and that’s never going to change.
I tell Star mummy is going to a special doctor who will take away her ducky, which is Star’s word for penis.
I say that when I go to the special doctor I’ll be getting a ducky of my own then I’ll be just like him.
This Morning/ITVBack in January, Star made the decision to cut off his long hair. At school, he is told to wear a boy’s uniform but can still ‘accessorise’. At home he is given free rein to wear whatever he wishes, put on make-up, paint his nails and play with dolls.
Louise said:
All parents worry. But having surgery will make Charlie and I feel complete as individuals and we’ll be much happier because of that.
If we waited until Star was older, he’d spend his childhood with parents who felt incomplete.
If you want to have genital reconstructive surgery, you’ll usually first need to live in your preferred gender identity full time for at least a year, the NHS says. It’s what they call ‘social gender role transition’ (previously known as ‘real life experience’ or ‘RLE’) and it will assist in confirming whether permanent surgery is the right route.
‘You can start your social gender role transition as soon as you’re ready, after discussing it with your care team, who can offer support throughout the process,’ they write.
The length of the transition period recommended can vary, but usually varies between one to two years.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected].
