Last Updated on February 20, 2020
Retired NBA Star, Dwayne Wade, talking with “Good Morning America” said that his transgender daughter knew about her gender identity since the age of 3, becoming one of the highest profile toddlers who reportedly came out as trans.
His daughter Zaya, now 12, was called his family’s “leader” through this difficult process, at a time where the subject of trans kids remains a contentious issue.
Although Wade reportedly said that he never had any close ties with the LGBT community, his daughter’s being trans brought him closer.
Huffpo reported:
During a Tuesday appearance on “Good Morning America,” the retired NBA legend said he had never had a close relationship with a member of the LGBTQ community before Zaya, whom he said was 3 years old when she first identified as transgender.
“Zaya, early on, knew two things,” Wade told host Robin Roberts. “She knew ‘straight’ and she knew ‘gay.’ But Zaya started doing more research. … She went down the list and said, ‘This is how I identify myself. This is my gender identity.’”
The retired NBA star said he and his wife, Gabrielle Union, took the moment as an opportunity to “sit down with our daughter and find out who she is and what she likes and not put something on her.”
“As parents, we put our hopes and our fears on our kids,” he added. “With Zaya, we decided to listen to her. She’s leading us along this journey.”
Wade has become one of the first high profile individuals who has announced their child’s transgenderism beginning at an early age.
Drag kid superstar, Desmond is Amazing, reportedly identified as LGBT since the age of two. Since his propulsion to stardom, other young drag kids have become engendered by Desmond’s example.
The media, in recent years, has increased their coverage of drag kids and prepubescent children identifying as transgender.
Marvel comic’s first transgender superhero was a 12-year-old transgender girl whose Lutheran pastor father and self-identifying “queer” mother secured church insurance funds to cover the costs of puberty blockers.
In the UK, a few cases involving transgender children have appeared, with children as young as 3 reportedly identifying as the other gender.
Wade later advised, “Go out and research,” he said. “Ask your child, ask other people questions about this. This conversation is real.”
