Being Outed as Trans to My German Relatives Turned Out To Be a Good Thing
Even though I didn’t expect it
When I came out as transgender in 2018, the first person I called was my American uncle. He’s the only relative I have in the United States I knew growing up as a child, since all the rest are now deceased. I am the only family member besides his wife he has left. Thankfully, he’s always been liberal and very open-minded. While he struggled with it a little, he was always supportive and loving.
After that, I blasted all my friends through social media with the news and explained through blog posts and videos. Everyone I knew seemed very accepting. It helped that I was older and had curated my found family. My half-siblings and their families were also mostly accepting. (Later, I ran into an issue with my older step sister, but we were never very close, so it wasn’t an issue.)
The only part of my family I hesitated to tell were those in Germany that I was still in touch with. I’ve exchanged letters and packages with my German uncle (grandmother’s nephew) for many years, and I valued my connection with that part of my family. However, I also knew him to be a conservative man and devout in his Christian faith, so I wasn’t sure how he would take the news.
