These days, using a person’s preferred name and pronouns is the best way to respect and honor their identity, regardless of whether they are straight, gay, or transgender.
However, not everyone adopts this strategy, often clinging to outdated traditions or disregarding people’s gender identification.
Bennett In October 2020, Kaspar-Williams, 37, gave birth to their son Hudson via cesarean section with the assistance of their spouse, Malik. Although Kaspar-Williams identified as male and used the pronouns he/him/his at the time, they encountered challenges at the hospital when nurses frequently misgendered them, referring to them as a mother instead of a father (they now identify as non-binary and use both he/him/his and they/them pronouns), according to the Daily Mail.
Kaspar-Williams began his transition in 2014, having first identified as transgender in 2011. Top surgery was performed on him, but no lower body procedures were performed.
The process of getting pregnant and giving birth was both satisfying and challenging for Kaspar-Williams. When medical staff misidentified him as a mother and assumed his gender, he became disheartened.
Despite having noted Kaspar-Williams’ gender on medical records, the nursing staff persisted in misgendering him during contacts. Kaspar-Williams has been an outspoken advocate for the notion that gender identity is no longer a need for giving birth since Hudson’s birth.
After giving birth, Kaspar-Williams, who was angry about being misgendered all the time, stressed the importance of keeping motherhood and women apart. Despite being identified as “male” on medical papers, he spoke to the New York Post about how awkward it was to be called “mom” all the time.
“Being born with a uterus does not make conceiving or carrying a certainty — one can never really know whether having children is possible until you try,” the father said, referring to their path to parenthood. We must cease defining “womanhood” in terms of “motherhood” since it is a false equivalency that all women can become moms, that all mothers carry their children, or that all people who birth children are mothers.
The story of Kaspar-Williams highlights the intricacy of identity and the importance of respecting people’s self-identification. She chose to begin her pregnancy after separating gender concepts from bodily functions.
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