I'm a trans man. We don't have a secret agenda – we're just asking you to let us live.

My wife gave birth to our first child earlier this year, and I am over-the-moon in love with being a father to my baby boy. Along my parenthood journey, I’ve thought a lot about the life I want to help build for my son and the community I want him to grow up in.

At the same time, I’ve thought a lot about the things I experienced as a kid that I hope he never has to. 

For example, I hope my son never has to feel a drop in his stomach as he approaches the cashier at a grocery store, anxious that he might be turned away simply because of who he is. I don’t want him to stress about his first apartment application being denied for the same reason. I hope he’s never told by a doctor that he can’t get treatment for his cold because the doctor doesn’t know how to treat “people like him.” These are just a few things I’ve worried about and experienced as a transgender man living in America.