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Friday, April 23, 2021

Puberty Blocker Saved My Life - Nicole Talbot

 “Without the medical care I received and the relentless support of my mother, I would likely not be here today.”

By :  Nicole Talbot




 Nicole Talbot

Six years ago, I had a puberty blocker implanted in my left arm to pause the release of testosterone. It saved my life. I’m here today to write this story as a transgender woman and to sing as a soprano pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in musical theater at Boston Conservatory. Without the medical care I received and the relentless support of my mother, I would likely not be here for either.

There are a bunch of bills being proposed across the country that, if passed, will make it a felony for medical professionals to provide gender-affirming care to transgender youth and will open parents to charges of child abuse. These bills are misguided at best. At worst, they’re an attack on transgender children and their families to fire up a base of hateful voters in advance of the 2022 elections.

It’s easy for some to see stories about transgender youth and come to conclusions about what is right and wrong for a child and what qualifies as good or bad parenting. Unless you are transgender or have walked beside someone who is transgender, you have no idea what’s required of your heart, your mind, your family and friends, or your livelihood to keep them alive, help them thrive and fight hate and discrimination every day. It is a complex, expensive web of choices and decisions. But the truth is, it’s hard to hate transgender youth or their parents when you look and listen closely with an open heart and mind.

Even from my early toddler days, I wanted the clothes and the toys that were traditionally thought of as being for girls. My trains didn’t crash. They had tea parties. I wore a towel over my head to create long hair. Mulan, a girl pretending to be a boy, was my favorite Disney character.

My mom forced me to play on the boy’s T-ball and soccer teams. She made me wear boy’s clothes. She bought me animal Halloween costumes instead of letting me be a princess. I was just me trying to be me in a world that didn’t understand.

Little by little, my mom started to allow me to have the toys and clothes I wanted, but only inside our home. My favorite pair of pink flip-flops couldn’t be worn outside. My dolls stayed hidden in my bedroom closet. The sparkly top I got at a consignment shop never made it past the front door, no matter how hard I tried to make it to the car. We dressed for the red carpet at home to watch the Tonys, Grammys, Golden Globes and Oscars, but no one else could know.

Although my mom thought she was protecting me from a world that was cruel, she was teaching me to hide my true self from the world. But I didn’t hide. I soared. And so did my mom. She signed me up for a local theater program and that’s where I found my voice ― onstage and in the world. Year after year, I performed in musicals, concerts and cabarets. I took voice lessons. I traveled to New York City for auditions. My voice and the stage saved me and helped me escape the world that didn’t understand me.

Meanwhile, my mom was realizing she had no idea how to be the best parent for me. She pored over research and books. She reached out to my pediatrician to find answers. Then, she took me to a leading psychologist in Boston who conducted a neuropsychological and gender assessment, which revealed the truth I had known all along: I’m a girl.


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Fight these bills. Stand up for transgender youth and their families. See and learn from a new lens, and most of all, let medical professionals and families save children’s lives with the same treatment that saved mine - Nicole Talbot

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Nicole Talbot is a 19-year-old transgender woman and freshman at Boston Conservatory pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in musical theater. She is a Human Rights Campaign Youth Ambassador and a founding Champion of the GenderCool Project. She was an integral part of the 2015 and 2018 campaigns in Massachusetts to pass and defend legislation prohibiting discrimination against transgender people in public accommodations. In 2020, she was named the first recipient of the Trans Club of New England’s Trans Community Visionary Award. Assigned male at birth, Nicole transitioned to living authentically as female in 2015 with the support of her mother, other family members, friends and her communities. She shares her story and lends her voice, time and talent to support other transgender youth on their journey to living authentically. For more from Nicole, head to www.nicoletalbotofficial.com.


1 comment:

  1. Rhonda,
    I have met this young lady a couple of times. She is an amazing person who has a fantastic voice. Her mother is real supportive. I could say much more about both but I don't know how much is public. Lets just say that Nicole being trans isn't the major challenge in either of their lives.
    Leann

    ReplyDelete