A Trans Man Asks: Am I a Mutant?

Addi clears up a myth about how trans people develop for a man and his mother.

Addison Smith
5 min readApr 7

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For those who are unaware, I produce videos on LGBTQ+ topics and hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which I distribute on my YouTube channel.

For those who don’t have the time or ability to watch, you’ll find the script for the eighth episode of “Ask Addi” below. Since it is a teleprompter script, the format is probably a bit choppier than you’re used to. I’ve included some of the graphics I used in the video, but I left out the intro and end tag where I ask viewers to like and subscribe but feel free to go to YouTube and do so.

Hello Humans! Welcome back to Ask Addi. I’m Addison Smith. Today’s question is, um, deep? Emotional? Hard? Gets kinda dark.

One of the hardest things about being trans is that some of our families, it’s not that they just don’t understand, but they actively reject their trans children.

Trans kids have been physically and emotionally abused, sometimes even sexually, in the name of “fixing” them.

They are kicked out of the house, even if they don’t have someplace to go, so they end up living on the street.

I’ve known some older trans people whose parents refuse to use their chosen name and proper pronouns or find other ways to disrespect them.

When the trans person says something or finally expresses anger over it, the parent uses that as an excuse to cut them off.

That way, it’s the trans person’s fault. They were being so unreasonable about being disrespected; how could the parent do anything else?

Another way a parent can be abusive to their child is by trying to figure out “what went wrong,” like their child is defective. For instance, G asks this.

I’m a trans man. My mom told me that she heard that my brain was exposed to too much testosterone in the womb, and that made me a mutant. Is that true? — G

No. Just that. No.

What your mom has done is taken an actual piece of science and used it as an attack against you.

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Addison Smith

I’m an LGBTQ+ DEI educator, activist, and writer living in the Midwest with my cat. Call me Addi. They/She. Booking and more info at https://addisonsagenda.com