Mother who posted birth 'retraction' in newspaper for trans teen Kai Bogert 'wanted to show I support him 100%'
Kai was afraid to publicly identify as a male, but said his family's support "blew him away" when he made the leap
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Your support makes all the difference.A mother who was widely praised for posting a birth notice ‘retraction’ after her teenager came out as transgender, has said she felt she had to show she supports him “100 per cent”.
The parents of Kai Bogert, 19, from Queensland, Australia, posted a retraction in the births section of the Brisbane Courier Mail, when he transitioned from female to male and underwent gender reassignment. And the notice quickly took the internet by storm.
Kai said he always knew he was male, but became more certain in his final years at school. However, he was too afraid to come out due to homophobia and transphobia in his home town. When his family moved to Jimboomba, Kai found the confidence to publicly transition.
He said his family offered their love and support, and immediately started using male pronouns to address him. “Everything felt good,” he said.
But Kai had now idea his family had placed the classified notice in the paper – a gesture which he said “blew [him] away.”
The witty and heartfelt note reads: “A retraction – Bogert –
"In 1995 we announced the arrival of our sprogget, Elizabeth Anne, as a daughter. He informs us that we were mistaken. Oops! Our bad. We would now like to present, our wonderful son – Kai Bogert."
“Loving you is the easiest thing in the world. Tidy your room,” it adds.
Kai’s mother, Yolanda Bogert, told the Courier Mail that she was overwhelmed by the reaction and she posted the notice simply because: “I needed to show my son I support him 100 percent and wanted to let the world know that.”
Kai said: “I am so happy with what she has done. This last week has changed everything for me. I am still me but I am more me than I was a few days ago and feel free.”
“And let me make it clear to the world my room is tidy,” he added.
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