Meet Charlie – a gender-fluid single parent

Charlie is a gender-fluid single parent who has faced harassment on social media for their identity and the way they parent their daughter – but that doesn’t stop them.

Charlie had a baby with their ex during lockdown in 2020, and they’re now redefining what it means to be a parent with their gender fluidity.

“On the days where I wake up and I do feel more masc, I can embrace it. I’m not constantly in this, like gender identity crisis where I’m like am I a woman? Am I a man? Am I trans? Do I need to go on hormones?” Charlie shares.

“I just sort of have like a laissez-faire attitude about it, it’s just like, I’m just fluid. It is what it is. Call me what you want. Be rude in any context though and I’ll slap ya.”

However, sadly it’s not always been easy for Charlie. They’ve been harassed on social media for expressing their identity, and was once even chased out of a train station “for being queer”.

“Unfortunately I do have to adjust my presentation when I’m travelling around,” Charlie adds.

“With my daughter I do have to think, right, even though I’m having to sacrifice my identity to navigate society in a way which is safer for us, it’s a shame but there are crazy people and I’m not trying to get my daughter hurt because some people haven’t figured out what’s going on in their mind.”

Elsewhere, they often receive unwanted parenting advice – but they don’t let this get to them.

“I never feel pressured to parent different. I know my daughter is clean, she’s got everything she needs, I’m great.

“But I didn’t think that in my 20s, I’m going to become a father. It just sort of happened. It definitely wasn’t planned but it was a blessing.”

• Nov 29 2023

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