Dad and son feel ‘proud’ to meet trans woman in their small town in Texas

A dad and his son have said they feel “proud” to have met a trans woman in their small town in Texas. 

James Eric Barlow shared a video from his car after sharing an encounter with a trans woman in person for the first time. 

The LGBTQ+ ally said: “We all know that [there are] people that are disgusted whenever they see a trans person. 

“And we all know of the people who don’t care if they see a trans person. But apparently, we’re a third type of person, or at least, I am – I can’t speak for him,” he says of his child. 

His son responds: “I am, too!”

The dad then goes on to tell viewers that he just had his first experience meeting a trans woman, who walked through a door behind the pair as Barlow held the door for her — “just as I would anybody,” he said. 

“I didn’t think twice about who she was, then I noticed, ‘wait a second, that’s a trans woman’,” he continued.

“When I tell you how happy it made me; I’m getting emotional now,” he said, beginning to tear up. “To be able to see somebody be out and open to the world here in a small town in Texas, you’ve just got to know how much bravery that takes. Right, Mikey?”

“Hell yeah,” his son confirmed. Barlow then explained that he wanted to speak to her, but didn’t want to be “weird”. 

“If you’re a trans woman and you came here to the Landmark Truck stop in Clyde, Texas, just know that we’re proud of you,” he concluded.

In the state, an anti-drag measure was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in June 2023, while Abbott also signed a bill banning life-saving, gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth in the same month. 

The law, which was scheduled to take effect from September 2023, would penalise businesses with a $10,000 (£8,000) fine for hosting so-called “sexually oriented performances“. Performers could be charged with a Class A misdemeanour, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 (£3,200) fine. 

Meanwhile, the Republican governor signed SB 14 into law on 2 June 2023, which bars trans people aged under 18 years old from accessing gender-affirming medical care like puberty blockers and hormone therapies. The ban came into effect on 1 September.

• Dec 01 2023

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