Disabled trans teen with cerebral palsy proudly shares his transition journey online
Micah Leroy has courageously shared his transition online. (Instagram/@disabled_trans_boy)
Trans teen Micah Leroy, who has cerebral palsy, has courageously shared his latest transition news online.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday (16 January), Leroy shared a video of himself topless, proudly displaying his top surgery scars.
The joyful video has gone viral, though unfortunately it has also been targeted by anti-trans and right-wing activists spreading hate. Several have suggested that Micah Leroy shouldn’t have been “allowed” to have the surgery, suggesting that as a disabled person, he does not have the mental capacity to make such a decision.
Many people sprung to Leroy’s defence on X, formerly Twitter, with one writing: “Transphobes again exposing who they are by dehumanising Micah LeRoy… Micah is a consistent A student at University. Sharing his video, without his consent, using his disability to score points is deplorable.”
In the video, Leroy, who is 19 and from Minneapolis, cheers to express his joy at having undergone top surgery, a procedure to remove or augment breast tissue.
While anti-trans pundits regularly raise their voices against the treatment, studies show there’s scant evidence to show that trans people regret their gender-affirming care, including top surgery.
Cerebral palsy, which Micah Leroy has, is the name of a group of lifelong conditions that affect movement and co-ordination. The condition develops before, during or soon after birth, as noted by the NHS. About 30–50% of people with CP have an intellectual disability, however half of people with CP have no cognitive impairments.
In the US, as in the UK, all adult patients are carefully assessed to make sure that they are legally competent to make decisions regarding their own treatment.
Gender-affirming surgery saves lives, and trans and non-binary people have previously shared their joy at undergoing top surgery with PinkNews.
One young trans man, Oli, said: “For me, the main reason why I needed top surgery was because I was spending every single day of my life just thinking about it, very aware of the fact that I’m trans.
“Now, I’m almost five years post-surgery, and I don’t think about it.
“I don’t think about the fact that I’m trans, and that has been so freeing. I want to do my hobbies, to enjoy my life and spend time with friends.
“I couldn’t do that before. I was too busy being sad and worrying about how other people perceived me.”
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