Gender reveal photo shoots are getting more and more outrageous these days, but here's one gender reveal that's seriously inspiring. A mom celebrated her 20-year-old child coming out as transgender with an "It's a boy!" photo shoot.
Adrian Brown, 20 at the time, came out to his mother as a transgender man. Adrian's mom, Heather Lundberg Green, welcomed her son with wide open arms, and she knew just how to celebrate.
"When your child comes out as trans, the best thing to do is create a photoshoot to celebrate the fact that he silently and bravely stepped out of the race that he never wanted to be in, found his own lane and proceeded to win," Heather wrote on Facebook.
And so Heather swaddled her 20-year-old son in a blanket that says "It's a boy!" She filled her house with blue balloons and confetti. She even wore a fake baby bump — all to welcome her new son.
Somehow, this gender reveal photo shoot is both funny and incredibly touching.
Adrian Brown came out to his mother, Heather Lundberg Green, and younger brother, Lucas Brown, as transgender in September 2018.
In January, Adrian celebrated his 20th birthday.
Mom Heather Lundberg Green decided to celebrate in the most over-the-top way possible: with a gender reveal photo shoot. For her 20-year-old son. Because this was a special occasion.
"When your child comes out as trans, the best thing to do is create a photoshoot to celebrate the fact that he silently and bravely stepped out of the race that he never wanted to be in, found his own lane and proceeded to win," Heather wrote in a Facebook post.
She continued, "HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY, Adrian! You are without a doubt the most fascinating human I know and I will always be your biggest fan! I love you, I honor who you are and I respect your courage to be unapologetically you!! Lets celebrate!!"
The photo shoot included an "It's a boy!" blanket swaddle, blue balloons, confetti, stickers, a giant teddy bear, and a fake baby bump.
It's all a bit silly — but Heather did it for the most serious of reasons.
"How could we not!!?? The transgender community is under attack by our president for goodness sake. These people who are transitioning are not receiving the honor and praise that they are due," Heather said, according to USA Today.
She continued, "The courage it takes to step out and live their truth while so many people are waiting to knock them down is amazing to me. I hope that by sharing our story, the transgender community will allow themselves to expect celebrations and that they will no longer feel that they are infringing on anyone else by sharing their journey."
As Heather's Facebook post gained more and more attention, she openly welcomed the shares.
"Everybody please feel free to share this post," she wrote. "I'd love for families to see that it is ok to celebrate this huge milestone in a child/adult's life!!! I couldn't be more proud of my son!"
The post has over 17,000 shares and counting.
So what's this moment been like for Adrian?
He said that when his mom first proposed her ideas for the photo shoot, he thought some of it sounded corny. But he eventually decided to just roll with it.
"At first when my mom said she wanted to swaddle me in a blanket, I thought she was nuts. But then when we got going we had so much fun and laughed our way through all of my mom's strange ideas," he said.
Heather was concerned about "'outing' him on this level," knowing that it could be "dangerous" for her son.
But she's experienced the exact opposite of hate in reaction to her post. She's received a ton of support — some of it from other trans youth and their families.
"I've had some great conversations and I hope that they will continue, no one should have to feel alone on this journey," she said. "Everyone has to transition, the individual and their friends and families."
Heather's posting of Adrian's coming out photos has also seriously inspired trans teens, who experience drastically higher rates of suicide as compared to their cis (or not trans) peers.
In fact, a trans boy at Adrian's brother's high school decided to come out to his parents after seeing Heather's post.
"He had been considering suicide before coming out to them and because of our message he had the courage to tell them and found out that his parents were going to support them," Lucas said. "He would not have had the courage had we not taken these photos."
