LGBTQ* News You May Have Missed
Australian Parents Print a Retraction in Courier Mail
Following from Brisbane Times Article by Kristian Silva
Kai Bogert may be the talk of social media and international media right now, but "nothing has changed except for the pronouns" for the 19-year-old from Jimboomba who has decided to switch genders from female to male.
Kai was thrust into the international spotlight after his mum placed a light-hearted "retraction" in the births section of The Courier-Mail on Tuesday, gaining worldwide attention.
In the notice, the family says in 1995 they placed an ad to announce the birth of their daughter Elizabeth Anne.
"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," the notice read.
"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," the notice read.
"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," the notice read.
Until last night, few people had seen Yolanda Bogert's notice. It was spotted by a Twitter user before being picked up by local and international media outlets.
Kai said he made the decision to tell his parents Yolanda Bogert and Guy Kershaw about his choice to live as a male last week. He knew he would have their support, but there was still apprehension.
"I was nervous, like how you would be doing a school presentation," Kai told Fairfax Media.
"It was still slightly nerve-racking. I was finally telling people who I am. I think it's human nature to get ready for rejection because we see it so much these days."
Kai, who lives with his parents and brother in Jimboomba - a rural community about 35km south of Brisbane, said he had been thinking about making the announcement for a year.
Yolanda said Kai's announcement didn't come as a shock - describing it as "a change". One thing she has been shocked about, though, is all the attention the family has received in the past 24 hours.
"It's just been shared all over the internet. Everyone's shared and tweeted it and it's on every single website," she said.
"It was a message to Kai that I supported him. It was all cool and we would love him like we always had."
Yolanda said she hoped her family's story would draw attention to the plight of transgender youth.
"Transgender youth are disproportionately represented in all sorts of statistics like homelessness, suicide, bullying and being victims of violence. They really have a rough time of it," she said.
"If there are other kids out there like Kai thinking about coming out and don't have that support, [we want ] to let them know that they're not alone. There are people who support them."
She urged anyone needing support to get in touch with the Gay and Lesbian Welfare Association.
