A court denied a mother custody of her daughter in 2019 when she refused to validate her 12-year-old’s claim that she was “transgender.”
The daughter, Sophia, never returned after visiting her father after she claimed she felt “unsafe” being with her mother.
Jeanette, a liberal feminist, is fighting to regain custody of her daughter without submitting to the court’s demand that she declare Sophie is now her son. Jeannette, who lives in Chicago, said:
I don’t think there are any bounds on what it means to be female other than to exist in a female body. There is nothing that I have to do to become female. I simply am. I can dress whatever way I want. I can cut my hair off, grow it long, I can change my clothes. I am still female. Any behavior that I have is female because it is mine.”
The Independent Women’s Forum website reported on the development:
Under the temporary court order issued shortly after Sophia first claimed to be transgender, Jeannette was only allowed to see her daughter if she attended reconciliation family therapy, which has a specific goal of reconciling an alienated child and parent. Jeannette said she was looking forward to it. The only thing she objected to was the requirement that her ex-husband’s wife be included, which gave Sophia’s stepmom access to everything that happened during family therapy, including Jeannette’s private sessions with Sophia. Jeannette told the therapist that she didn’t consent to this arrangement, but according to Jeannette, the therapist said if Jeannette didn’t consent, she wouldn’t be able to see her daughter.
The process involved a seven-month-investigation into Jeanette by a licensed clinical psychologist, and included psychological testing, home visits, and hours of interviews with each parent.
The Forum’s article continued:
Last year, with her parenting time still suspended and therapy at a standstill, Jeannette voluntarily entered into a new agreement to avoid a prolonged hearing that she feared would end with the same result. After nearly three years, she didn’t want to put her daughter—or herself—through more trauma. Under the terms of the final agreement, Sophia is to remain in her father’s custody, with no visitation rights for Jeannette without a court order or unless her ex-husband agrees. Despite repeated requests by Jeannette to see her daughter, he hasn’t.
“They want me to have a certain understanding that there is such a thing as a child who is born transgender, and this is who they are. I do not believe that to be true. I will not lie to the court. I will not state otherwise. I believe too strongly in my oath to tell the truth. My child is a girl, and I won’t lie to her or anyone else. I think that’s good parenting.”
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