Christine Egan Physical Therapy

On June 15th, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that an employer cannot fire an individual for their sexual orientation or gender identity. Janna Barkin — who’s son, Amaya, is transgender — said she hopes this landmark ruling sets a precedent for other lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer discrimination cases.

“This week’s Supreme Court  Decision is historic,” Janna said. “This is a major victory, but it is not enough. Congress must pass the Equality Act, which will prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation under any circumstance.”

Janna said the country’s acceptance of the LGBTQIA+ community is growing, and the ruling is another step in the right direction. For her, it is personal. Janna has been steering her community in the right direction for over six years. Through writing her book, He’s Always Been My Son, writing blog posts, leading parent support groups at the Spahr Center, individual parent coaching, and lecturing to all kinds of organizations, she exemplifies the definition of transgender ally. While not all parents are capable of Janna’s activism, her family’s story shows that all parents with an open mind can raise a happy and healthy transgender child.

“My kid came to me with the most personal information you could possibly have and shared it with me because he was desperate and he knew I’d help him,” Janna said. “To me, isn’t that the best reward as a parent — that you actually would be invited into this very personal thing.”

While Janna does not enjoy using the label “tomboy,” the word accurately describes Amaya as a child. Amaya always had to have his baseball cap with him. He refused to wear a dress. He always had his hair trimmed short.

“We could not shop in the girls departments after the age of five because he would refuse to wear the clothing,” Janna said. “He was so performing ‘boy’ and expressing ‘boy’ at such a young age that everyone who did not know him saw him as a boy, and I had to correct them.”

Janna brought Amaya to Christine Egan MPH, PT C/NDT for physical therapy because he walked on his toes and was showing hypersensitivity to clothing. Janna, who used to be a preschool teacher, thought Christine could help since she was highly recommended for assessing developmental concerns .

“Janna called me when she was writing her book inquiring about the possibility of Amaya’s early sensory-motor issues being related to his gender dysphoria,” Christine said. “At the time, I was unsure if there was a connection, but the field of transgender medicine was in it’s infancy. I think we will learn more about it, as more and more individuals share their experiences.”

“I do feel ultimately that it had nothing to do with his sensory system and everything to do with his gender,” Janna said. “But he did not know this at the time, and nor did we.”

Janna said that “it was easy to just let Amaya be a tomboy when he was growing up. Whatever my attachment to Amaya wearing a dress was clearly not worth the distress it created.” Most people thought Amaya was cool for his look and for his, “one of the boys” attitude.

But Janna said that around 4th or 5th grade, societal norms caught up to Amaya (shown here as a child). His male friends started excluding him from activities. Other parents became more judgemental of Amaya. Amaya was a great baseball player, but started to receive less playing time as he grew older. Janna said she thinks his coach at the time was uncomfortable with Amaya on the team. 

On top of the social stressors, Amaya’s body was beginning puberty.

Janna explained that as a trans person goes through puberty, the person’s body is changing against the will of their identity. “A big part of my child’s depression was that he didn’t have the right hormonal cocktail that he needed,” Janna said.

As the evidence was mounting that her son might be transgender, Janna proactively sought out any guidance she could find. She spoke with a same-sex woman couple she was friends with, who recommended Stephanie Brill’s book, The Transgender Child. Janna found that Amaya’s behavior matched every detail in the book. This was a big turning point: she never before had the language to describe what she saw Amaya going through. But the book clarified everything.

“I figured my child is going to tell me when he’s older,” Janna said of Amaya ultimately coming out as transgender. 

“Amaya never felt truly happy until he started taking the steps to transition. Every step brought him to a happier and better place,” Janna said.

Janna’s teaching experience and background in early development gave her an leg up on most parents of transgender kids. To Janna, advocacy is just an evolution of her teaching background. “I change what I teach with what I am passionate about,” she said.

She began her teaching career in preschool, and later taught childbirth education. Janna — a yoga enthusiast since college — is also in her 15th year of yoga instruction. But over the past six years, her transgender advocate role blossomed.

“I think that parents have a hard time seeing their [trans] children as happy, healthy adults in the world,” Janna said. She wants more parents to seek out trans adults “living their best lives.” 

For example, Janna volunteered at the Transgender Law Center, which exposed her to many engaging transgender lawyers and leaders. Being the only cis-gender person in the room gave her a brief immersion in what her son and all transgender people might feel every day.

Ultimately, she wants parents of transgender kids to see how the core personal qualities of their children are the same. All parents have to adjust their dreams for their children at some point.

“Being transgender is just one more beautiful, natural way of being human,” Janna says.