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Reflection on The Book Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family

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Words: 1148 |

Pages: 3|

6 min read

Published: Jan 21, 2020

Words: 1148|Pages: 3|6 min read

Published: Jan 21, 2020

Being yourself can be scary – even more when being yourself is not welcomed in your house or the place where you live. People either accept you as you are or accept the “fact” that you shouldn’t even be consider human. Becoming Nicole is the journey of not only of Wyatt, now known as Nicole, but of her family.

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For some people it could be harder to understand or accept someone as they are, they have a very different way of looking at life or were raised differently. For others accepting other’s way of living is easier and are able to provide more support for that individual in the situation. It is normal not be as accepting as other people might be – that’s exactly what happened with Wayne, Nicole’s father. At an early age Wyatt knew he didn’t feel like a boy even though he had a body like one, he expressed it continuously during his childhood by wearing tutus, playing with Barbies, or being girly with his friend Leah; the problem was that his own father Wayne couldn’t accept the fact that he felt and was a she in all aspects besides physically. The turning point for Wayne in accepting his daughter was in a late April night of 2007 when him, Kelly, and Wyatt at the time where watching the show 20/20 with Barbara Walters on transgender children. At that point he understood that his family was not the only family going through a similar journey like they were, that Nicole (Wyatt at that time) was not the only person who didn’t feel like they belong in the body they were born in. Nicole was not alone in that transition because even though having a transgender kid was a taboo topic that didn’t mean it was not happening or that it was viewed with respect by society.

I believe that Wayne had a harder time accepting that reality than Kelly because he wanted the “perfect” family, that’s how he was raised. He believed that you were who you were based on the gender you were born with. The “perfect” family was husband, wife, son, and son – not husband, wife, son, and a transgender son who is now a daughter. Since the babies were born he already had planned out the different things he was going to do or teach his boys growing up, things he had done with his own father and wanted to pass it down through generations. Having such expectations and aspirations and plans planned out that you can’t wait for them to happen with your children and then to have them change through time isn’t as easy as it might sound. Kelly was more open to change and acceptance since she didn’t really grow up in the basic picture of what a family should be, so she didn’t have the expectation to have the “perfect” family that society has painted throughout time.

Now a days, in the 21st century society is more open to change and trying to make everyone fell welcome and safe no matter who you are. An example of that would be the Fair Housing Act, it banns any discrimination with housing based on your race, religion, sex, etc. Every human being has a right to have a shelter over their heads. A place to call home, where you cane be comfortable and be yourself. With this Act transgender people’s quality of life can and will improve. They can live anywhere they want without the fear of someone threating their own personal space just, because they don’t agree with how people live their own life. They will be able to be themselves and not pretend to be someone they are not in order to preserve their safety and the safety of their home.

A very moving part from the book that I won’t be able to forget will be when they are in the party and Wyatt dressed up as a girl to attend the party. The problem was that once Wayne saw him, he freaked out and screamed at him in front of people. When Kelly heard that Wayne screamed she automatically knew something was wrong and immediately jumped into defending Wyatt. But since neither of them knew the people in the neighborhood as well they couldn’t risk Wyatt getting hurt so Kelly changed him into more boy appropriate clothe. That definitely resonated with me, because Wyatt was still small, and he was just trying to be himself. No child should ever stop being themselves because of the risk of getting hurt by people who are not as open minded or welcomed as the others. Children should have the right to express what and how they feel in any way possible for them – if they don’t it’s like robbing them of their own freedom. Parents should also understand that children are their own person, you are there to love and protect them, not to dictate how they should live their live.

A parent should always fight for their children’s happiness and well-being. In my perspective that’s what Kelly always tried to do for Wyatt in order to provide a normal life for her daughter. All that effort as a mom is shown when Kelly decided to write to the Little League committee in order for Wyatt to be able to play in an all-girls team for the softball team. She even went to the great lengths of writing the letter for the committee explaining the situation and how there was no law saying anything against it as well as consulting with a lawyer. That’s an important part of the story, it’s a mother fighting for her child’s happiness and comfort. It’s a mother fighting for what should be fair and accepted in life and not discriminated against. Sports are a universal thing that everyone has a right to be a part of or do, sports have their own language and culture, so why not let anyone play without having to restrict people based on their lifestyle.

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In order to have a world that is fair and welcoming, we have to start with being that ourselves. We can’t provide safety for future generations if we don’t understand the different lifestyles and viewpoints of people as a society. Those little steps into a happy, accepting life starts at home with your own family, your own father, your own mother, your own sibling. Even if they might not understand at first, they would want the best for you no matter what. They’ll get to understand with time. But family is the rock that can change a life and many lives after that. The living testament to that is the Maines family. At the end they claimed victory after a long self-searching journey as a family, who fought against all odds to be able to ensure Nicole’s true self happiness.

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This essay was reviewed by
Dr. Charlotte Jacobson

Cite this Essay

Reflection on the Book Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family. (2020, January 15). GradesFixer. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/becoming-nicole-the-transformation-of-an-american-family/
“Reflection on the Book Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family.” GradesFixer, 15 Jan. 2020, gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/becoming-nicole-the-transformation-of-an-american-family/
Reflection on the Book Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family. [online]. Available at: <https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/becoming-nicole-the-transformation-of-an-american-family/> [Accessed 28 Mar. 2024].
Reflection on the Book Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family [Internet]. GradesFixer. 2020 Jan 15 [cited 2024 Mar 28]. Available from: https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/becoming-nicole-the-transformation-of-an-american-family/
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