Trans dad and documentary star Freddie McConnell has opened up about his legal fight to be listed as the father on his son’s birth certificate.
McConnell, who lives in the UK, shared his experience of giving birth as a transgender man in the documentary Seahorse (which we covered, along with the philosophical questions it raises, here on Queerty). Per UK law, whoever gives birth to a child is automatically listed as the mother on a birth certificate. McConnell wants to be the first trans dad to successfully challenge that policy, and receive listing as the father.
Related: ‘Seahorse’ director Jeanie Finlay on filming a trans dad giving birth to a beautiful boy
UK law also holds that cases of this nature keep the participants anonymous. Several UK publications, including The Daily Mail, sued to have the veil of anonymity lifted. A judge agreed, and McConnell has said he will not challenge. The name of his child, however, remains classified. McConnell wants to keep it that way.
“Any parent can relate to that bone-deep urge to just keep your child safe,” McConnell said to BuzzFeedNews. “I thought that we would be anonymous the whole way through because I thought that in these cases anonymity remains in place to protect children involved in the proceedings. That is my primary concern at all times. And that was the basis on which I decided to pursue the action.”
A judge in the case is expected to rule on McConnell’s petition to be listed as the father very soon.
Rock-N-RollHS
Really??
sfhally
Sorry–you gave birth; that makes you the mother. We’re not here to endorse your fantasy.
Diplomat-G
@sfhally,
its a law on a piece of paper created by politicians what possible impact does it have on you or I that he be listed as the father…. NONE… get over yourself.
Hdtex
@sfhally pound sand you miserable TROLL
Brian
Diplomat, it’s a court ruling that sets legal precedent. So yes, it actually does affect other people.
Diplomat-G
@Brian,
No actually brian it does not impact other people, the law can simply provide a mechanism of choice it has no impact on YOU what so ever.
MHaumesser
If you’re the father then who’s the mother?
Polaro
I want trans people to be happy, but this is nuts. It goes to everything wrong with the logic gymnastics the trans community has forced on us.
Brian
All we’ve heard for years is that gender and sex are not the same thing. Giving birth is about biological sex, not gender identity. The trans community should be speaking out against this, but of course they won’t.
JaredMacBride
We’ll need Maury Povich to sort this out.
Brian
Yeah, this is too far.
mr guy
This is a human rights issue: the kid’s human rights. The child is entitled to know it’s real medical/bilogical history — I.e. many diseases are passed down differently on the basis of BIOLOGICAL SEX. Some of these people are so entrenched in their extremist ideology they would NEVER willingly reveal the truth. This ruling would set a disastrous precedent in so many, many ways.
Heywood Jablowme
In Greek mythology the goddess Athena didn’t have a mother and she somehow sprang from the head of Zeus. Unfortunately, her birth certificate was lost when the library of Alexandria was destroyed. Little known fact!
bonbon
Giving birth is such a fatherly thing to do. ?
Loki
A biological mother passes on her mitochondrial DNA to all of her children (male and female).
A biological father gives his entire/unaltered Y-chromosome to his male children.
Whose Y-chromosome does this male child have? Whose mtDNA?
There’s your answer.
Brian
We had our answer when he got pregnant.
Manchester
@Brian: LOL! You made me spit out my water!
inbama
I guess somebody should start a line of men’s maternity clothes.
marion
I wonder if he ends up in a custody case in the future if he will suddenly reidentify as a woman to avoid the systemic mysandry of the family courts.
passingthru
It amazes me how unbelievably stupid commenters on this site can be. I also find it interesting that the same people comment on practically every article. Do you all not have lives? Do you think that you’re changing the world by posting stupid comments and by having catfights with the same people over and over and over again? I have better things to do. Enjoy the nonsense.
Polaro
Funny, but we all seem to agree on this one. You’re a pretty rude person, btw.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Fully support being comfortable in the body you feel you should have been born in.
However once ya transition there is not a revolving door. You need to be the person you now identify as and live it. Guys do not give birth. It’s not fair to a kid to have to explain on the playground that his Daddy is his Mommy….
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Fcku u Queerty
STS
I don’t think listing this person as the “father” makes any sense, in this context “mother” is about genetics, however they could change the wording to “Birth Parent” and “Seminal Parent” which would avoid the words father and mother.
Felecia
This is just too crazy…until medical science can successfully implant a working fallopian-tube and uterus into a male-to-female, and functioning testicles on a female-to-male, it’s all simply playing pretend and dress-up, lol…yet it won’t really matter in 20 years; when Walmart rolls out their newly-available ‘Gestating Fetus in a Box’, only $29.95, lol….and I imagine that also in 20 years or so, parents will be battling trans-species, as every other child will claim that they are REALLY a Shetland pony…the shrinks will agree, and the hapless family forced to build a horse barn or face losing custody, lol….apparently one does not require a penis or a Y-chromosome to legally be called a man; why ask a trans-species horse-child to possess four legs and a tail, if it gets that insane…..just sayin’….lol