Máximo Castellanos identifies as a man, one who is capable of giving birth to a baby, for which he deserves respect. Many on Twitter disagreed.
A trans father has had to deal with negative comments on social media after he appeared in a photo breastfeeding his baby. Many users found it odd that he, being a man, could naturally give birth and feed his child, before which he asked for respect for his gender identity.
Máximo Castellanos is a transgendered Colombian man who has always identified with this gender and recently became a father. Due to this, he’s received intolerant comments on social networks since posting a photograph with his baby.
“I am not, and never have been, a woman. I procreated, conceived, gave birth and lactated as a man. As the man that I am. To go against nature is to deny the obvious, and the obvious is that I am a man. Period.” Maximo replied to one of the comments.
Several users stated that he could only give birth as a woman, ignoring the gender change that Máximo went through. Above all, they made disrespectful comments against him.
“I ask that you don’t correct my identity nor demand ‘that I accept myself’. I already have. I am a calm, proud and happy man and father,” he said to another user who argued against his gender identity.
“Informed geneticists, sexologists and physicians know very well that human sexuality is shaped by several variables, not just genetic ones,” he added in another comment.
The only thing he wants as a trans father is to be respected and accepted. Raising a child is already a task that requires too much responsibility and dedication to have to also deal with the great burden of being judged simply for being and acting the way he feels.
This is an old photograph of him with his son Luchi that has started trending again, but not for the best reasons. He’s answered the negative comments, asking that they respect his identity and his decision.
“Thank you to every person with whom I’ve interacted (…) Two years have passed and, as a family, we’ve gone through it all. Luchi has also been a victim of transphobia, her rights as the daughter of two transgendered people have been violated before she was born,” he said.
