2 stories of transgender mothers who protected children from cisgender predators
From 16th c. China and 21st c. India, two accounts of virtuous heroic transwomen who made sacrifices for their children’s education.
In his 17th c. story collection Wu Sheng Xi, writer Li Yu retells the story “A Virtuous Transgender Mother Relocates Thrice for Her Child’s Education” [1], set in Putian County, Fujian province in the 1560s:
You Ruiniang, a widowed trans woman, raised her husband’s young son from his previous marriage. To protect her stepson Xu Chengxian from predatory cisgender people, Ms. You transferred Xu to a different school and even relocated their home multiple times.
The transgender mother’s proactive devotion echoes the legend of the mother of the philosopher Mencius, who relocated their abode 3 times to find the best environment for her child.
Xu Chengxian grew up to pass the competitive civil service examinations and rose through the ranks as a government official. Later, an acquaintance from their hometown outed Ms. You as AMAB in a conversation with Xu. Although surprised by the revelation, Xu continued to honor Ms. You as his mother.
Ms. You received the title of Dame by Imperial decree, and after her death, her stepson laid her to rest her in the same tomb with his father Xu Jifang in Fujian, China.
More than 4 centuries later in India, we come across yet another tale of mutual devotion between a transgender parent and her cisgender child:
In 2008, Mumbai-based transgender social worker Gauri Sawant adopted 5-year-old Gayatri after Gayatri’s mother died of illness.
Sawant had not planned on becoming a mother, but stepped up to protect Gayatri who was at risk of being trafficked into sex work as a minor.[2]
Sawant watched over her daughter carefully, aware of the threats posed by non-transgender males and the stress of being called names as the child of a transgender mother. Eventually, Sawant sent Gayatri to boarding school to give her a better education than what their neighborhood could offer.
In 2017, Gayatri and Sawant were featured in a Vicks ad that went viral with the moving portrayal of their parent-child bond. A teenage Gayatri dreams of becoming a lawyer to fight for trans rights.
In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, [3] Sawant said, “I became a mother because of Gayatri and she is my pillar of strength. I did what every mother does. I want Gayatri to achieve her goals. She has all the freedom for what she wants to be. I shall give her everything I can.”
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Notes:
[1] 无声戏 : 第六回男孟母教合三迁 - 中国哲学书电子化计划 (ctext.org) (CW: Li Yu sandwiches the account with his own homophobic commentary, though his homophobia takes a very different form than that of Western European moralists. Li Yu makes it clear he has no problem with men having sex with men if it was situational homosexuality for men who are too poor to marry women, or survival sex for men who need to make a living. He just doesn’t get the desires of men who are actually gay or bi. He doesn’t issue condemnation based on morality, but rather based on utilitarian concerns.)
[2] The story of Gauri Sawant - A transgender mother (timesnownews.com) (CW: Deadname mentioned)
[3] Gauri Sawant: How I became a Mother (April 3, 2017 Mumbai Mirror, indiatimes.com) (CW: Deadname mentioned)