MARENGO, Ohio — An Ohio mother says her 9-year-old transgender child is being harassed on social media and she wants it to stop.
Emily LeVan tells WBNS-TV that her daughter was physically born male, but identifies as female. Last week, after legally changed her daughter’s name to Keat, she posted it to Facebook.
“I was celebrating it because it was a big step for us, and a couple of people took it upon themselves to berate me for it,” she said.
LeVan said that some parents of Keat’s classmates at Highland Elementary School in Morrow County, had written derogatory messages, including “I am terribly ticked that the parents are allowed to send their boy to school as a girl and put him in this embarrassing situation” and “This is child abuse!”
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Keat said that when she began transitioning last year, she was also teased by classmates.
Watch a report from WBNS-TV:
School superintendent Bill Dodds confirmed Keat’s accounts of bullying and says they address it immediately and have a zero tolerance policy for that type of behavior.
“It’s disgusting,” said Dodds, “we don’t accept it and we won’t accept it,” he said.
LeVan said she hopes the community will one day be as supportive as school officials.