Transgender Twin Opens Eyes in Maine Community

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

December 13 2011 5:50 PM EST

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Wayne and Kelly Maines hope to change attitudes about gender by sharing the story of their transgender teenage daughter, Nicole.

The family, who live in Maine, talked to The Boston Globe about their decision to allow Nicole to transition and live as she chooses. Even as an early age, Nicole, then known as Wyatt, was very different from her twin brother, Jonas. While Jonas liked typical boys' activities and toys, Wyatt was completely opposite, preferring Barbie and dresses. While the family resisted their child's inclinations at first, they began realizing it would be cruel to force Wyatt to act a certain way.

"Dad, you might as well face it,'' Wayne recalls Jonas telling him. "You have a son and a daughter.''

Nicole, now 14, is being assisted in her transition by professionals at Children's Hospital Gender Management Services Clinic in Boston, one of the few transgender youth centers in the world. Read more about Nicole here.