In October 2020, Bennett Kaspar-Williams, a 37-year-old transgender man from Los Angeles, gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Hudson via cesarean section. Despite the joy of welcoming his son, Kaspar-Williams encountered significant distress due to the consistent misgendering by hospital staff, who referred to him as a “mother” and used female-associated terms during his pregnancy and childbirth experience. YouTube+3End Time Headlines+3OpIndia+3
Kaspar-Williams began his transition in 2014 and has legally updated all identification documents to reflect his male gender. He has also undergone top surgery to remove breast tissue. Despite these affirmations of his male identity, medical professionals frequently addressed him using female-oriented language, which he found disheartening. He expressed frustration, noting that even with a full beard and male identification, staff defaulted to calling him “mom,” “mother,” or “ma’am.” NZ HeraldYouTube+2End Time Headlines+2NZ Herald+2
Kaspar-Williams highlighted that the medical system’s association of pregnancy with womanhood contributed to his feelings of dysphoria. He pointed out that the institution of pregnancy care in America is deeply intertwined with the concept of “motherhood,” making it challenging to avoid being misgendered. OpIndia+2End Time Headlines+2NZ Herald+2End Time Headlines+2OpIndia+2NZ Herald+2
He emphasized that not all individuals who give birth identify as mothers and called for a reevaluation of language used in medical settings to be more inclusive of diverse gender identities. Kaspar-Williams stated, “No one can ever really know whether having children is possible until you try — being born with a uterus doesn’t make conceiving or carrying a certainty.” He further stressed the importance of decoupling womanhood from motherhood, as not all women can become mothers, and not all individuals who carry children are mothers. NZ HeraldOpIndia+1End Time Headlines+1End Time Headlines
Despite the challenges faced during his pregnancy, Kaspar-Williams remains proud of his journey into parenthood and is dedicated to raising his son, Hudson, with his husband, Malik. He hopes that by sharing his experience, awareness will be raised about the need for more inclusive language and practices within the healthcare system to accommodate and respect the identities of all patients.
