Daily Wire columnist Matt Walsh, on Monday, shared a video of a ‘unique’ couple on Twitter. Walsh was outraged by the content of the video and remarked that the baby that featured in it was condemned to ‘madness’. The video featured a transgender couple from Washington DC with their baby.
In this family the father identifies as the mother while the mother identifies as the father. The father is now attempting to breastfeed the baby
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) July 12, 2021
Don’t tell me nobody is harmed by these “lifestyle choices.” The baby is now condemned to this madness.
pic.twitter.com/SEAPReorbj
The couple involves a biological female, Ahanu, who claims to be the father of the child and a biological male, Petrona, who claims to be the mother. The video captures Petrona attempting to breastfeed the baby but failing at it because he cannot lactate. The couple uses supplements to complement the nutrient requirements of the baby.
“The baby has been able to latch, but I’ve not been able to produce any milk,” Petrona says. “Being able to even be a part of a process where I’m trying to create milk and my body, it makes me feel very excited. I’m this baby’s mother, so by doing this it’s helping me feel really connected to the pregnancy,” he says while confirming that he receives medication to stimulate male lactation.
Ahanu is the biological mother of the baby, as confirmed by a photo shared by Petrona in November 2020.
The couple has complained in the past that Washington DC laws are ‘forcing’ them to label Ahanu as the mother while the couple insists that Petrona is the mother.
I sincerely thought this was a skit but it isn't.
— Doom Pill Pagliacci (@Slatzism) July 8, 2021
These two people have refused to accept identification documents for their newborn baby because it would require the female who gave birth (glasses) to be listed as the mother and not the male (black hair) who did not give birth. pic.twitter.com/CftJw0Roy6
In January this year, Petrona accused Washington DC of ‘systemic transphobia’ and claimed that “only cisgender women are allowed to give birth” in Washington DC and only “cis Women are allowed to be the second parent of a child.”
Petrona also claimed that “we are legally not able to be considered our child’s Parent & Mother because we are Transgender.” “DC Code does not believe our family is legal,” said Petrona.
In the last tweet of the same thread, Petrona claimed that “birthers” come in “all genders” and demanded that the DC legislature “change its laws to include Transgender people because Trans Birthers and Families don’t deserve to be discriminated against.”
The term “birthers” is motivated by the belief that gender is a social construct and hence, all genders can give birth to children. While it is known that only women have the power to give birth to children, the social construct removes the privilege from women. The belief also leads to claims that it is not only women who menstruate but other genders do as well.
Consequently, terms such as “birthers”, “menstruators“, “vulva owners”, which normally would be considered derogatory, suddenly find favours among the left. But it is well known that only women are biologically wired to give birth.
Meanwhile, Ahanu, who identifies as a 2-spirit trans non-binary person, has her account protected on Twitter.
Petrona has his account private on Instagram.
The couple has also featured on “9 Months with Courteney Cox” which features “intimate, shocking, and raw footage they capture reveals, truly in a way that has never been attempted before, all of the highs, lows, and unexpected twists of the story of life – before birth.”
According to Nerd Alert News, the episode captured the “struggle” of the couple “with family members over the decision to not gender their child.” A play, written by Petrona and produced by Angel Rose Artist Collective, was also streamed by Syracuse University’s LGBT Resource Center and Office of Multicultural Affairs to commemorate Transgender Day of Remembrance in 2020. The play was titled “SIJSIWAYULU”.
The play is reportedly “about two transgender women reclaiming their Two-Spirit identity through Indigenous Salvadoran culture and diaspora while living in the United States,” according to The Daily Orange.
In the episode of “9 Months with Courteney Cox”, Ahanu says, “The gender binary was very violent, and growing up I had a gender assigned to me and it caused me a lot of unnecessary trauma.” Petrona, speaking of his family, claimed “their minds are filled with Christian supremacy.”
Petrona also says, “They’re stuck. There’s no escape. They’re trapped and to me, that’s really sad… world. “I do not know if anybody other than my mother knows that we’re expecting a baby. It’s really sad because they’re missing out.”
