Meet The Transgender Father And Daughter That Are Transitioning Together

A post shared by Corey Maison (@coreymaison) on Jan 13, 2017 at 4:48am PST

Last year, her father Eric, who was assigned female at birth, inspired by his daughter’s journey, also came out as transgender. “When I was younger I used to wish for cancer so I would have to get a mastectomy,” he told 60 Minutes.

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Like so many transgender people, Corey has had to deal with bullies, but the Maisons have an amazing family support system. Eric’s husband and Corey’s father, Les, has been totally supportive, and the couple is staying together. “I fell in love with the person,” he said of Eric. “She was beautiful as a woman, but equally beautiful on the inside.”

Corey has documented her journey on Instagram as an advocate for trans teens. “I can’t believe how far I’ve come in less than 4 years. I used to hide behind a fake smile, but now all my smiles are genuine,” she wrote. “It feels so good to be MYSELF and it feels even better to love myself!”

#transformationtuesday I can’t believe how far I’ve come in less than 4 years. I used to hide behind a fake smile, but now all my smiles are genuine. It feels so good to be MYSELF and it feels even better to love myself! #thisiswhattranslookslike #transisbeautiful #transgender #transgirl #girlslikeus #coreymaison #loveyourself #beyourself #nevergiveup #journey

A post shared by Corey Maison (@coreymaison) on Mar 8, 2016 at 4:07pm PST

A post shared by Corey Maison (@coreymaison) on Dec 27, 2016 at 1:51pm PST

Stats on exactly how many people are transgender are hard to pin down. A recent estimate from UCLA predicted about one in 137 teenagers ages 13 to 17 (that’s about 150,000 teens in the US) is transgender. An estimated 1.4 million adults in the US are transgender.

Hopefully stories like the Maison’s will help more transgender youth and adults feel comfortable sharing their stories in their own skin—and help people become more accepting of transgender people.