Dear TERFS: Leave Fin Affleck alone

The failing Daily Mail is at it again: after platforming a misleading, transphobic study just a short while ago, the tabloid is now using Ben Affleck’s child Fin to make a far-fetched point about the children of celebrities coming out as trans in large numbers.

I mean sure, it could be a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top, involving cover-ups, hidden agendas, and somebody putting magical trans-making hormones in the Calabasas water. Or it could just be that nearly a third of Gen Zers identify as LGBTQ+ because they’re living in a world where that’s finally possible, and the stigma—while still very much alive in certain arenas—is largely on its way out.

But who knows! We just can’t say!

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Fin Affleck, who recently came out as nonbinary while speaking at their grandfather’s memorial service last week, has been quietly enjoying their life and minding their own goddamn business, as queer people tend to do. They’ve become close friends with their step-sibling, Emme Muniz, and the two have been seen hanging out and shopping together in LA.

Both Emme and Fin are lucky to have supportive, caring parents who are doing their best to honor their kids’ queer identities while keeping them protected from the tabloids. But tabloids are gonna tabloid, and The Daily Mail piece is using Fin’s coming out as a way to imply that there’s some kind of overrepresentation of trans and nonbinary identity among the children of Hollywood celebrities. The Mail brings up Charlize Theron’s trans child, saying that the child came out as trans when they were “barely out of nappies.” They were, in fact, 11 years old when they came out to their mother—not sure how long The Daily Mail thinks children are wearing diapers these days.

Again…there’s nothing shocking about kids identifying as trans from a young age. Coming out earlier means that trans and nonbinary kids are spending less time in the closet, and as anyone who’s been closeted can tell you, the sooner you get out of that thing, the better. We’re finally getting to the place where parents don’t view their children’s queerness or transness as something to be hidden or reformed, and where kids can come out to their parents without fear of judgement. And that can only be a good thing.

And to reiterate: while misleading studies and junk science would have us believe that transness is “just a phase,” the most comprehensive survey to date shows that only 8% of trans individuals end up detransitioning, and for the majority of those respondents, it was only temporary. When trans people come out at any age, they shouldn’t be met with disbelief, conspiracy theories, and stigma. They should be met with love and acceptance, period.