Discrimination, Advocacy, and Pride Theme Analysis

Nicole and other transgender people face an immense amount of discrimination, to the point that Nicole and her family decide that it is better to “go stealth” and not reveal her gender identity to her peers when she moves to a new middle school. But not only does this hurt her ability to be fully open with her new friends, it also prevents her from being her own advocate and working to gain the rights she deserves. It is only by being out and proud as a transgender girl that Nicole is able to campaign for herself and others, suggesting that openness and advocacy for transgender people is crucial to help others feel more familiar and more comfortable with what it means to be transgender.

As Wyatt is growing up, a significant portion of the news and information surrounding transgender people is very negative. This allows readers to understand why Kelly does not want Wyatt to be fully “out” in school. When Wyatt is still very young, Kelly hears about a news story in which a couple in New York City allowed their young son to go to school dressed as a girl. The parents were reported to the police and arrested, and the child was temporarily taken away from them. This incident makes Kelly understandably anxious, as the discrimination against transgender children is so bad that Wyatt could possibly be taken from her, and thus him being out as trans would be more worrying than not. When Wyatt and Jonas are five, Kelly hears another story: that of a 17-year-old transgender woman named Gwen Araujo, who was strangled and beaten to death for being transgender. Having pride and engaging in advocacy around one’s identity, Nutt shows, are difficult when the prevailing prejudices can lead to so much danger.

Nicole faces her own experiences with discrimination, which ultimately force her to conceal her transgender identity. When the school and Kelly decide that Nicole should use the girls’ bathroom in fifth grade, another fifth-grade boy, Jacob, starts to follow Nicole into the bathroom, saying that if she can use it, he can too. Jacob calls Nicole a “faggot,” and for the first time, Nicole feels ashamed of who she is, sobbing when she tells Kelly later. The school makes little effort to punish Jacob, focusing more on Nicole’s behavior and what she is allowed to do, demonstrating their own complicity in this discrimination. The situation at school becomes so toxic (particularly when the Christian Civic League gets involved and criticizes the Maineses) that Kelly, Jonas, and Nicole move out of Orono, Maine, and Wayne is forced to commute 140 miles between Portland and Orono. Nicole then hides her transgender identity from her new classmates, knowing that coming out as transgender to her peers could potentially repeat this crisis. But not being able to fully share her identity with others proves to be torturous and upsetting to her as well.

Despite the dangers of being out, Wyatt and Kelly also see instances in which role models and advocates for transgender people can make a large impact. Again, when Wyatt is young, Kelly sees an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show with Jennifer Finney Boylan, who is “a pretty, very normal-seeming woman, who just happened to have once been a man.” She talks about her own experiences as a transgender woman and how she no longer wanted to live in “silence and shame.” This gives Kelly the kind of affirmation she needs to allow Wyatt to do what makes him most comfortable. Having transgender visibility and representation gives Kelly and Wyatt confidence in knowing that he, too, could have the same success. When Wyatt is 10, he, Kelly, and Wayne sit down to watch a 20/20 special that focuses on a transgender girl named Jazz, who is about the same age as Wyatt and Jonas. Wyatt is relieved to know that there is someone like him, and Wayne is shocked to see Jazz’s parents speaking openly about their anxieties on national TV. The story allows not only Wyatt to feel more comfortable and prouder of his identity, but also for Kelly and Wayne to see that they can be more open about Wyatt as well.

Ultimately, Nicole and the rest of her family recognize the value of being proud of her identity and their subsequent ability to advocate for Nicole and other transgender people. The Maines family decides to sue the school for its discrimination against Nicole in terms of which bathroom she would be allowed to use. They recognize the importance of their position and the fact that it “had meaning and significance for many others.” They win the case in the state supreme court, setting a precedent not only in Maine, but also throughout the country. The victory illustrates how her fight is important not only to her own rights, but to the rights of others. The Maineses also speak out against a law that, if passed, would allow the owners of any business to decide who could use their restrooms and prevent transgender people from claiming discrimination under Maine’s Human Rights Act if forced to use a bathroom that did not match their gender identity. Wayne gives an impassioned speech imploring the Maine legislature not to pass the bill, and Nicole stops representatives in the hallway, asking for their support to defeat the bill. The bill is defeated, which is a significant victory for Maine and the Maines family. Nicole’s openness about her identity in these situations allows her to change the minds of other people—and in turn, support the rights of all transgender people.

Nutt recognizes that being out is not always possible or safe for transgender people. But she also highlights the power of a person being out and proud of their identity. By embracing this courageous sense of pride, they can subsequently affect the next generation in terms of being positive representation, as well as helping to change minds and discriminatory laws.