Transgender pregnancy and the contestation of gender identity and norms

Evan Hempel was born a female. 16 years ago, the 35 year-old came out as transgender, and since 2003, he has been taking hormones to physically become male, which he has pretty much achieved, and it has been a long and arduous journey.

Despite the physical transformation that he underwent, Evan always yearned to have a baby. To fulfil what he’s always wanted to experience since he was a kid, Evan went through several artificial insemination procedures using donor sperm.

After a failed pregnancy, the 35-year-old gave birth to a son in April. His family and colleagues were supportive during his pregnancy (notwithstanding a few health insurance bureaucratic nightmares). Evan’s story as chronicled by his sister, captures how America is slowly accepting the idea that you can be born into a female or male body but still express a gender identity that differs from the assigned sex.

Image: LGBTQnation.com, AP

Jessi Hempel, Evan’s sister recently wrote and shared his story in TIME called ‘My Brother’s Pregnancy and the Making of a New American Family’. The story has generated a lot of interest online, and there’s a feeling that America is becoming more and more tolerant and understanding when it comes to transgender people becoming parents.

However, the same cannot be said of Africa, where the story has elicited negative reactions around the acceptance of transgender people, not least the idea of them becoming parents. It appears pregnancies such as Evan’s, which stretch our cultural perceptions of gender norms are making a lot of people uncomfortable, if the comments on an earlier post on the issue on This is Africa are anything to go by. Below are some of the critical and negative comments on issue:

“If she’s a man trapped in a woman’s body, then what’s with the baby and breastfeeding? Sounds to me like some people are just greedy, hedonistic, and want things both ways”.

“If he can get pregnant, give birth, and nurse a baby, THEN he is definitely a SHE!!!!”.

“How is this changing the “perceptions of gender norms”? When that is a woman who decided to become a man”.

“This guys are trying so hard to modify nature but as expected they fail. You’ll ever remain a girl if born so and vice versa. Confused folks!.”

The reactions to Evan’s story signify that African culture/s still view gender as a binary concept, with two fixed options: male or female, which are both grounded in a person’s sex. There is an inadequate understanding or refusal to accept the fluidity of gender identity and roles, that a person’s gender identity can be congruent or different from their sex assigned at birth. For most people, gender identity and expression has to be consistent with one’s sex, otherwise any such dissonance or deviation is rebuffed, viewed negatively and punished in some cases.

Read: Homosexuality and African history: the roots of the criminalisation of homosexuality

It is not entirely surprising that Evan’s story would make some people uncomfortable considering that the acceptance of transgender, gay and lesbian people is still a major battle across the continent.

 “For most people, gender identity and expression has to be consistent with one’s sex, otherwise any such dissonance or deviation is rebuffed, viewed negatively and punished in some cases”.

Homophobia, biphobia and transphobia remain rife across Africa and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) communities still face discrimination and violence in various spheres. LGBT issues in many parts of the continent remain controversial and divisive, with hate crimes, and rights violations against the LGBT communities a daily reality.

While stories such as Evan’s contest and challenge Western society’s preconceived ideas on gender identity, norms, and roles, they give an opportunity to reflect on whether these attitudes can also be contested and changed closer to home.