I went up to Cheshire from London this weekend for the purpose of telling my dad ( well I actually went via Copenhagen but that's neither here or there). I told him on Friday evening that I had been seeing a therapist and that the reason why was because of my gender. I went on to explain that I had felt this way for most of my life and that I want to change my gender rôle and my physical gender.
I have to say he took it very well. Obviously he was upset but for me rather than himself and for what I would have to go through either way. We ended up staying up till 4 in the morning discussing the various ins and outs of the process as well as my feelings about what had happened so far. By the end we were able to crack jokes about things (helped no doubt by the three bottles of wine we'd consumed). We also discussed the next big step of coming out to my wife.
I know he will experience a number of emotions over the next weeks and months. However he is an advanced enough human being that when he feels something his reaction is to consider the origin of those feelings before any action. As I left he told me that he would always love me, remained very proud of me and he would support me in the time ahead.
