When my dad came home from prison in 2022, I had already started medically transitioning from female to male.
He knew I was trans before he left, but he hadn’t seen me since I began my transition (the testosterone, the facial hair, and the deeper voice). And when we saw each other again for the first time, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
But what I got was love.
“You got the mustache and beard, you know? It looks good on you,” he said. “Even your voice—got a little bit of bass in it. That kind of tripped me out. But that’s cool, though.”
My name is Lee Wade. I’m an Antioch College student, Community Voices Producer at WYSO, and the host of "Translucent," a podcast that amplifies trans voices and creates space for honest, everyday conversations that don’t usually make the headlines. For this first episode, I interviewed my father, Danny.
Translucent is produced for the ear and designed to be heard, not read. We strongly encourage you to listen to the audio by clicking on the blue "LISTEN" button above, which includes emotion and emphasis not on the page.
You’re still my baby.Danny Wade
My father’s support means everything to me. And it wasn’t something I took for granted.
“At first, I didn’t think you would be that supportive,” I told him during our interview at his home in Dayton. “I beat around the bush or didn’t really talk about it, because I didn’t know how you’d take it.”
But his response was calm and grounded in care.
“What makes you happy makes me happy,” he said. “That’s the way I look at it. I don’t see anything wrong with it. You see how you smile? That makes me smile.”
Not every trans person has a supportive parent. So I asked him: What would you say to someone who doesn’t understand or accept their child?
“They ought to sit down and talk to their child,” he said. “If that’s what makes them happy, they should be supportive. It'll help their child grow and feel like they're not alone.”
His support has given me the courage to share my story through this series and to keep creating space for others to do the same.
Translucent is made possible with support from The Rubi Girls Foundation and is produced right here at The Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO.
