THIS Morning has been hit with complaints over an interview with the parents of a transgender four-year-old.
Dad Matthew Stubbings and his partner Klara Jeynes spoke to hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about their son Stormy, who they said realised he was trans aged two.
Prior to the family’s experience, Matthew said he didn’t believe children could be transgender.
The broadcasting watchdog received 77 complaints in total following the episode.
The most complained about programme of the week was the live Brit Awards broadcast which received 122 complaints over sweary appearances and crude jokes.
Back on This Morning, Matthew said of his son’s decision: “It was as soon as he was old enough to talk when he could express himself properly.
“In hindsight, when he was two and a half, about 18 months old, because that was the point when he could really say it.
“Before then we’d thought it and he was living certainly what we’d call the stereotype boy lifestyle.”
Stormy has an older brother and the couple felt it was this that was influencing how he felt.
Klara added: “We went through the whole process of showing Stormy you can be a girl, a woman, and be a strong woman.
“Initially we were thinking ‘she wants to be like her brother,’ so we did things like we showed him women can be firewomen, fire people, they can do anything like that.
“Stormy likes football so we showed him female footballers.
“We wanted him to know it wasn’t just he felt like he had to conform.
“After that we basically started kind of saying we need to do something.”
The couple were told by a health visitor to keep reminding Stormy he was biologically a girl, but eventually he chose to live as a boy.
Matthew said: “We absolutely adore Stormy, we love him so much, we’re so proud of him and we’re so proud of the choice that he has made.
“Eighteen months ago, two years ago, if I’d have heard this story from somebody else I wouldn’t have believed it. I mean that absolutely sincerely, I wouldn’t have believed it.
“I thought it was made up, I thought it wasn’t real, I thought the whole thing was made up by parents.
“Because I’ve seen it, I’ve experienced it, I’ve learnt about it, I absolutely support what Stormy has decided to do.
“So many people think biological sex and gender is the same thing, including me two years ago.
“It’s only when you realise they’re not the same thing, what Stormy has decided and what other children have decided, and what we have supported, should be celebrated.”
