Letters to America
Because parenting is full of transitions.
A National Storytelling Campaign from GenderCool
A letter from one parent. Read aloud by another. An invitation to recognize what we share.
Read the English video transcript
Transcribed from the English-language video, including the readers’ responses.
Do I need a tissue for this?
Dear Dawn, I hope you and your family are well. It's hard to believe that when you started cutting my children's hair, they were toddlers. Now they're in their 20s. We knew raising children was one of life's greatest adventures. But it was also the hardest job either of us ever had. In middle school, you realize swaddling a newborn was nothing compared to helping them navigate.
Friend drama, not making a team, feeling like they don't belong, or realizing that they made someone else feel that way. You may not know, but Knox is now a senior in college. He gives tours as a student ambassador and helps recruit new students. He works at a summer camp for kids with autism, tutoring, and teaching archery. He is truly one of the kindest people I've ever known.
He'll graduate in May with a degree in anthropology, and he is also transgender.
This, of course, you do know because you were one of my first calls after he came out. I explained the situation and asked if you would cut his hair. And you simply said that you'd be honored. A friend of mine happened to see him leaving from one of these first haircuts and told me he seemed to be standing taller and smiling brighter. She said she'd never seen him happier.
I'll always be grateful. It was you who was there when a haircut wasn't just a haircut. And I can only hope more people realize what we learned. That all parents want their kids to be safe, healthy, and happy people,
and treat others with respect. We all want the same thing. And you were the first to teach me that, Dawn. Jeez.
I wish you the best for whatever comes next in your parenting journey, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for the difference you've made in mine. Sincerely, Mary Edwards.
Like, you just want your kid to be happy and healthy and loved, and it really is what we all want, right? You just keep figuring it out, you know? You just keep figuring it out.
One parent’s words. Another parent’s voice.
The letter belongs to the parent who wrote it. The reading brings those words into another parent’s voice, without a script for how to react. That meeting of lived experience and genuine response creates space for recognition.
“We knew raising children was one of life's greatest adventures.”Understanding begins with listening.
Letters to America is GenderCool’s flagship national storytelling initiative for 2026. Parents of cisgender children give unscripted readings of letters written by parents of transgender and nonbinary youth.
In someone else’s words, parents encounter feelings they know: love for their children, fear for their safety, and hope for their future. The connection begins there—not in a debate, but in a shared experience of being a parent.
“It's hard to believe that when you started cutting my children's hair, they were toddlers.”How connection happens
A letter
A parent of a transgender or nonbinary young person writes about their experience as a parent.
A reading
A parent of a cisgender child reads that letter aloud, with an unscripted response.
A connection
Listeners are invited to recognize shared love, fear, and hope across different family experiences.
“Like, you just want your kid to be happy and healthy and loved”
“He is truly one of the kindest people I've ever known.”Shared values. Not opposing sides.
For people who are open to understanding but may not know a transgender or nonbinary young person, a parent’s voice can offer a familiar starting point. Parents are trusted messengers, helping reach people whose views are still taking shape.
Letters to America builds understanding through stories rather than persuasion. It centers what parents share while respecting the differences in their lives.
Love is a place to begin.
We do not have to share every experience to recognize a parent’s love for their child.