Our kids aren’t surprised by nakedness or trans bodies, nor are they even particularly interested. The kids see my partner naked as an everyday part of life, and that’s not a big deal for them. We talk about men who have labias and women who have penises all the time. In our house, it’s not a strange thing for a man to have breasts (pre-top surgery) or chest scars (post-surgery). My partner is a trans man, and he feels the same.
I’m doing my best to raise kids who see the good things about their bodies - not the bad, as I was unfortunately taught to do. “Fat” is not a mean word in our house, and I only ever use the word in a non-judgmental way, as a neutral descriptor. I often compliment my kids on the parts of their bodies that people do not normally compliment I tell them how much I love their tummies, or how strong their legs look, and I never talk disparagingly about my own body in front of them. I also think it’s important for children to see their own bodies as something to be proud of - as opposed to ashamed of. Especially in an era when young people have access to a plethora of airbrushed pornography on the internet, I feel it is essential to normalize different body types. I want my children to see a variety of bodies, but particularly older female bodies, and to be familiar and comfortable with pubic hair and saggy breasts and bellies. Lucky for us, we live on a large property and the neighbors are a long way away. I’m also not a huge fan of wearing clothes myself, which I think is equally important for my kids to see. I am always careful to ask the question in neutral tones, so that I’m not leading the decision either way, and I work very hard to ensure that being naked is not thought of in “naughty” terms (I avoid the term “rudey-nudey” for this reason). Invariably, the answer is a joyous “naked!”
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