Is Jacob Lemay a "Trans" Kid?
Or a girl with undiagnosed autism?
In our latest viral X thread, we cover the story of Jacob Lemay, a biological girl who was renamed and transitioned by her mother Mimi. We think this story, and others like it, point to what may be a startling trend of girls with undiagnosed traits of autism being funnelled into gender transition.
What happened?
In 2015, the story of five-year-old “trans” kid🏳️⚧️ Jacob Lemay went viral.
This is an analysis of the Lemay family’s first public interview.
This story shows that instead of diagnosing girls with autism, adults sometimes ‘transition’ them.
Jacob, born Mia, was one of three girls born to the Lemay family.
By the age of 5, her parents had already decided to allow their daughter to transition & to live as a boy.
Their story went viral after Jacob’s mom Mimi, published an open letter to her child.
In this clip, the Lemay parents reflect on the signs of ‘transgender identity’ in their toddler Mia.
Mia was a child who changed her clothes constantly, sometimes 12 times a day- until she was gifted a ‘doggy sweater’ which she refused to take off for 6 months.
The Lemay family retrospectively interpreted their toddler’s obsession of changing her clothes constantly, as their daughter’s attempt to “dispel a sense of discomfort with her image”.
These ‘clues’ were later used as proof of the child’s ‘innate’ trans identity.
In this clip, the girl’s parents discussed that their tomboy daughter didn’t ’quite fit in with the girls or with the boys’.
Her mother Mimi discusses how her child withdrew socially & wouldn’t ’look people in the face’ when they talked to her.
When these parents describe their daughter’s compulsive need to change her clothes, her obsession with one specific sweater & her inability to engage in eye contact- as signs of discomfort with her female identity,
I can’t help but to notice these as possible signs of autism.
Mia’s mom Mimi describes how her daughter’s obsessive rituals around clothing were followed by an ‘insistent, consistent & persistent’ request to be treated as a boy.
Mimi says that these are traits of a possibly transgender child.
In reality, these are more likely to be traits of autism.
The mother of the now “trans child” describes being distressed by the potential implications of her daughter’s obsession with being a boy.
Gender nonconformity & narrow hyper-fixations are classic traits of autism. These traits are falsely attributed to an inner ‘male identity’.
In the cases of many “trans children” there is often a non-conforming child & a well-meaning, neurotic parent who becomes distressed by their child’s differences.
Then- there’s a catalyst- a major life event which causes a parent to actively pursue their child’s transition.
Before she transitioned her daughter, Mia’s mother Mimi discusses a how a narrowly avoided collision caused her to make up her mind about transitioning her daughter.
Then she buys a Prince Charming costume for her daughter, who gets praised by others for being ‘handsome’.
In this clip, the parents discussed their daughter’s joy at being complimented for how handsome she looked in the Prince Charming costume.
The parents arrive at the conclusion that being perceived as a boy is what made their daughter happy. In reality, kids thrive on praise. When a child is praised for any behavior, they will continue those behaviors.
In this clip, the parents discuss showing their tomboy daughter a video of a “trans kid” named Ryland.
Mia’s parents asked her if she too would like to become a boy.
Mia didn’t organically come to see herself as a boy- this idea was planted into her mind by adults.
Mia’s mother Mimi, reports that her daughter thrived after transitioning; she began to engage in eye contact & developed friendships.
The mom concludes that ‘being Jacob’ really suited her daughter.
One wonders why the girl had to ‘live as a boy’ to do what made her happy.
The story of “trans kid” Jacob Lemay begs the following question:
Why were adults so quick to ascribe a transgender identity to a tomboy with a preponderance of autistic traits, instead of getting her evaluated & treated for her developmental delays?
Adults ascribe transgender identities to non-conforming children, because they aren’t provided the correct frameworks to help them understand their child.
Instead of seeing autistic traits in their daughter, the Lemay’s saw a boy ‘trapped’ in their daughter’s body.
There is much to be learned from the story of Jacob Lemay & her family:
We have learned that in this current cultural moment, instead of screening girls for autism- we transition them.
We have learned that sex non-conformity in kids still causes distress for their parents.
In our next thread, we will look into how Jacob herself has rationalized her transition ‘into a boy’.
This thread however is aimed at highlighting the perspectives of the parents.
Parents who feel incapable of understanding their kids are told to seek advice from ‘experts’
Behind every trans activist parent is a well-meaning parent who was lied to by “experts”.
This little girl was transitioned because “experts” saw in her intense obsession with becoming a boy as a sign that she *is* a boy- rather than seeing it as a potential trait of autism.
At Restore Childhood, we understand that political agendas have captured the ‘experts’ of institutions which are supposed to protect our kids.
We’ve developed a TOOLKIT so that parents can become their own experts. We believe that, empowered with evidence-based information, parents can make better, more informed choices so that their children may be spared the irreversible damage of a lifetime of medicalization.
