It came as quite a shock to the world this past week as word spread that R. Kelly and Drea Kelly’s child had come out to the world as a transgender man explaining that he was now going by Jay instead of Jaya. Now, as curiosity piques about Jay, more information is spilling out to the world about the young man.
According to In Touch Weekly, the 14-year-old boy has been open with his followers on his Ask.fm about his life and says that he identified as male since he was “6 or 7.”
“[My mom] was like, ‘Baby, you know I love you if you were bi, gay, [lesbian], you name it and I would still love you so much,’” he wrote.
“She was very proud of me. I was like, ‘Thank you mum for accepting the fact that I’m a transgender,’” he added.
Jay also says that his sister is very accepting of him as well.
“And same with my sister, she told me that she was proud of me, and respects me by calling me handsome and calling me her little brother now, and I love her for that, so you know it was great for me.”
Jay also says that he told his brother months ago that he’s transgender and was met with support from him. “He was like ‘aye ghee! You gone look beastie in a suit’ lol,” Jay said.
However, Jay says that he hasn’t told his father yet. “I dont know, he lives in Atlanta, he probably does know though,” Jay said in one answer.
Jay says that he, his sister and his mother don’t have a relationship with R. Kelly, but his brother does. More troubling though is the fact that Jay revealed that he’s battling with depression.
Its very complicated, [it’s one] of the things that come with being transgender, you’re always depressed,” Jay said adding, “You cry, A LOT.”
It’s disturbing that Jay is experiencing depression over being transgender, especially since pieces of his private life are now playing out in the public eye. Making matters worse are the studies that show high rates of depression and suicide in transgender youth due to transphobia, social invisibility and oppression. We hope that not only are Jay’s words used to spark more open and progressive conversation about the real lives and experiences of transgender people, but we also hope that he continues to get love and support from his family as well as professional psychological help for his depression if he needs it. – nicholas robinson
