He has attended the annual Dayton Pride festival for the past seven years with his mother, Cathy.
“It’s fun to be with her while doing something that’s supportive,” he said Saturday.
Cathy has been steadfast in her support of Grayson, who was assigned female at birth, since he came out to her as trans nearly a decade ago at age 13.
“I remember I was outside painting my toenails when he told me,” Cathy recalled with a smile. “I was like, ‘Oh, okay, great. I’m on board.’”
While she immediately accepted her child for who he is, Cathy shared that she did have some apprehensions, especially with safety. The family asked that their last name not be used because of similar concerns.
“I was afraid because of how other people may respond to him, especially people who might harm him,” she said. “That is the only thing that’s a negative in my mind.”
Grayson feels Pride events help to combat this.
“It’s important to bring awareness and a supportive atmosphere, especially with things like anti-trans bills being introduced in different states,” he said. “It’s nice to have some place that feels safe.”
Cathy said it’s important for others to know that trans people exist and that they’re deserving of peace and happiness. She added that she saw firsthand how living as his authentic self has helped Grayson.
“Before he came out, there were problems because he didn’t talk to anyone about it and he even became suicidal,” she said. “Once he came out, he was so happy; it was like day and night.”
Jen Morin-Williamson attended Saturday’s Pride festival as part of her work with the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative.
“MSJC has an LGBTQ+ ministry and we’re getting ready to host a Imago Dei retreat at the end of June for people who identify as LGBTQ+ and Catholic,” Morin-Williamson said. “‘Imago Dei’ means ‘image of God” and the idea is that we are all made in God’s image and there is no exception to that.”
Morin-Williamson, 61, said it’s important for people to understand that they don’t need to fit into a certain category in order to practice their faith.
“The hate that people spew in the name of Christianity is not Christianity,” she said. “Some people have experienced religious trauma from viewpoints like this and that’s make me sad and angry.”
Morin-Williamson said she was disappointed to see a group of individuals gathered near the parade’s path to protest Pride in the name of religion, holding signs with messages like “homosexuality is a sin” and speaking against the celebrations via megaphone.
“I saw another group of (people dressed as) angels standing in front of the protesters to try to screen the hate, and I thought that was so beautiful,” she said. “It’s so important to counteract that hatefulness because that’s not the message I believe Jesus would have had; Jesus is love and is all-accepting.”
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