A Canadian man who is married with seven kids has left his family in order to fulfill his true identity - live as a six-year-old girl.
In an emotional video with gay news site The Daily Xtra in collaboration with The Transgender Project, Stefonknee (pronounced ‘Stef-on-knee’) Wolscht, 52, of Toronto, says she realized she was transgender at age 46, and split from her wife, Maria, after she told her husband to 'stop being trans or leave'.
Now, Stefonknee lives with friends who she calls her 'adoptive mommy and daddy' as a six-year-old girl, dressing in children's clothing and spending her time playing and coloring with her adoptive
parents' grandchildren.
In the winter, Stefonknee earns money by plowing snow, and when she's at home with her adoptive family, they color and 'do kid's stuff'.
Stefonknee, who previously went by the name Paul, worked as a mechanic and was a dedicated member of the Catholic church. She says she was
In an emotional video with gay news site The Daily Xtra in collaboration with The Transgender Project, Stefonknee (pronounced ‘Stef-on-knee’) Wolscht, 52, of Toronto, says she realized she was transgender at age 46, and split from her wife, Maria, after she told her husband to 'stop being trans or leave'.
Now, Stefonknee lives with friends who she calls her 'adoptive mommy and daddy' as a six-year-old girl, dressing in children's clothing and spending her time playing and coloring with her adoptive
parents' grandchildren.
| With her adoptive parents |
Stefonknee says her 'adoptive' family, which consists of an older couple and their children and young grandchildren, are completely accepting of her living as a little girl. She says she previously lived as an eight-year-old girl, until the couple's granddaughter asked her to be the younger sister instead.
'A year ago I was eight and she was seven. And she said to me: "I want you to be the little sister, so I’ll be nine." I said: "Well, I don’t mind going to six." So I’ve been six ever since.'
I can’t deny I was married. I can’t deny I have children. 'But I’ve moved forward now and I’ve gone back to being a child. I don’t want to be an adult right now.
I have a mommy and a daddy - an adopted mommy and daddy - who are totally comfortable with me being a little girl. And their children and their grandchildren are totally supportive.'
'It’s called play therapy. No medication, no suicide thoughts. And I just get to play,' she shares.
| With his former wife Maria |
trans before she got married to Maria after high school, but wasn't educated about what that meant, and was terrified of being different.
She first realized she was different from other boys as early as age six, because she was always jealous of the girls at school who got to wear new dresses on picture day.
Stefonknee began dating a woman named Maria in high school, and they later married. Maria was surprised by Paul's love of women's clothing, but was initially supportive, and even bought him an outfit.
At age 44, after attending some transgender workshops in Toronto, he sat their seven kids down and told them he was a woman.
In 2012, her daughter invited her to her wedding, but only on the condition that she dress like a man and sit in the back of the church, not addressing any members of the family.
That day, she attempted suicide for the second time. Fortunately, Stefonknee has now found support at Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, where much of the congregation is made up of LGBT members.
Asked why she wanted to share her story, Stefonknee shares:
She first realized she was different from other boys as early as age six, because she was always jealous of the girls at school who got to wear new dresses on picture day.
Stefonknee began dating a woman named Maria in high school, and they later married. Maria was surprised by Paul's love of women's clothing, but was initially supportive, and even bought him an outfit.
'The next day, she bought me a black pleated skirt, a white blouse, and a grey camisole... so then I had an ally.'But while Maria was supportive of her husband's cross-dressing, she did not accept him as transgender.
At age 44, after attending some transgender workshops in Toronto, he sat their seven kids down and told them he was a woman.
| Stef with his wife & 3 kids |
He said he asked the kids to write him letters about their feelings, and they expressed that they were 'grossed out' about seeing him wearing dresses, and that he acted like their mother rather than their father. One of them wrote:
'Dear Dad, I feel it is very imbarassing [sic] to see you walk around like that. But if you rilly [sic] want it, it will be OK with me. Love, Peter.'Stefonknee revealed she became suicidal and was hospitalized for a month after taking part in her first transgender rally in 2009.She lost her job as a mechanic and was forced to sleep in a homeless shelter for months.
In 2012, her daughter invited her to her wedding, but only on the condition that she dress like a man and sit in the back of the church, not addressing any members of the family.
That day, she attempted suicide for the second time. Fortunately, Stefonknee has now found support at Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, where much of the congregation is made up of LGBT members.
Asked why she wanted to share her story, Stefonknee shares:
'I paid a pretty heavy price for transitioning. I've already lost everything, and everything has happened. I'm gonna be me, and I'm gonna show other people that it's OK to be feminine for a guy.'She now spends much of her time raising awareness for the transgender community and attending rallies.
'It's a fresh start,' says Stefonknee, adding: 'We have a quasi-family that we're creating. And I'm allowed to be exactly who I am.'
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