Paloma Faith reveals heartwarming conversation with child about transitioning
Paloma has spoken to her child about the meaning of transitioning. (Getty Images)
Paloma Faith has opened up about the heartwarming conversation she had with her six-year-old child about transitioning.
The “Can’t Rely On You” singer explained that she is open with her daughter about all sorts of topics, and nothing is really off the table.
And, in typical kid fashion, once Faith’s daughter had all of her questions answered in a thoughtful manner, she went on with her day and got back to playing with her toys. It really is that simple.
Faith acknowledged that, of course, these conversations won’t make her daughter want to transition, but she does hope that they will make her someone who “doesn’t really care about gender.”
“I talk to my six-year-old all the time about everything and her attitude towards all of this stuff so I’m hopeful she doesn’t really care about gender,” she told the Reign with Josh Smith podcast.
“She doesn’t care about sexual orientation. She doesn’t care about race at all. And she talks about it because it’s something that shouldn’t be ignored or pretended it doesn’t exist. But she just doesn’t care.
“She’s just like, ‘Oh, this person likes that.’ With my friendship groups, I’ve got lots of people in my life from all walks of life and she’s surrounded by it and I’m hoping that that will remain and that her generation will be better than ours.”
Faith recalled: “She asked me the other day – people are so sort of pointed about these questions – she just said, ‘If I wanted to change into a boy, could I?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, you can, but you can’t do it today.’
“I was like, ‘you won’t be able to do it today because it takes ages, and you have to do lots of talking to the mind doctor,’ that’s what I call them.
“I was like, ‘[you have to] talk to the mind doctor for a long time, and then it’s a slow process because everyone needs to make sure that’s what you’re absolutely sure of.’ And she’s like, ‘Could my friend do it?’
“Because she’s trying to understand and I’m like, ‘yeah, but different people have different obstacles.’
“And I was like, ‘But you know, the best thing I can hope for you, is that you just find a place where you’re happy with yourself and you feel like you’re happy with who you are as a person. And whatever that is, I’m behind it.”
The “Only Love Can Hurt Like This” singer concluded: “And she’s just like, ‘great!’ And then she just moves on to another thing. She’s like, next, Lego or whatever. But it doesn’t mean that she’s going to want to transition. It’s just important to me as a parent that she feels that that is a conversation she can have, there’s no taboo.”
Paloma is a well-established ally of the LGBTQ+ community, having previously won awards for her advocacy.
Earlier this month, the songstress condemned Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for his “inflammatory” remarks about transgender people at a recent Conservative party conference.
“Whatever his opinions are, which I do not agree with categorically, but if he’s got those opinions, [voicing them like that] is irresponsible and inflammatory… He should be ashamed of himself. I think a person who does what he did is not a leader.” she declared at the time.
In 2020, Faith led a chorus of feminist voices condemning violence against trans women as part of an open letter.
That same year, the singer unintentionally sparked hysteria when she opted not to reveal her child’s gender right away, as a means to protect their privacy.
The decision inexplicably sparked rumours that Faith was going to raise her child as gender-neutral.
While she has since confirmed that she has two daughters, Faith shot down the furor over the idea that she was raising her children as gender-neutral, telling The Independent that, no matter how she raises her children, “one of [her] kids might still end up being trans”.
