Modern Family is the first television show in industry history to cast an openly transgender child for an upcoming episode.
Jackson Millarker, who was born as a female and now identifies as male, will play a friend of the adopted child of the gay couple, Cam and Mitchell.
Jackson was raised by lesbian mothers in reality. The child reportedly began transitioning at age 6.
Though the show is a work of fiction, the plot reflects an alarming increase of allowing children to transition genders before puberty.
Transgender children who continue to transition throughout their lives often face a heart-breaking fate:
- 82 percent of transgender youth report that they feel unsafe at school
- 44 percent had been abused physically (punched, shoved, etc.)
- 67 percent of them had been bullied online
- 64 percent of them had their property stolen or destroyed
- Suicide attempts among trans men (46 percent) and trans women (42 percent) were slightly higher than the full sample (41 percent).
- Suicide attempts was highest among those who are younger (18 to 24 years old: 45 percent).
- Prevalence of suicide attempts is elevated among those who disclose to everyone that they are transgender or gender-non-conforming (50%)
