A transgender man wanted to fulfill his dream of having kids, so he stopped taking testosterone and conceived twins after undergoing medical treatment. Two years later, he posted pictures with his babies despite receiving criticism from people online.
Aaden Darr, born as a biological female, came out as a transgender man at 16 after realizing he was interested in women instead of men. As a result, the Charleston, West Virginia resident underwent hormone therapy to transition into a man.
When the teenager came out as a transgender man, other high school children bullied him, forcing him to study at home. He started taking testosterone when he turned 18.
According to the man, he had no idea about the concept of transitioning until one of his friends told him about it. “My parents weren’t supportive of my transition at first,” he revealed.
After turning 18, Darr underwent counseling before starting hormonal treatment. However, he stopped the treatment two years later to fulfill his wish of having a child.
After consulting with experts at a local fertility clinic, Darr underwent Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) but didn’t get pregnant the first time. The doctor ran tests on him and learned he had polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which made it difficult for him to conceive.
After five unsuccessful rounds of artificial insemination, the doctors told Darr they wouldn’t continue the process after the sixth time. He recalled it was “surreal” when the doctors told him he was pregnant after six rounds of treatment. He conceived twins in August 2020.
However, his pregnancy journey was quite a new experience for him because his body changed drastically as his pregnancy progressed. Moreover, stepping out in public with an entirely changed body was not easy for Darr. He recalled:
“I was sometimes still scared to go out in public pregnant, though. No one was ever mean to me. It was more of a self-conscious thing.”
Darr said having the body of a woman while feeling like a man felt “very conflicting on a personal level.” However, with the support of his friends, family, and coworkers, he fought the mental challenges and delivered two baby girls through C-section in April 2021.
How Did He Describe His Experience?
Darr felt glad to break gender norms after delivering babies despite being a transgender man. Although he thought it was difficult to have babies, he said he would “do it all over again.”
He revealed his mother was delighted when she learned about his pregnancy, and his friends and coworkers supported him. However, when he shared his artificial insemination journey on TikTok, he received comments from strangers questioning his life choices. He recalled:
“People said vile things like, ‘If you want to be a man so badly, why do you want to have a family?’”
Darr added that he found it “ridiculous” when people called his children “poor.” He termed such people “ignorant” and believed he was a “better parent” because he accepted new ideas more than others as a trans father.
“I don’t believe toys and clothes are gendered, so if they want a monster truck, they can have a monster truck,” he explained. He added that receiving negative remarks from people was the most difficult part of being a transgender parent.
Over a year after holding his babies in his arms for the first time, Darr met Claire Behrens, who is now his girlfriend. Together, the couple is raising Darr’s twins while people criticize him for having children.
Darr loves his kids immensely and often shares photos of them online. He uploaded a picture of the twins on Facebook on December 2021, where one of his friends commented:
Dude, they look juuuust like you!!!!”
What Did People Online Say about Him?
Darr felt proud to have fulfilled his wish of having children, but people online had different views. He accepted that he struggled during his pregnancy, but no one had ever criticized him publicly whenever he stepped out.
However, that wasn’t the case when his story was shared on Facebook. People criticized him and passed mean remarks in the comments section after learning that he was the father of two 2-year-old girls.
“That is absolutely disgusting,” one netizen wrote, while another said, “This world is sick.” Similar remarks were seen in the comments section posted by people who weren’t happy with what the transgender man did. Meanwhile, a Facebook user felt terrible for the twins and said:
“Poor kids.”
While some Facebook users criticized Darr, saying men can’t give birth, others congratulated him and wished him good luck. They believed he would be an excellent father to his twin girls.
