Zaya Wade, the second child of Dwyane Wade, has finally gained legal recognition for her adopted name and gender according to reports.
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Born as Zion Wade to Dwyane and his first wife Siohvaughn Funches, Zaya has fought many battles at her tender age. The 15-year-old revealed early in her childhood that she felt like a girl more than a boy. D-Wade revealed this in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres:
“Zaya, our 12-year-old, came home and said, ‘Hey, so I want to talk to you guys. I think going forward, I’m ready to live my truth. And I want to be referenced as she and her. I’d love for you guys to call me Zaya.'”
To D-Wade’s credit, his openness to his child’s gender fluidity helped her embolden herself. Since her decision to accept her new gender, Zaya has also been the subject of some vitriol, however. She shared this in an interview with People magazine:
“As a trans person, once I came out, there was a lot of hateful comments about how I should grow my hair out long or fit into a certain version of femininity, even though that’s not true at all. That kind of advice is just trying to break you, but don’t let it.”
Also Read – Dwyane Wade Son Boyfriend: Exploring Zaya Wade’s Dating Life
NBA Twitter reacts to Zaya Wade successfully changing her legal name and gender
TMZ Sports reported earlier today that Zaya Wade had won a petition to get her name changed from Zion to Zaya, in addition to changing her gender. Her official name now is Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade.
The Internet was never known as a safe space for minorities and transgender individuals. Some of the responses to this news bear out this notion quite clearly.
However, most of the messaging has been positive.
Trans individuals have to face the ills of transphobia at every turn. It’s up to us – the general public – to be supportive of their private life decisions.
