It was an “ easy” touch-up, transforming an old tattoo into something new, but for one Canadian couple, the change represented a show of support and love for their transgender son.
Steve Peace, a Calgary-based tattoo artist, gave his wife, Lindsay, three tattoos more than a decade ago. Each piece of ink featured a portrait of one of their three children -- Elliot, Hamish and Ace.
Lindsay recently decided to have the tattoos touched up, but the image of Ace, their eldest son, needed extra work.
The original portrait showed a girl wearing pigtails and a pink dress. It was created before Ace, now 15, had come out as trans.
Lindsay says the original tattoo had made her son “sad.”
“As our oldest child Ace is FTM transgender we need to update the tattoo to fully represent who he is in his happy new awesome life,” Steve wrote on Facebook.
So, the dad went to work:
As the photo shows, Steve created a new portrait of Ace that better captured his son’s identity. The pink dress was turned into a blue T-shirt and shorts while the purple flower was transformed into a slingshot.
“A lot of trans people don’t like pictures of themselves from their past,” Steve told BuzzFeed. “That’s one that sort of walked around with us, as a family.”
Once the new portrait was complete, Steve and Lindsay surprised Ace with the fresh ink.
The teen, who came out to his family about a year ago, was over the moon.
“It made me really happy. I didn’t realize how much she believed me. It finally fits,” Ace told Global News.
Steve admitted that raising a transgender child can be challenging at times, but said he and his wife were committed to supporting their son “100 percent.”
“You have to support your kids. I mean, it's tough when you hear that as a parent, but you have to be strong for your kids. You have to come to terms with it yourself, on your own time and just have to offer 100 percent support,” he told HuffPost Alberta.
“I would never wish for him to be anybody else,” Lindsay told Global News of Ace. “He’s just so brave.”
Support HuffPost
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.
Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.
Would you join us to help keep our stories free for all? Your contribution of as little as $2 will go a long way.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you’ll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.