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
Every Voice Matters
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.
Our News, Politics and Culture teams invest time and care working on hard-hitting investigations and researched analyses, along with quick but robust daily takes. Our Life, Health and Shopping desks provide you with well-researched, expert-vetted information you need to live your best life, while HuffPost Personal, Voices and Opinion center real stories from real people.
Help keep news free for everyone by giving us as little as $1. Your contribution will go a long way.
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.
Help keep news free for everyone by giving us as little as $1. Your contribution will go a long way.
HuffPost is passionate about stories that are told by diverse communities across America. We want to be a place where every type of person — no matter what you look like or how you identify — can see themselves represented and their stories reflected. That's why we're committed to amplifying the experiences of marginalized people so that we all can feel seen, supported and empowered to create positive change.
Everyone should have access to these stories, which is why we're determined to keep Voices — and every other part of HuffPost — 100% free. Help us do that by contributing as little as $1.
HuffPost is passionate about stories that are told by diverse communities across America. We want to be a place where every type of person — no matter what you look like or how you identify — can see themselves represented and their stories reflected. That's why we're committed to amplifying the experiences of marginalized people so that we all can feel seen, supported and empowered to create positive change. At Voices, our editors invest time, care and effort to bring you stories you will not find anywhere else. Because we know every voice matters and we want every voice to be heard.
Everyone should have access to these stories, which is why we're determined to keep Voices — and every other part of HuffPost — 100% free. Help us do that by contributing as little as $1. Your contribution will go a long way.
