AIBU to think this is a bit nuts? Trans woman is being praised online for still working at 37 weeks into her "simulated" pregnancy

[CalmGreenEagle]

I have just read on Facebook about this transgender woman, Gabrielle Darone, aged 32, who simulated a pregnancy last year in order to address "gender dysphoria about not being able to carry a child". She wore a fake belly and simulated morning sickness, breathing difficulties, tiredness and other symptoms. She blogged about her experience and received a lot of praise online for still continuing to work at 37 weeks into her "pregnancy".

AIBU to think this is just crazy? Wearing a fake belly and pretending to have pregnancy symptoms is absolutely NOTHING like the real difficulties that women who are actually pregnant have to go through. Sometimes I think I am on a different planet.

I don't know why some people think this person would be reported in any mainstream media. Why would media report him? And if they reported this story, which media would do so that people would think credible? The outlet would also be then considered transphobic and discredited anyway.

There is this weird dynamic where any of these incidents being reported are discredited by dismissal of the media outlet as being transphobic, far right leaning or just click bait, yet if it is not reported it is discredited as 'it never happened'.

At the end of the day, it is also somewhat irrelevant because we already have self reported incidents of women from support groups telling others that men are accessing female only support groups and that some groups actively encourage a sub-group of men to be able to do this based on those men's gender identities. Whether this specific event has been over dramatised by this man or not.

There is enough damage being done by other men accessing female only support groups that it is a relevant discussion.

He definitely has balls. Women dont have ball bags.

I hate the modern world sometimes. I'm all for people living their lives as who and what they feel they are - but there are times, and this is one of them, where it undoubtedly falls under the heading of mental illness. This person needed help, and they were not helped.

Unfortunately, when you call a trans person batshit these days you get accused of being transphobic.

Social media, trends etc have genuinely ruined our mental health. There are some people who really, truly believe they've been born into the wrong body. There always have been! But this? This is wrong.

But this is just a weird, small part of the internet, it’s not real life 😂😂

everyone irl probably ignores her and wishes her well with her ‘journey’

He's a dirty, creepy pervert, and the women who fawned after him are a bunch of ridiculous dick worshippers.

HE needs to see a psychiatrist

I really hope it's fake.

I have found info on Graham Linehan talking about it in previous blog posts. I think a lot of the talk online referred to the person's Twitter account which it seems has now been deactivated/deleted.

Fuck this is sick. Planning on a stillborn, as if thats a matter he can pretend. Disgusting vile makes me feel sick.

"TW simulating pregnancy and birth (in a house where their STBEx-wife and children live), already “planning” that the baby will be stillborn, and then wondering aloud if someone will lend them a baby to breastfeed.

All in a group for mothers taking medication so they can produce milk for their babies. Given how poor breastfeeding support is for many mothers in all parts of the world I can’t work out whether I’m more offended, disgusted, or terrified that this person has centred themselves and has people cheering them on."

The children around him need protection from this.

If the definition of transphobia is "having an objection to perverts trying to get strangers' babies to suck their man boobs" then sign me the fuck up.

100%

Well, yeah, that's kinda their point.

Real babies are props for him to indulge his fetish. Its perverted.

Well... yes.. He has got more 'balls' than we have. But I am not sure what is 'courageous' about him.

This is disgusting. Ridiculous person and utterly pathetic people cheerleading them online.

If you want to know what it is like to work at 37 weeks pregnant ASK A WOMAN WHO HAS BEEN PREGNANT AND WORKED. There are quite literally billions of us. We are real, we exist, we did not fucking well dress up and roleplay pregnancy, we are adult human females who actually experienced pregnancy and birth.

I remember the original thread about this person. I was quite shocked to find out there are fetus shaped dildos available for them to buy.

He wanted his wife to operate the TENS machine that was to provide the contractions. Thought it unreasonable that she didn't want the "birth" happening in the family home.

Thanks!

I found his blog. I haven't posted it here because there's a particular post that I feel betrays his (by now hopefully ex) wife's privacy. There's really too much detail for it not to be real.

I kind of wish I hadn't gone down this particular rabbit hole.

For anyone questioning if this is real and seeking media reports.

New York Times. Animation of his story.

'I was always very proud of my wife and what she had to go through to
have these kids but part of me I think really did want to be in her position
the kicks in her belly I could feel them from the outside but it just wasn't the same.

Ashley when she was having trouble feeding I would have easily taken her
place [...] wasn't physically able to I didn't realize I was jealous in the moment maybe it was a subconscious thing.
[Music]

once I made that connection that yes I'm a parent and yes I'm a woman
that's when I really connected that yes I'm a mother I could be the dad that
everybody wants a dad to be but it wasn't me when I first came out to my
kids we didn't have a title for me. My wife was very protective of the title of
mom I respected where she came from but it was really difficult to hear.

I'll never shy away from the fact that I'm their biological father at the same
time I don't want them to see me that way. When I see pregnant women in the
world or I see just babies I still am jealous and I don't know why that is. That I need to have that connection. I'm out in the world and people see me and
want to call me mom that's just kind of a societal thing oh it's a woman with
kids must be a mother but for me it's deeper than that, it really is a need to
want to carry and bear a child.

Am i less of a mother because I didn't get to have that experience? It's almost like I haven't earned something. I'm a mother in all senses of the word except the physical one and there's nothing I can do about it and that hurts and will
always hurt '

Transcription from youtube, I've tidied it a bit but still some punctuation errors.

Yes, he now calls himself a single mother. I really feel for his kids, and ex wife.

I never said I was worked up or irate. I just think it's nuts but I'm not "angry" about it.

You could argue that it takes the piss out of real women who are actually pregnant and struggling. The blog posts go on about how the person in question was having "breathing difficulties" due to their growing "bump" and how they were struggling to work at 37 weeks but were persevering. He obviously isn't really struggling though because he's not really pregnant.

Given the responses, I suppose at this point I should confess this was a joke.

Ridiculous. I worked until 38 weeks pregnant with all 3 pregnancies and not a single person praised me for it, nor did I expect anyone to praise me for it.

Completely and utterly mad. Why are some people still pretending that a man can give birth?

Sorry to hear this. I'm 21 weeks pregnant and have already been identified as being high risk for pre-eclampsia and I am having to go to MAU weekly to have a blood pressure study and urine checking to see if it develops. I'm also under the perinatal MH team for anxiety and have just had a difficult pregnancy in general so I do sympathise. Maybe that is why this story rubbed me up the wrong way when I read it cos how dare this person take the piss out of real pregnant women like this.

Oh good lord. I was so hoping it was fake. Obviously not 😩