Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade are raising their kids the way they choose to, thank you very much.
That was the message she sent when people began speculating the meaning of Dwyane’s recent Instagram story.
The lesson learned? Never mess with a mama.
For the purpose of this article, we’ll be referring to Zion Wade as “they,” since Dwyane has referred to them as both “she” and “he.”
Let’s go!
Gabrielle has been very open about how they choose to raise their kids.
She’s made no secret of their parenting choices, including a controversial decision to not allow their kids to believe in Santa .
In an interview with Tamron Hall, she explained that Dwyane was not in favor of letting their children believe in Santa.
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He had a pretty good reason.
“There’s no way in hell I’m letting these kids think that old white man is sneaking into our house and doing anything for them,” she recalled him saying.
You know what? That’s so fair.
They are not bothered by the feedback they get from others.
All that matters is what they think, and following their own instincts. After all, they share 4 children together — 3 from Dwyane’s previous relationships, and their youngest, Kaavia, born in 2018.
“I’m not trying to be a perfect parent,” Gabrielle told Parents .
Recently, Dwyane posted this picture in his Instagram stories.
It features Gabrielle, Kaavia, and Zion, Dwyane’s second-youngest.
Instead of focusing on Kaavia’s flawless shady face, some decided to focus on the caption he chose for the picture. Word quickly spread across the internet.
One user posted the image to Twitter.
You know, the website where all good things happen.
Twitter user @madiithedoll posted a screenshot of the picture and asked her followers what they thought of it. So that’s going to end well.
Twitter actually surprised everyone.
Guys, are we moving forward as a society?
Where some people were arguing against the use of female pronouns, way more people were applauding Dwyane and Gabrielle’s effortless acceptance of their kids.
But, of course, some people just had to pop off.
There’s just…so much wrong with this. First of all, Dwyane was the one to post this picture, not Gabrielle. So he’s not silent.
Second of all, gender identity is not the same thing as choosing to be a dragon.
It’s a serious thing that is deeply personal and not something you or anyone else just makes up. To make a long story short: gender is real, dragons are not.
So, naturally, Gabrielle is 100% behind her kids.
And not afraid to defend her family when she sees shade being thrown.
The Wades have been incredibly supportive of the LGBT+ community.
They donated $50,000 to GLSEN, an organization dedicated to ending bullying and harassment based on sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression.
They didn’t stop there, though. They also decided to partner with GLSEN for a special release.
They made t-shirts!
Gabrielle and Dwyane have a lifestyle brand, YnG DnA. They partnered with GLSEN to produce a special Pride-themed t-shirt.
50% of the proceeds went to GLSEN through the sales of the t-shirts. They were so popular that they sold out .
They even attended Pride with Zion.
We stan this inclusive and supportive parenting!
Dwyane couldn’t be there, so Gabrielle went with Zion to Miami Beach Pride. Dwyane still posted this shot in support, though.
Their older brother, Zaire, posted on Instagram, “It’s a family thing.”
He opened up about Zion in an interview, too.
“I don’t really talk about it much because it’s Zion’s story to tell,” he told Variety , speaking about Zion’s identity.
“I think as a family, we should support each other. That’s our job.”
He continued:
“And my job as a father is to facilitate their lives and to support them and be behind them in whatever they want to do.”
He also added that he doesn’t think he deserves accolades for being supportive — after all, it’s his job.
Which is a sentiment that more parents of LGBT+ kids should probably adopt!
His message resonates with this situation, too.
“I’m very uneasy about accolades that come from supporting my kids or the negativity that comes from it. I’m doing what every parent has to do.”
“Once you bring kids into this world, you become unselfish.”
“It’s my job to be their role model, to be their voice in my kids’ lives, to let them know you can conquer the world.”
“So, go and be your amazing self and we’re going to sit back and just love you.”
That’s the kind of parenting we should all be able to get behind, no matter what your beliefs are.
If you’d like to learn more about gender identity…
Maybe gender identity or orientation confuses you, or you’d just like to do more reading on the subject.
A good place to start is with GLAAD . Once you’ve got the terms down, it’s really obvious how easy it is to support our fellow humans!
