#‘We got it wrong’: Mom throws gender reveal party for 17-year-old nonbinary son

A family in Ohio is taking back the gender-reveal announcement they made years ago, telling friends and family, “We got it wrong.” To honor their child’s wishes, now a senior in high school, they held a do-over event in their backyard in Akron.

“We wanted to announce that we got it wrong 17 years ago when we told the world we were having a little girl, and named that child McKenzie,” Love Gwaltney wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday. “So we’d like to introduce you to our SON: Grey.”

In the post, the mom of three recalled how “excited” she and husband Brandon had been to announce their baby girl back in 2003.

“We throw parties, and pick out names. We assign attributes (like strength or beauty) based on what our child has growing between their legs. And MOST of the time, that works out perfectly fine,” she wrote. “But sometimes, we force these expected characteristics based off biological sex, and *gasp* we’ve gotten it wrong.”

They hired a photographer to capture the occasion. Wearing coordinated outfits in pink and blue, Love and Brandon are shown in a tender embrace, while standing in front of a giant box. The series of images later reveal a box full of purple, yellow, white and black balloons — the colors of the nonbinary Pride flag — and their newly dubbed son, Grey, bursting out with an enormous grin.

In other photos, Grey, whose last name is Schoolcraft, digs into a five-layer cake decorated in the colors of the transgender flag: pink, blue and white.

“I wanted the transgender flag in there because I still feel that going from whatever you are originally to nonbinary is also a transition and it doesn’t just have to be straight female to male,” Schoolcraft told CNN.

He admitted the new name has taken some time to get used to.

“You’ve been going by one name all your life and to suddenly go by a new name, especially when your parents call you by it, it’s weird and has to register in your brain,” said Schoolcraft. “But it’s definitely 100% worth it and I’m glad we had (the reveal party).”

The Gwaltneys said their post on social media exploded after they forgot to make it “private” for only friends and families to see. The photos, by Sarah McBride Photography, have since been shared more than 50,000 times on Facebook.

“A lot of people have been reaching out to me through messenger telling me their own stories of coming out to their family,” Love told CNN. “I’ve even had people ask me for advice, saying ‘I think my child might be nonbinary or transgender. How did you know?’ Those kinds of questions.”

She said parents should “have an open mind” and “don’t try to put [their child] in a box.”

Love, who has another baby person on the way, wrote on Facebook that her son is, in fact, “much like any other 17 year old nerdy boy, stays up way to late gaming, hates showering, and eats too much junk food.”

To others who might be confused or distraught over their identity, Schoolcraft said, “Even if someone doesn’t accept you, that’s not your fault, because you’re loved and you’re going to find people who will love and support you.”