Freddy McConnell

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Freddy McConnell
Freddy McConnell.jpg
Born
Alfred Reuben McConnell
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
OccupationMultimedia journalist
Known forTransgender rights advocacy
Children2
Websitefreddymcconnell.com

Alfred Reuben McConnell (born September 1986) is an English multimedia journalist who writes about transgender rights in the United Kingdom. He is most well known for being a transgender man who gave birth. His journey to give birth is detailed in the 2019 documentary Seahorse that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Education and career[]

McConnell grew up in Deal, Kent. He studied at the University of Edinburgh and graduated with a 2:1 undergraduate degree in Arabic. In 2011, He worked for the NGO Skateistan in Kabul, Afghanistan for a period of six months. While in Afghanistan, he transitioned publicly, and was accepted by his colleagues as a man.[1]

In 2012, McConnell decided to enroll in a short-term American immersion program for Arabic. This program was through Middlebury College over the summer of 2012 in San Francisco, California.[2]

McConnell now works as a multimedia journalist for the Guardian.[3]

Transition[]

From a very young age, McConnell experienced gender dysphoria. McConnell realized he was transgender in 2010 at the age of 23.[3] He started his transition in 2013 with testosterone replacement therapy. A year later in 2014 he underwent a double mastectomy. He considered undergoing a hysterectomy, but elected not to because of his interest in possibly having children.[4]

In January of 2017, under the Gender Recognition Act 2004, he applied to obtain a gender recognition certificate to be legally recognized as male. His application was granted and he received his gender recognition certificate April 11, 2017.[5]

While he was choosing his new name, he decided he wanted to pick a name with family history. He chose his first name from his great-great uncle Frederic William McConnell. His middle name comes from his great-great-great uncle Reuben Poland.[6]

Pregnancy and Seahorse documentary[]

McConnell stopped testosterone replacement therapy in September 2016 to start the process of becoming pregnant. On April 21, 2017, he was artificially inseminated and became pregnant with his son. He gave birth in January of 2018.[5]

In 2019, McConnell detailed his journey through artificial insemination and his first pregnancy in the documentary film Seahorse, which made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival in the same year. The film was directed by Jeanie Finlay and made in association with The Guardian.[5]

Court case[]

Further information: Legal status of transgender people

McConnell gave birth to a son, publicly known just as SJ, in January 2018. When attempting to register the child's birth, the Registrar denied McConnell's petition to be listed as the child's father on the birth certificate, though allowing McConnell to use his current name. In September 2019, McConnell lost an application for judicial review to be described as father or parent on the child's birth certificate. Reports suggest that English common law requires those that give birth to be described as mother on the child's birth certificate, despite McConnell's possession of a gender recognition certificate under the Gender Recognition Act of 2004. The President of the Family Division of the Administrative Court also denied a declaration of parentage filed by McConnell. The president declared that McConnell was legally the child's mother and thus possessed parental responsibility of the child accordingly. Because of this decision, McConnell could not be listed as the child's father on the birth certificate. [7] This decision was later upheld at the Court of Appeal in April 2020.[5]

Four British newspaper publishers, Telegraph Media Group, Associated Newspapers, News Group Newspapers and Reach PLC, successfully applied to have an anonymity order affecting the case removed in July 2019.[5]

Life after court case[]

McConnell co-hosted the podcast Pride and Joy which aired on BBC in 2020. In this podcast, he discussed queer people having children. [8][non-primary source needed]

As of November 2021, McConnell is pregnant with his second child.[8][non-primary source needed] His first children's book, titled Little Seahorse and the Big Question, illustrated by , is set to release in July 2022.[8][non-primary source needed]

His second son, LB, was born in the UK in January of 2022 via emergency c-section.[9][non-primary source needed]

References[]

  1. ^ "Trans life: fond memories of coming out in Afghanistan". the Guardian. 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  2. ^ "Why I would choose an immersion course over a language degree". the Guardian. 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  3. ^ a b "Transgender man loses court battle to be registered as father". the Guardian. 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  4. ^ "The dad who gave birth: 'Being pregnant doesn't change me being a trans man'". the Guardian. 2019-04-20. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  5. ^ a b c d e R (Alfred McConnell) -v- The Registrar General for England and Wales and others [2020] EWCA Civ 559
  6. ^ "Trans life: how I plucked my new name from the family tree". the Guardian. 2015-05-14. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  7. ^ R (Alfred McConnell) -v- The Registrar General for England and Wales and others [2020] EWCA Civ 559
  8. ^ a b c @freddy.mcconnell. https://www.instagram.com/. Retrieved 10 November 2021 – via Instagram. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link); Missing or empty |postid= (help); Missing or empty |date= (help)
  9. ^ @freddy.mcconnell. https://www.instagram.com/p/CY1HnE5DXBS/ – via Instagram. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Missing or empty |date= (help)

External links[]

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