Spotted from The Sun UK:

Meet the teen sex swap couple
Two years ago Arin was a girl called Emerald …and girlfriend Katie was a boy named Luke

TEENAGERS Arin Andrews and Katie Hill look like any loving young couple posing in their swimwear.

Transgender Love Story: Life After Surgery

It is hard to believe that just two years ago he was a girl called Emerald and she was a boy called Luke. Arin, 17, and Katie, 19, have both undergone surgery to change their gender. Just over a year ago Katie, a university student, had gender reassignment surgery. Last month Arin, who is still at school, had his breasts removed.

He says: “I hated my breasts, I always felt like they didn’t belong. Now I finally feel comfortable in my own body.

Oh boy … Katie at five, before her gender change

“Now when I’m out in a public pool or lifting weights, no one raises an eyebrow. They just think I’m a guy “I can wear a tank top, which I couldn’t before, and I can go swimming shirtless. I can just be a regular guy. And I’m so lucky to have my family and Katie to rely on.”

Confused: At school, Luke always felt he was a girl in a boy’s body

TWO years ago he was a girl called Emerald and she was a boy called Luke

The couple met nearly two years ago at a support group for transgender teenagers. They bonded through their shared experiences.

Katie says: “To me, Arin’s just my Arin. He’s always looked manly to me. But now he’s had the surgery he’s much more confident and comfortable with himself. Being transgender myself, I understand Arin better than anybody else — how good he feels and how complete he feels.”

The teens now love to go swimming and sunbathing together like other couples. Both their families are supportive of their relationship and say the way the teenagers, from Tulsa in the US, have supported each other has helped in their transition. But they have not been so lucky with their peers.

Little lady … Arin at a dance recital when he was four

Barcroft Media

Beauty queen: Arin was a pageant champion named Emerald

Katie was bullied and Arin had to change schools when he revealed he was transgender. He says: “I lost one of my best friends through the transition.” Katie started her degree course last autumn but has struggled to make new friends. She says: “I had a lot of friends in college that were really close to me. Then, all of a sudden, they just stopped talking to me. “I think they found out I was trans through gossip and decided it was too much for them.”

It has also been difficult for the teenagers’ families, as they have had to come to terms with losing their son and daughter — and also some of their own friends. Arin’s mum Denise says: “There are still people we don’t interact with any more. I know they questioned me as a parent.” It is hard for anyone comfortable with their gender to understand how disturbing it is for young people to feel forced to live in the wrong body, writes Sun Agony Aunt DEIDRE SANDERS.

Of course, parents have to be careful not to jump to conclusions. But when children seem depressed and talk of feeling they are in the wrong body, parents should not allow their own anxieties to make them dismiss it.

Read more: The Sun UK

Wow, I think they are pretty brave. Anyway, after the sex change – I honestly can’t tell that they were once the opposite sex – they look totally different! What do you think?

Till later,
♥ mitsueki

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