A Lancashire mother faced backlash after a resurfaced video showed her introducing her child as a “transgender baby.”
The clip, which had already been confirmed by the mom as satire, recently spread rapidly across X once more, reigniting strong reactions from viewers. Despite previous assurances that her child is not transitioning, many social media users still treated the viral video as real and disturbing.
Highlights
- A video showing a mother introducing her child as a “transgender baby” resurfaced and spread widely on social media.
- Viewers reacted with alarm, calling the video “disturbing,” “child ab*se,” and “grooming.”
- The creator clarified that the video was a joke and shared her perspective as a mother of seven.
A mom’s video about her “transgender baby” shocked netizens
Image credits: Laura Birchall/Facebook
The short video, first uploaded by Lancashire mum of seven Laura Birchall, featured her holding a baby alongside the caption, “Meet my transgender baby, born a boy but now identifies as a girl.”
In the video, Birchall explained that her 14-month-old baby, “Bella,” was born as a boy but “now uses she/her” pronouns.
The content creator also stated that she would be looking to secure medication to stop the male hormones in her child. This way, the mom said, “Bella” could live happily as a girl.
Image credits: Alexander Grey/Unsplash (not actual photo)
“Bella is 14 months old and is thriving in her new body. She’s able to be who she’s born to be. Trapped in the wrong body at such a young age has had a massive impact on young Bella’s mental heath, but with the right medication, we are going to get through it as a family,” Birchall said.
The clip immediately viral, and it recently began circulating again on platforms such as X, where it continued to get a lot of attention from netizens.
After the original video went viral, Brichall addressed the controversy in a follow-up post.
Image credits: Laura Birchall/Facebook
“The original transgender baby video was not real. It was simply satire,” she said.
“Dark humour at its best. I never expected it to reach as far as it reached. It’s gone everywhere, it’s unbelievable.”
Reactions to “Bella” were harsh and emotionally charged, even after Birchall assured the internet that her son was not transitioning
Image credits: Alexander Grey/Unsplash (not actual photo)
As the video resurfaced, comment sections filled with critical and alarmed responses. Viewers expressed disbelief, concern, and anger towards Birchall.
“Disgusting and disturbing. I feel like she should be reported to child services,” one commenter wrote.
Another stated, “This is child ab*se and just so wrong.”
Others accused the video of promoting harmful behavior. “That's grooming,” another wrote.
Even those aware that the clip was satire expressed discomfort. “I know this is fake but it’s not even funny to make a video and joke about,” one user said.
Image credits: Alexander Grey/Unsplash (not actual photo)
Birchall, for her part, assured social media users that her son, Billy, is just a normal kid who is not transitioning at his young age.
“Billy is a little boy, a happy little boy. Born a boy, still a boy, always will be a boy unless he says so when he is older. So please, don’t worry. Everything is fine,” Birchall said in a follow-up video.
Birchall’s content typically focuses on council-estate stereotypes and social issues
Image credits: Laura Birchall/Facebook
Birchall, a mother of seven from Chorley, Lancashire, typically posts comedy sketches online. Her content typically revolves around exaggerated council-estate stereotypes, poking fun at assumptions made about parents living on benefits.
She explained how quickly her audience grew in a comment to the Lancashire Post. “I’ve just recently had three of my videos go viral,” she said.
“I do sketch comedy on Facebook and TikTok and have grown a big following very quick because it’s mainly council estate humor as I have seven kids.”
Birchall also reflected on why she leaned into these stereotypes. “People stereotype you, and this is the label trolls have given me, so I thought, even though that’s not me in real life, why use it to my advantage and make people smile and earn some money in the process,” she said.
Image credits: Alexander Grey/Unsplash (not actual photo)
She added that her ultimate goal was financial independence, she told the publication.
“My goal is to earn a living from what I’m doing so I don’t have to rely on the government for benefits as I’m unable to go out and work as I have three children with learning difficulties and they are on the extreme side with one of them being completely non-verbal,” she said.