A single dad has obtained full custody of his four-year-old son after alleging that his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his boy wanted to raise him as a nonbinary child. The case has become popularized among right-wing movements in the USA, where conservative influencers have been trying to discredit inclusivity and visibility for marginalized communities.

Harrison Tinsley, from California, USA, reached a settlement granting him full custody of Sawyer, his son, after what he alleged to be a mysterious “incident”.

“I know he’s a boy,” Harrison told the Daily Signal on July 30. “He wants to be a boy. He adamantly expresses that. If you say anything to the contrary, he gets very upset, and it’s just insane that people, any person, would push this ideology onto a child, as opposed to just [allowing them to] be happy with who they are.”

The father said on obtaining full custody: “It definitely is a pretty wonderful feeling to fight for something so hard and to actually achieve it.

“I just want to help more people protect children. I want to protect more kids. I think it’s the battle of our lifetime.” 

Harrison Tinsley obtained full custody of his four-year-old son, Sawyer 

Image credits: harrisontinsley

Due to an “incident”, which Harrison did not describe in any detail, Child Protective Services (CPS) in San Francisco got involved and “put politics aside and did what they felt was best for the child,” the dad told the conservative American political outlet.

The court ruling was celebrated by several right-wing figures, such as Oli London, Tomi Lahren, and Alex Clark.

Harrison claimed his son’s mother “became a lesbian” after breaking up when Sawyer was just a baby, as per his fundraiser.

While a person might realize their sexual orientation at a later stage in life, one can’t “become” their sexual orientation.

Image credits: harrisontinsley

Moreover, the scientific consensus understands that people are born with their sexual orientation. In fact, research shows that sexual orientation is likely caused partly by biological factors that start before birth.

Harrison’s ex-girlfriend was previously granted “50/50” custody and was allegedly identifying as a non-binary person, raising Sawyer as also being nonbinary.

The National Center for Transgender Equality explains that some societies, like ours, tend to recognize just two genders, male and female. The idea that there are only two genders is sometimes called a “gender binary” because binary means “having two parts” (male and female). 

Harrison alleged that his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his boy wanted to raise him as a nonbinary child

Image credits: harrisontinsley

Therefore, “nonbinary” is a term people use to describe genders that don’t fall into one of these two categories, male or female.

The center further explains that nonbinary people are nothing new and that non-binary people aren’t confused about their gender identity or following a new fad – nonbinary identities have been recognized for millennia by cultures and societies around the world.

Some parents choose to raise their kids as non-binary to provide them with the freedom to explore and express their gender identity without the constraints of traditional gender roles. 

 

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A post shared by Harrison Tinsley (@harrisontinsley)

“I don’t typically use the label ‘gender neutral,’” Christia Spears Brown, a professor at the Centre for Equality and Social Justice at the University of Kentucky, told Forbes in 2017. “But I do focus on how kids can be free of restrictions based on gender norms.” 

We all fall foul of imposing stereotypes on children. Think about how often adults comment on girls’ physical appearance before other characteristics, for instance. To avoid this, try removing gender labels from your language. “Instead of saying, ‘What a smart girl you are!’ say, ‘What a smart kid you are!'” the professor revealed.

“At the same time, and just as importantly, gender must be talked about more,” Christina said. Parents must teach their children about sexism and stereotypes, she added. 

The case has become popularized among right-wing movements in the USA

Image credits: harrisontinsley

The professor continued: “Help kids recognize stereotypes whenever you spot them and know how sexism shapes the world we live in. 

“Those conversations should start from the beginning. This is the only way children know that the gender divisions we see are not due to innate differences in abilities, but a result of a stereotyped culture.”

Harrison claimed on his fundraising campaign, which has amassed over $65,000, that his ex-girlfriend would use the they/them pronouns to refer to Sawyer, and “put him in dresses, girl diapers, and makeup.”

Image credits: GiveSendGo/SavingSawyer

The 32-year-old had previously failed to win the custody battle he was initially fighting, as he revealed: “I filed a motion in the San Francisco Superior Court after I discovered Sawyer’s mother was arrested for felony child endangerment, and subsequently discovered she had slandered and defamed me for years. 

“I presented 8 hours of police body-cam footage, 800 pages of documentary evidence, and psychological studies showing Sawyer’s health, safety, and wellbeing were being jeopardized by his mother, her mental health problems, and political ideology. 

“The court, with almost no evidence submitted by Sawyer’s mother, decided to protect Sawyer’s mother and her ideology, and denied my request for full custody and to stop Sawyer’s mother from treating him as non-binary.”

Harrison claimed his son’s mother “became a lesbian” after breaking up when Sawyer was just a baby

Image credits: harrisontinsley

In an older Facebook post during her pregnancy, Sawyer’s mom wrote: “My sweet baby boy or girl or neither if that’s what you feel,” The Daily Wire reported in April 2023.

“LGBT issues have been a major theme in her life — she was adopted and raised by two older gay men in the Bay Area, where she still lives and runs an ultra-progressive non-profit,” the conservative media wrote.

The term LGBT is considered outdated because it doesn’t fully encompass the diversity of gender and sexual identities, so the more inclusive term LGBTQQIP2SA, abbreviated LGBTQ+, is now used to represent a broader spectrum, including queer, intersex, asexual, and other identities, promoting greater inclusivity and recognition of all individuals within the community.

Image credits: GiveSendGo/SavingSawyer

Back in 2021, Sawyer’s mother was arrested and booked into jail for felony child endangerment when then-one-year-old Sawyer fell off a bed during an altercation between the mother and her roommate, police bodycam footage viewed by The Daily Wire showed.

The San Francisco police reportedly gave custody of Sawyer to the mother’s two dads for the night and put her on a psychiatric hold at the hospital. 

During the psychiatric hold at the hospital, Sawyer’s mother told a psychiatrist that she has borderline personality disorder, a condition that can involve impulsive and risky behavior, the psychiatrist later testified in the San Francisco family court, The Daily Wire reported.

Harrison’s ex-girlfriend was previously granted “50/50” custody

 

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A post shared by Harrison Tinsley (@harrisontinsley)

CPS investigated the police incident and concluded that Sawyer’s mother was not a safety threat to her son. Her mental health was a “complicating factor, but not a safety issue,” the CPS report read.

Back when the San Francisco family court held a trial before deciding to keep it 50-50 between the Sawyer’s parents, Harrison argued against administering vaccinations against COVID-19.

Harrison argued that Sawyer already had natural immunity and that Sawyer’s mother complained on social media about Tinsley being unvaccinated, The Daily Wire reported.

Conservative commentators cheered on Harrison’s custody win

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