Andy Marra is an out and proud transgender woman who has generated awareness of transgender people through the media. She is the Communications Manager at the Arcus Foundation, and at one time, she was the Senior Media Strategist here at GLAAD! She has been honored by the White House for her contributions to the LGBT movement, profiled in The Advocate's "Forty under 40" and the inaugural Trans 100, and is listed as one of the The Huffington Post's "Most Compelling LGBT People," among many other honors. Needless to say, Marra has been of vital importance to the LGBTQ community.
In the beginning of June, we talked about Marra's struggle with finding love, as the men in her life were resistant to having something more serious with her. She shared that men often dealt with issues regarding their masculinity when it came to dating a trans woman, and were reluctant to tell others about the relationship in fear of facing judgement.
However, after finding Drew Shives, all of Marra's bad experiences became a thing of the past. Shives and Marra share a meaningful and healthy relationship, which Marra wrote about on her blog. However, the best news is yet to come. We have recently learned of Shives' mother's reaction when she learned that her son was dating a trans woman. Shives told Huffington Post's Alyona Minkovski:
My mom, as soon as I told her that I was dating Andy, she immediately went out and found books and she found a blog to read up more about transgender transitions, and she was actually giving me advice on what kind of foods Andy should eat, what kind of lifestyle she should live in order to help with the transition.
The support Marra and Shives received from Shives' mother is heartwarming, and a perfect example of the type of response that fosters growth and happiness. Again it is stressed that parental support is vital when it comes to the issue of being, or dating someone who is, LGBTQ.
Watch Minkovski's video with Marra and Shives here: