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Ziva Mann, mother of a transgender child and member of a welcoming synagogue, poses in her garden, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Newton, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Ziva Mann remembers how joyful and smiley her daughter was as a child — the family even gave her the nickname “Giggles.”

“She was just sunshine,” Mann said. That changed around second grade, when her joy began to fade. “She got sadder and sadder,” Mann recalled. “It was like watching someone disappear.”

Mann later realized that her child’s growing sadness was connected to a struggle to reckon with her gender identity .

Her daughter came out as transgender at home in Massachusetts four years ago. “Mom, I’m a girl,” Mann remembers hearing her say. Though she

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