“Now I’m Also a Mom”: Father Switches Genders to Gain Custody of His Kids

Need more proof that we’re in clown world and all the serious people left a long time ago, or at least most of them did? Then look no further than Ecuador, where a man (well, now a woman according to “her” Ecuadorian ID) one-upped his ex-wife in an attempt to get custody of the kids by switching genders and becoming a “mom.”

Yes, really. That new mother is Ecuadorian journalist René Salinas Ramos. Ramos, who is 47-years-old, decided to become a woman after realizing that, in custody disputes, the courts favor women. Commenting on that and the twisted way in which the court system tends to view motherhood and fatherhood, Ramos said:

“Being a father in this country, Ecuador, is punished, and I’m only seen as a provider. The laws say that the one who has the right is the woman. As of this moment, I am female. Now I’m also a mom. That’s how I consider myself. I am very sure of my sexuality. What I have sought is to give the love and protection that a mother can give her children.”

So Ramos realized he’d have a better shot at getting custody of his kids if he became a “mom” since the law gives preference to mothers over fathers in custody disputes, then went full send in becoming a mom so that he would get that benefit from the court system too.

Adding more details, Ramos said “Now that I am a woman, I can be a mother and I am on equal footing to fight for the parental authority of my daughters. My actions are not against anyone in particular, but against the system which stigmatizes being born male.”

Here Ramos is talking about that gender change and why he did it for those that speak Spanish:

Ciudadano ecuatoriano cambió su género a femenino para luchar por la custodia de sus hijas. “Mi actuar no es contra nadie en particular, sino contra el sistema”, dijo Rene Salinas, quien renunció a su género masculino en el Registro Civil de Cuenca.
🎥: https://t.co/VjHyzCLGbp 👀 pic.twitter.com/Jg2ZLENYS8

— La Voz del Tomebamba (@tomebamba) December 30, 2022

The translation of that tweet says “Ecuadorian citizen changed his gender to female to fight for custody of his daughters. “My actions are not against anyone in particular, but against the system,” said Rene Salinas, who renounced her male gender at the Cuenca Civil Registry.”

The New York Post, reporting on Ramos’ gender change and how people in Ecuador view it, noted that he managed to infuriate the activists by taking advantage of the new normal when it comes to switching genders and the way the Ecuadorian law is written to get more time with his kids. As the NYP put it:

However, his actions have angered activists across the country who fought hard to have the law changed for genuine trans citizens. The Ecuadorian Federation of LGBTI Organizations released a statement denouncing Ramos’ “outlandish” actions earlier this week.

“This man’s private matter, to obtain custody of his daughters, isn’t the spirit of the law,” prominent trans activist Diane Rodríguez, Ecuador’s first trans Assembly member and national director of the Ecuadorian Federation of LGBTI Organizations, told VICE World News.

Rodríguez also told the outlet she first thought this was “fake news” — but now “we are afraid that in the Assembly things will go backwards and they will start legislating against us.”

Featured image credit: screenshot from embedded tweet