'That's what causes a transgender boy': NC mom of trans teen drops some chromosome science on CNN

Hope Tyler, whose son is a transgender teen in North Carolina, explained to CNN on Monday that science proves that gender is more complicated than conservative lawmakers would have voters believe.

Speaking to CNN's Alisyn Camerota on New Day, Tyler said that her daughter, Kylie, began transitioning to a male named Kai at the age of 12 after she became paralyzed.

"It was a wonderful relief because we finally figured out what was going on," Tyler recalled. "Ever since she was little, she was dressing in tomboy clothes... And then at the age of 9, 10, and 11 anxiety kicked in horribly. And we would go to the [emergency room] and they couldn't figure out what was causing the anxiety."

"Conversion disorder is when your body shuts down physically and you become paralyzed in your arms or your legs," she noted. "And Kylie, at the time, was in a wheelchair for five months."

Tyler said that she began researching the condition and discovered that her son's transition to a male was not simply a matter of psychology.

"Girls have XX chromosomes, boys have XY chromosomes," the mother pointed out. "The gene that determines your sex is called the SRY gene. And when the little piece of that Y gene falls off, that's what causes a transgender boy. When there is no X involved in the chromosome, that's what causes a transgender girl."

"Another thing people need to know is that there's a whole series of XXY, YYX," she continued. "These are people that have breasts with male genitalia. There's also people that have both genitalia. These children need to be recognized."

According to Tyler, her son Kai became so "stressed" about North Carolina's new HB 2 law that forbids transgender people from using the bathroom corresponding to their gender that he had to be hospitalized.

"There were no issues before this law came about," she insisted. "Calls into our trans suicide hotline have doubled. It's absolutely frightening. We do not need any children to die."

Read more about the science of gender in Nature magazine.

Watch the video below from CNN.