When Avery Wallace was born , doctors told his parents : 'It 's a girl ' . But from a very young age , the youngster from Los Angeles knew it simply was n't the case . The transgender 15-year-old knew he was a boy from the age of two , setting his physical 'parts ' aside . Writing for CNN , he has described how he knew he was male long before he discovered the terms 'gay ' and 'sexuality ' , and the difficulty he encountered with other people 's perceptions growing up . He also urges parents to let children set out their path - no matter their gender . Avery Wallace ( right ) poses for a picture with his sister Riley in 2002 at the age of three . He claims he knew he was a boy when he was two . His parents let him cut his hair short for his preschool graduation , even though he was wearing a dress . Describing life as a toddler , he said : ' I was a little boy expressing myself based on what was in my heart and mind - not yet distorted by biology , other people 's confusion , or fear . 'No matter how many times I was told differently , I was a boy and the people that mattered knew it too , for the most part . ' He said he first heard the term 'gay ' in second grade , even after he had his first 'girlfriend ' , and remembered how one year ' a penis ' was at the top of his Christmas list . However he feared people may perceive him as 'different ' when he learned homosexuality was considered by some to be abnormal . ' I knew I liked girls and I was technically a girl , biologically , but I was a boy and my feelings about girls were normal boy feelings . I was not gay - but try to explain that to someone without his or her eyes glazing over . ' At the age of seven he started to prefer wearing boys clothes and by eight , he was playing baseball . Avery was elected class president in the fifth grade by his peers . He strongly stated that he was a boy and the 'people that mattered knew it too , for the most part ' He is pictured at age 10 with short , curly hair . By now he was living the life of a boy , but the word transgender had n't formed part of his vocabulary . Avery described how he was able to become the boy he wanted , because he grew up in a house that taught him to 'love anyone I wanted to . ' 'That said , ' he added . ' I knew being gay was n't a bad thing , but I also knew it did n't describe me . I was a straight boy who liked girls and there is nothing wrong with that , either . ' When he entered middle school , he grew out his hair and started to wear dresses as to avoid the 'emotional torture ' . But in 2012 , when he was 12 , he told his parents he was transgender . He is now undergoing hormone therapy treatment after attending a number of group sessions , and has urged people to consider categorizing people into boys and girls more carefully . ' I can not stress to the world enough , gender and sexuality are two completely different things , and the moment people incorrectly connect them is the moment when most people start looking for an exit or a fight , ' Avery said . He added : 'Whether I 'm a boy or a girl , white or black , rich or poor , gay or straight , it 's completely irrelevant . What truly matters is the fact that I 'm Avery Wallace and I 've always known exactly who I was . ' Avery wore a suit and lavender waistcoat for his fifth grade graduation , but from then on he grew out his hair and some times wore a dress to avoid the 'emotional torture ' of middle school . In 2012 he told his parents he was transgender and is now undergoing hormone therapy treatment .
When Avery Wallace was born , doctors told his parents : 'It 's a girl ' However the teenager said from a young age he knew this was n't the case . The 15-year-old knew he was male before he learned the term 'sexuality ' As a little boy he expressed himself based on his 'heart and mind ' He cut his hair short at pre-school and wore boy 's clothes at age 7 . Avery told his parents he was transgender in 2012 and is now undergoing hormone treatment .