They may look indistinguishable from their sibling, regardless of whether or not they're wearing matching outfits.
Or they may resemble each other well enough but their mannerisms are different enough for you to tell the difference.
While it's fun as adults to become acquainted with your friend or partner's twin and noting similarities and distinctions, imagine what goes through the mind of an infant when they see their mommy or daddy's identical twin.
Redditor /KjellSkar asked:
"Identical twins with children, what was your baby's reaction when they saw your twin?"
Sixth Sense Baby
"My sis was with me almost every other day at the beginning, so my daughter always knew the difference."
"What was interesting was she knew my sisters voice before she was born. I would lay on my back and sis would be to one side. She would talk to the baby and my whole gut would move to be closer to her. She didn't do this for anyone else, not even my husband."
No Problem At All
"My dad has an identical twin - I just asked him if I/my sister/my cousins reacted in any way to seeing his twin or him and he said no!"
"From my memory, I never got them confused - could always tell which was which. Other people think they're completely identical even now but family have always been able to tell the difference, they just look and even sound like completely different people!"
Matching Outfits
"My dad has and identical twin and my siblings and cousins were always able to tell them apart except for when they were about to go hunting and had matching camo jackets and hats on. I still get confused when I see them dressed like that."
– Elder08
Creeped Out
"One of my parents was an identical twin. As a child I could still tell them apart but I was thoroughly creeped out by the twin. Lovely person, but it was just so uncanny."
"When someone looks identical but has different mannerisms, confidence and posture its kind of a mindf'k for a kid. Especially when it's your dad."
– zaraths
What Are You Doing Reaction GIFGiphyNonplussed
"I'm a twin with a daughter, she is possibly too young to care much. She just met my twin, and though she seemed content near him, there was no noteworthy reaction."
Are We Talking About Human Kids Still?
"According to my friend who has a twin sister, they noticed they looked alike when they were around three years old. The first twins reaction was to run around in a circle and then collapse from exhaustion. The second just stared at her twin and then ran around in a circle."
confused confusion GIFGiphyThe Hairy Situation
"My hub and his oldest brother look very much alike especially when bearded. Each of our kids have responded by running outside to find daddy after uncle has gone to his car. One time my son wanted to go with him."
Auntie Mom
"My mom is an identical twin and other than calling my aunt 'mom' a few times when she had her back to me it's never been an issue with me or my siblings/cousins. And that's not even an issue any more as they color their hair differently now."
– conan145
Whiplash Baby
"My fiance is the twin."
"Her twin brother invited us to a little gathering for their baby's birthday, a 1-year-old girl named Analise. When Analise saw my fiancé, she turned to see her dad, then my fiancé, then her dad, then my fiance, and so on, until he saw his mother and started crying."
The Fraternal Twins
"My husband is a fraternal twin but they look close enough that if you don't know them well or see them separately they get mistaken for the other, when my kids are babies they won't go to the twin at all and if the twins are together my littles won't have anything to do with daddy either for a few hours at least after the twin has left."
– t9pool
Whitney Bliesner has a rare genetic condition known as neurofibromatosis type 2, which causes noncancerous fibrous tumors to develop in her nervous system.
The hormonal changes that are a normal part of pregnancy stand a good chance of making this worse, so it isn't safe for Whitney to become pregnant. The tumors have already led to Bliesner's loss of sight in one eye and hearing in one ear.
Bliesner and Noe are fraternal twins, they do not share all of their DNA, so the genetic condition that affects Whitney isn't present in Jill.
When Whitney confided in Jill that she really wanted a baby, but surrogates and adoption were prohibitively expensive, Jill didn't hesitate before offering to act as a surrogate for her sister and her husband.
"I was like, yeah! Let's just do it! Let's just see where this goes and let's see if I can get my body to where it needs to be to have your kids."
Whitney spoke with The New York Post about her reaction to Jill's offer:
"I was speechless at first. She was giving up her life to do this for me."
Noe has always been very athletic, formerly playing basketball for Arizona State University. Bliesner told CNN that she was shocked her sister would give up that lifestyle for her.
"I was very happy and excited, but also shocked, because I know how active and fun and exciting her life is, and for her to want to actually stop that for me was just kind of like a shock."
Because of Whitney's medical concerns, they were unable to use her eggs, so the couple opted for a donor egg fertilized with Whitney's husband's sperm.
"We couldn't use my eggs because there's a 50/50 chance I could pass it on and I just don't think I would be able to live with myself if I knew I passed this condition to my kids."
Jill is currently in a relationship and said that things can get a bit awkward when meeting people for the first time. She told The Post:
"I tell people I'm a surrogate for my twin sister. As I see their wheels turning, I offer up the information that they used a donor egg and her husband's sperm — and no, I did not sleep with her husband!"
The ASU Alumni Association shared the news of Noe's act of love on Twitter.
From Sun Devil to surrogate, #ASUAlumni and former @SunDevilWBB player Jill Noe gives new meaning to the word team… https://t.co/gB1kumJHSD— ASU Alumni (@ASU Alumni) 1554772504
Noe also shared the story on Facebook, to many congratulations from both friends and family, and the general public.
Patti Buess/Facebook
Karen Hartzman/Facebook
Alex Taimanao/Facebook
Keshia Victoria/Facebook
Family being there for family is nothing new, but the love that Noe has shared for her sister with this one act is remarkable.
She truly wants her sister to be happy.
"She's had so many things taken away from her. This is a way I can help provide her with two beautiful children."
Transitioning isn't an easy task. It can be lonely and isolating. However, that wasn't the case for identical twins Jack and Jace Grafe. The brothers were identified as female at birth, but ultimately came out as transgender men and transitioned at the same time, leaning on each other for support. According to Fox5Atlanta, the Georgia born pair were raised in a conservative family.
Jack explained...
"Fear is like the biggest thing to keep you away from anything. That's what kept me in my box."
Growing up, they'd both known they identified as boys from a young age, but had never heard the term 'transgender.' They weren't sure what they were feeling or why, but they knew they weren't girls. The boys said they used to cry themselves to sleep, hoping they'd wake up as boys.
Jack said:
"It's like being in prison except it's in your own body. And the older I got, the harder it was to swallow. And I was like, can't do this for the rest of my life, I just can't do it."
As close as the twins were growing up, neither confided in the other their gender identity until they were 15 years old.
Jace stated...
"I feel like we've saved each other from a lot of really dark and depressing moments. Sometimes, I wonder if he wasn't here, if I would have been by myself, if I would have had suicidal thoughts. I'm not saying I would have, but it's very possible. I would have been most definitely alone."
The two continued to present themselves as female until they graduated high school. Jace cut his hair and changed his clothes as soon as high school was over. It was a few years later when they began their medical transition. They started with hormone injections to get deeper voices and appear more masculine. It was just two months ago that they underwent chest reconstructive surgery, on the same day.
They are both in long-term relationships, work as corrections officers in East Georgia, and were supported by their co-workers through their transition. Best of all, both boys are very happy.
Some of their story was covered by Inside Edition.
Identical Twins Transition Together www.youtube.com
People congratulated them on their journeys.
Jack and Jace's journey progressed to a new level just recently: the twins were even able to obtain new driver's licenses that identify them as male.
Jack told Fox5Atltanta:
"It's real now, it's official. It's like the biggest relief you could ever feel."
Jace added:
"It's perfect to me, I'm finally perfect to me. I'm just excited to finally go out there and be exactly what I've been dreaming about for a long time."
In an era where several people are attempting to erase trans people from all discourse about civil rights, visibility is even more important.
People have been voicing their support for the transgender/gender nonconforming (TGNC) community.
You heard Mother Monster.
Jack and Jace are very happy with themselves and their lives. We can only hope more transgender people can have the same happy ending as these twins.
H/T: Twitter, YouTube, Instinct Magazine
