- Geena Rocero model: not born a child, assigned me "boy" at birth
- It says coming to United States allowed him to change his name, gender marker
- Rocero launches movement to change the perceptions of transgender people
- Rocero: In the West, gender perceives rigid, laws provide some protection
Editor's Note: Geena Rocero is an activist, a model and the founder of the proud genre, a movement that seeks to change the global perception of and conversation about transgender people. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
(CNN) - on Monday is international day of people day I've chosen to "exit" as transgender and transgender visibility.
All assigned us a gender at birth. Sometimes that task does not tally with our inner truth and must be a new place, a place of identification.
Not have born a child, I was assigned a child at birth. Understand the difference between the two is crucial for our culture and society advance how to... try and talk - transgender people.
One of my earliest memories is of 5 years of age. It used to cover t-shirts in the head and took delight in feel to the fabric on the back. My mom asked me: "are why carrying always a shirt in the head?" Replied, "it is not a t-shirt, breast... is my hair".
Growing up the Philippines, participated in 15 age transgender beauty pageants. In Asian cultures, the fluidity of gender has been part of life for thousands of years, evidenced by the Buddhist goddess of compassion, GuanYin and the Hegira hindu goddess Bahuchara Mata, which is sacred for men who want to be cured of impotence and women who want to become pregnant.
Yet despite this nuanced understanding and culture contest which I grew up, in many countries, fluency is held but politically not recognized.
A personal turning point came in 2005, a year before I became a U.S. citizen, when he was traveling through Tokyo. At that time, I still had my passport in the Philippines and my old bookmark male gender, but presented as a woman. I was in the office of immigration at the airport and questioned for hours about my identity. I have friends in the Philippines - where there is no law that allows you to change your name and marker - who have these experiences whenever they travel. It is dehumanizing.
When I moved to the United States to work as a model, and finally had the chance to change my name and gender marker, I felt as if I myself had finally out matched my inner truth. I really felt that he had done so, but over time, I realized that there is a lot of work that must be done and that was only the beginning.
Today I'm going to throw proud genre that imagines a world where transgender people are able to identify with the fewest possible obstacles.
In most of the Western world, the concepts of gender are still very rigid, but that coexists with progressive legal systems that allow transgender people some limited rights.
There are various differences of understanding between Western cultures and oriental, and hope that proud gender you can create a new understanding. We are partnering with all to identify countries where the legislation is at a "turning point" and we intend to channel resources to field activists and organizations working to create change.
There is a long history of people within the community who stood up and fought for justice. It was inspired by the pioneers, such as Marsha p. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera and organizations, including the Association of transsexuals in the Philippines, Transgender Europe, Global Action for Trans equality, among others.
I think one contemplation more mature and in depth the issue of transgender will be the bridge that leads humanity to a deeper understanding of gender as a whole. This understanding begins with the understanding that we live in a culture that was assigned gender at birth, and that appropriate roles and expectations of our genre are defined by our society and our culture.
In today's globally connected world and ever diversifying, culture is now smoother and more flexible that can never... and thus also be our understanding and perception of gender.
For more information, please visit www.genderproud.com
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