Geena Rocero on Writing Her Bestselling Memoir: ‘It Was A Reclamation’

glamour.com:

, Rocero rose from pageant queen in the Philippines to top fashion model and trans activist in the U.S., having publicly come out as transgender in a now-viral TED talk along the way.As a years-long wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation crested in 2023, Rocero's decision to tell her story—and her subsequent honor as —couldn’t have been more urgent, or timely.

And Rocero's honor in particular made for quite a "full-circle moment," as both she and noted in their moving speeches.“Glamour was the first American magazine to , out and proud,” James recalled, before highlighting just some of Rocero's impressive accomplishments. “She has spent the past decade fighting for inclusion and acceptance at the White House, the U.N., the World Economic Forum, and in her native country, advocating for everyone to live the life they love.”Rocero also acknowledged the occasion's momentous meaning, just after expressing enthusiasm at being the first Filipina winner.“I just love the idea that the very first Filipina is a trans woman,” she said. “And as Aurora mentioned, Glamour has always seen me.

And being spiritually seen, as you fully are, has been a through line in my story."That story, and the ability to tell it as her true self, is what matters most to the author."Writing my memoir Horse Barbie, for me, was a reclamation: a reclamation of the spirit that I had in the Philippines growing up," she later said in her speech.

She then shared who the “true hero" of her story really is: her mother.“I have to speak the name of my mother Elizabeth, who, after being separated for five years, gave me the chance and sacrifice so I could be legally recognized as the woman that I was when I moved to America.