Josie Romero, a young child, teaches us to never give up

The story of Josie Romero, who was featured on “Sex, Lies, and Gender,” on Nat Geo TV last week, teaches us the power of acceptance and perseverance against all odds. You see, Josie hadn’t been known as such for her whole life. Prior to a few years ago, this adorable little girl went by the name of Joey. Josie is an 8-year-old transgender.

Her parents, both in a military and traditional family, did struggle with accepting their son’s desire to wear dresses, be referred to as a female and play with dolls. However, after a couple years of only allowing Josie to act out on her desires at home, they realized that they were impeding on her happiness.  Her father, an Air Force Lieutenant, had the hardest time accepting the changes, but as he states, only because he felt like he had lost a son. Both parents did an incredible thing by allowing Josie to be who she truly is; allowing her to go to school on base as herself, despite the turmoil it caused with parents and students, and even having her birth certificate changed to acknowledge that her name is Josie and she is female.

While the story of her family’s acceptance is extremely powerful, Josie’s own story is something that we can really learn from. Her mother states that she was constantly harassed and verbally and physically abused by her classmates only for being who she was. Josie was deeply hurt by the way she was treated, but refused to change the way she lived her life. At 8-years-old, Josie recognized the importance of persevering and trying again and again.

When working in coalitions, it’s easy to get downtrodden due to the bullies' comments. They’re saying mean things about you and what you feel passionate about. They don’t have much respect for you. They might even try to push you down. But, Josie serves as a precedent for how we too should act. Despite the naysayers, we need to keep moving forward, being who we are, spreading our message and being happy. And if we keep doing that, we really will be able to unite and conquer.