GLAAD Media awards will recognize Geena Rocero's 'Beautiful As I Want to Be'

International model Geena Rocero produced and hosted 'Beautiful As I Want to Be.'

LOGO TV's original series Beautiful As I Want to Be is receiving special recognition from the 27th GLAAD Media Awards, which will be held April 2 in Los Angeles.

Beautiful As I Want To Be paired young and dynamic trans people with mentors like Trace Lysette, Our Lady J, Jen Richards and Caitlyn Jenner, was produced and hosted by Filipina/American model Geena Rocero,  who came out when she gave a TED talk in 2014. Since then she has become active in trans advocacy founding an organization Gender Proud.

“Creating Beautiful As I Want To Be was and is about elevating visibility, most especially by allowing trans youth to define beauty for themselves,” says Rocero, who noted the record number of transgender subjects, actors, creators and producers being nominated this year.

“We’re so grateful Logo immediately saw and supported this vision and we’re grateful to be working alongside such supportive media makers.”

The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives.

It's a busy weekend for Geena. The next day (April 3), its the debut of ASPIREist, where she has been hired as one of news show's correspondents.

ASPIREist is created by Emmy award-winning producers including Solly Granatstein of 60 Minutes.

“I think there is a different way to present the news to the Millennials,” said Granatstein. “I don’t think they’re looking for this “objective,” Voice of God, kind of standard, anchor driven news. I think they’re looking for something more experiential, more interactive, they can get involve with that has more an activist bent to it.”

The hosts are not traditional news anchors. They are t20- and 30-something personalities who are themselves inspiring and passionate activists, environmentalists, social entrepreneurs and educators. And they all have one thing in common, they all have appeared in Ted Talks.

“Geena, from the very moment that we met her, we were absolutely charmed by her,” said Granatstein. “She has such an incredible charisma and it’s really grounded being a very real person.”

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For more news about Asian/Americans & Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

Filipino History Month: A parting shot -- 34 famous and should-be famous Filipino/Americans

Dreamscape Studio Photography / dreamscapestudio.net / Via Courtesy of Kevin Nadal   

Front row (sitting, from left): Kevin Nadal, Ayesha Vera-Cruz, Kalayaan Mendoza, Geena Rocero, Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, Richard Mendoza, Mark Bustos; Second row (kneeling/sitting, from left): DJ Neil Armstrong, RJ Mendoza-Nadal, Ernabel Demillo, Lea Salonga, Stella Abrera, Judge Lorna Schofield, Liz Casasola, Chef Cristeta Comerford, Cecilia Pagkalinawan, Monette Rivera, Jaygee Macapugay, Lucille Javier; Third Row (standing, from left): Ken Natori, Luis Francia, Ryan Letada, EJ Samson, Mia Alvar, Rafe Totengco, Nancy Bulalacao-Leung, Ching Valdes-Aran, Nicole Ponseca, Jason Tengco, Marissa Aroy, Joe Bataan; Fourth Row (elevated, from left): Ben de Guzman,
Marlo Gamora, Jose Llana. 

THIRTY-FOUR Filipino/Americans gathered in New York for a family picture last month, Filipino American Heritage Month. Each has excelled in his or her particular field and each could be an inspiration for Filipino/Americans across the country.

Some of the names you'll recognize: Lea Salonga, Cristeta Comerford, Joe Bataan and Geena Rocero. Others are a little less known to the general public but no less deserving.

Some may quibble on who's in the picture but just getting all these busy people in place is an accomplishment in itself.  It's a historic shot and one we should all appreciate. I'm sure if the picture was taken on the West Coast a few more people would be added to the group portrait. Perhaps a politician or two, a few actors, a couple more journalists and certainly some civil rights activists would be included.

In an essay for Buzzfeed, Dr. Kevin Nadal, one of the organizers of the photo shoot, wrote:

Throughout our history in both the Philippines and the U.S., we have overcome these instances of tyranny, brutality, and inequality. We have fought for independence in the Philippines and marched for civil rights in the U.S. We have organized movements, formed coalitions with allies, and persevered against systemic discrimination, ignorance, and oppression. 

We have comforted each other in times of despair and have supported the trailblazers who have represented us well. We have moved forward and persevered, usually with a smile, and always holding the hands of future generations behind us.

To fully appreciate it, though, click here to find out why these individuals were invited to be in the picture.

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Model and transgender activist Geena Rocero: featured in Covergirl's #GirlsCan movement

During her TED talk last year, she showed a picture, left, of herself growing up as a young boy in the Philippines.

GEENA ROCERO, the best-known transgender person from the Philippines and who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, was featured in Covergirl's #GirlsCan campaign and interviewed last week by journalist Soledad O'Brien.

“At COVERGIRL, we’ve always celebrated strong, inspiring women who don’t let anyone or anything stand in their way,” said Esi Eggleston Bracey, VP and General Manager, COVERGIRL Cosmetics. 

“Our family of feisty, fabulous COVERGIRLs embody this spirit, as each of them have broken boundaries in their own lives and careers. We feel so strongly about empowering women that with #GirlsCan, we’re putting $5 million dollars worth of funding into people and programs with the same passion that we have to motivate women to kick ‘can’t’ to the curb – for good.”

O’Brien’s story focuses on how Rocero has used her celebrity as an international model, to bring change for transgender Filipinos in the Philippines.Rocero came out in 2014 during a TED talk. Until then, even some of the people closest to her, including the photographers who used her as a model, didn't know her complete story.

The model-turned-activist founded an organization Gender Proud to help people to discover and proclaim their true selves.

With courage, determination, and passion, Rocero isn’t “afraid anymore to think small” and plans to change civil rights for her transgender community across the globe—proving that #GirlsCan change the world! 

COVERGIRL#GirlsCan is a movement with a mission: to help young women overcome barriers to break boundaries, empowering them to be the next generation to rock the world. The movement was kick-started earlier this year with an inspiring video starring COVERGIRLs Queen Latifah, Ellen DeGeneres, P!nk, Sofia Vergara, Becky G, Katy Perry and Janelle Monáe. With more than 10 million views already and counting, this movement of positivity and #GirlsCan power struck a chord and inspired a provocative conversation.

RELATED: Geena Rocero, trans community embrace Caitlyn Jenner

COVERGIRL announced it will donate a minimum of $5 million over the next five years to support the work of individuals and nonprofit organizations that are helping women break barriers and blaze trails. Additionally, COVERGIRL announced through #GirlsCan the first two beneficiaries of its financial commitment: Girls Who Code and the Soledad O’Brien + Brad Raymond Starfish Foundation.

The COVERGIRL #GirlsCan movement will be further ignited by a calendar of content creation, social conversations, funding partnerships, events and activations with a variety of organizations and media partners over the next five years. 

Girls — and women — are encouraged to share their own stories on social media using the movement's built-in hashtag #GirlsCan.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

 

Geena Rocero, trans community embrace Caitlyn Jenner

Caitlyn Jenner, model Geena Rocero and actress Candis Cayne had dinner with other transgender notables.

CAITLYN JENNER'S long journey to become who she is, from Olympian Bruce Jenner to transgender role model and activist Caitlyn Jenner, was not a lonely one. With a supportive family, she entered a new world with her every step scrutinized and analyzed. 

She was not the first, nor will she be the last, and when finally she made her intention  public and after a two-hour one-on-one interview with Diane Sawyer, she found a community waiting to welcome her with open arms.

After enjoying New York City's Pride Parade last month, Caitlyn had a not-so-private dinner with some of the country's best known trans activists, including Candis Cayne, Chandi Moore, Geena Rocero, Allie Hoffman, Trace Lysette, Barbara Carrellas, Kate Bornstein, and Sam Feder. 

Among the first to come to Caitlyn's side was international fashion model Filipino/American Geena Rocero, who came out as a transgender person in a TED talk in March of 2014.

Rocero's own "coming out" was a "healing moment." Now the 30-year-old fashion model, who returned to modeling in 2010, has launched Gender Proud, an organization dedicated to empowerment and raising awareness of transgender issues. "I knew I had a bigger purpose," she says. "It was a disservice to my own community if I didn't do anything."

"I freed myself," she said. "The moment you completely show your true authentic self, your world has changed. We all have our own little version of truth, so the more we live in our truth, it's a much healthier world."

"I come from that part of the world (the Philippines) where the ... transgender fluidity exists and is actually celebrated," said Rocero in an interview with the Huffington Post.

RELATED: Killing of transgender Filipina turns into an international incident 

Jenner's journey is a watershed moment in the trans community. "So far, I think it's amazing how much visibility it's bringing, and will continue to bring," Rocero told the "Paper," a publication for the LGBTQ community. "I think the media is getting better and better, every month, every year, at having a stronger and more empowered conversation about the transgender experience.

"My great hope is that globally, every country around the world recognizes a transgender person's right to self-determine ... After that, my hope for my country is that trans people are allowed to serve openly in the military, that no trans child feels shame or fear around living their truth, and that people are no longer discriminated in the workplace for being trans."

Geena Rocero gained international fame as a high-fashion model before revealing her secret in 2014.