“I wanted to share my story, so I did share my story in front of the 200 people there. I also had a sign that said, ‘I’m the scary transgender person the media warned you about,’ and it went viral.”
The 15-year-old sat down with TODAY at the Tory Burch Foundation’s 2022 Embrace Ambition Summit in New York City. Backstage, she explained her family was supportive from the very beginning, helping her find “different terms and definitions” for her identity at around the age of eight before eventually settling on transgender. “It made me feel more me," she said."It gave me a moment to empower myself.
The sign was widely shared across social media platforms, and covered by various news organizations. The juxtaposition between Rebekah's sweet smile and the notion that transgender people are scary struck a chord with many. It was also at the rally where Rebekah heard the stories of individuals feeling unsupported that kick-started her drive that she’s carried through today to be an activist and advocate for LGBTQ rights.
“There’s other people that can’t do what we’re doing,” she said. “They don’t have the resources or the support. We live in New Jersey, we have protective laws in place, we can put ourselves out there. So while we get hate and death threats and child abuse investigations, it’s so much worse in other places where they don’t have the protections, where they don’t have two supportive parents, where they’re not white.