Rebel Girls Celebrate Pride: 25 Tales of Self-Love and Community
FOREWORD Dear Rebels My elementary school years were a magical time filled with adventure friendships and games But in middle school everything felt different I became more serious anxious and lonely I didn't feel comfortable in a body that was changing and turning me into a teenager I felt disconnected from my classmates who had been my closest friends until that point and everyone seemed to be more confident than me More than anything I could not understand why boys and girls were suddenly considered opposite teams I had spent my childhood climbing trees running in the olive groves skateboarding jumping in the river and pretending to be Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Why were all these things suddenly not considered appropriate for a girl Over and over again I found myself making choices that were different from the girls around me One cold winter day I met my cousin Angelica at a Carnival parade a celebration with costumes and masks Waiting for me on our town's main street she was wearing a look that was quite popular among teenagers at the time blue hair torn jeans metal chains military boots and black makeup Angelica was a perfect punk I will never forget the look on her face when she saw me approaching dressed like a chicken My mom took a picture of us which has since become a family heirloom Angelica looking perplexed and me smiling proud of my white onesie with a tiny red crest on top I have a feeling that my confusion would have been much easier to navigate had I held a book like this in my hands You see what I didn't know at the time was that there is not just one way to be a girl just as there is not one way to be a boy I didn't know that the range of possibilities in front of me was much greater than the rigid binary choice between male and female that seemed like the only option This book is a celebration of those possibilities That's why it's called Rebel Girls Celebrate Pride I am so proud of these stories because they
show the power of love in all its forms They will remind you that there is nothing wrong with who you are or who you want to be Thankfully lots has changed since I was a kid Today you have an entire vocabulary at your fingertips to describe the full spectrum of gender identity and sexual orientation Whether you're gay bisexual asexual heterosexual transgender pansexual lesbian queer cisgender or nonbinary this book will remind you of the liberating power of love and acceptance You will read the story of Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju who fought for years to overturn a law that discriminated against LGBTQ people in India You will find out about Laverne Cox who shattered Hollywood stereotypes and became the first openly trans woman to be nominated for an Emmy Award for acting You will discover athletes who have broken all sorts of barriers in soccer skateboarding swimming snowboarding and tennis All these stories prove that when freedom and love are protected being happy becomes easier for everyone As you read about these intrepid trailblazers remember that you too play an important role in preserving the rights that so many people before you have fought for The respect you show to others the causes you choose to defend and the actions you take every day have an impact on making the world a better place Let the stories in this book remind you that we all deserve to be loved and respected for who we truly are Elena Favilli Founder Rebel Girls
7 ALANA SMITH SKATEBOARDER Alana was seven when their feet first touched a skateboard As they swooshed through the quiet streets of their Arizona neighborhood their heart took flight They loved the feeling of wind whipping around them They loved the board's sturdiness and the whir of the wheels underneath Soon Alana was taking lessons at a skateboarding school in town Their pulse pounded each time they sped down the ramp or launched into the air They rode down thin rails They flipped their skateboard this way and that They twisted their body mid-jump They fell often And sometimes it hurt But each time they got up shook themself off and skated on When Alana was 12 they flew to California to compete at a tournament There they tried a trick that no one competing in the women's category had ever done in a competition before a 540 McTwist To do a McTwist Alana had to spin one and a half times in the air while holding the edge of their board with one hand The crowd applauded as Alana flew down the curve of the half-pipe But they missed their landing and oof skidded on the ground On Alana's next try they sped down the half-pipe and up the other side Suddenly they were airborne upside down and spinning They grabbed the edge of their board like they'd practiced Then their wheels clacked hard against the ground The audience cheered Alana had landed it Alana came out as bisexual when they were 16 and right before competing in the Olympics in 2021 they told the world they were nonbinary They said Going into the Olympics I just wanted to be my authentic self BORN OCTOBER 20 2000 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
