Geena Rocero Books In Order

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Geena Rocero

Geena Rocero is a model from the Philippines who now lives in New York City. She also speaks at TED events and works as an advocate for transgender people. Her work focuses on fairness and visibility for the transgender community. She uses her own life experiences to connect with others in a clear and direct way.

As a writer, Rocero has a clear skill for building narratives that hold a reader’s attention. She does not use complicated or fancy language. Instead she shares facts and personal moments in a simple order that still feels surprising. One sentence might be short and punchy. The next might be longer and more detailed. That mix keeps her writing fresh and alert.

Rocero wrote a memoir about her own path from the Philippines to the global stage. In that book she explains hard topics like identity and change without being sad or dramatic. She keeps the tone upbeat and casual even when the subject is serious. This friendly voice helps readers learn without feeling talked down to. Her strength is making a complex life feel clear and interesting to anyone.

Through her writing Rocero writing works because it gives readers a new way to see the world. She does not just talk about modeling or transgender rights as separate ideas. Instead she shows how those parts of life connect to family, work, and personal growth. A reader who knows nothing about her background can still find something useful in her words.

Her memoir pulls back the curtain on moments many people never think about. She explains what it feels like to move between countries and to live in a body that others might not understand. But she never turns the story into something sad or heavy. The tone stays light and forward moving. That shift in mood is what gives readers a different perspective. They see struggle without losing hope.

And she connects with people around the globe by staying honest about who she is. She does not change her voice for different audiences. Whether she writes for a reader in Manila, New York, or London, the tone stays the same: casual, clear, and grounded. This sameness is what makes her work feel real. A person in one country can pick up her memoir and see parts of their own life reflected back.

Her writing engages worldwide readers because she focuses on universal ideas. She writes about finding a place to belong. She writes about being seen for who you truly are. Those ideas do not need translation. She also includes small specific details from her Filipino childhood and her life as a model in America. Those details ground the story. Then she pulls back to talk about larger human truths. That back and forth from small to big keeps a reader in any country interested.

Geena Rocero shows no sign of stopping. She continues to write and speak about topics that matter to her community and to herself. Readers can expect more books, more honest stories, and more clear eyed advocacy from her in the years ahead. Her best work may still be on its way.

Early and Personal Life

Geena Rocero was born in Manila in 1981 into a working class family. As a young person she entered beauty pageants starting at age 15. Those early experiences in front of crowds helped her later comfort with telling her own story on the page.

At 17 she moved to San Francisco, California. That big change exposed her to new people and new ideas. Living in a different country gave her more material to pull from when she later sat down to write.

In 2005 she relocated to New York City. She became a United States citizen in 2006. Each move and each new setting added a fresh layer to her view of the world which now feeds directly into her work as a memoir author and advocate.

Writing Career

Geena Rocero launched Gender Proud in 2014 as an advocacy and awareness campaign for transgender rights. That same year she gave a TED talk in Vancouver on March 31, coming out as transgender on the International Transgender Day of Visibility. Excerpts of that talk later aired on NPR’s TED Radio Hour podcast on September 19, 2014.

Rocero also runs a media production company called Gender Proud that tells stories about transgender and gender nonconforming people. Her company produced two films, “Beautiful as I want to Be” and “Willing and Able,” which won a GLAAD Media award. She serves on the board of the NY LGBT Center and as an Ambassador for The Stonewall, and she continues to write and produce new work.

Horse Barbie

Geena Rocero authored the nonfiction memoir “Horse Barbie: A Memoir of Reclamation.” Dial Press Trade Paperback published the book on June 4, 2024.

Growing up in a Manila neighborhood during the 1990s, Geena Rocero heard shouts of “Bakla, bakla!” aimed at her every time she stepped outside. She later joined trans pageants, a kind of unofficial national pastime in the Philippines. Fellow contestants teased her by calling her a “horse Barbie” due to her height, flowing hair, long neck, and darker skin, so she decided to embrace that label. By the time she turned seventeen, she was the top earning trans pageant queen in her home country.

One year after that she left for the United States to update her name and gender marker on official paperwork. Legal acceptance did not mean she was safe though, so she kept her trans identity hidden to get by and protect her work as a model. That secret life worked for a period as she grew into a popular model, but her real identity slowly faded away. In the end she faced a choice about whether to take back the strength of Horse Barbie fully, with her head up and no shame.

Readers will find this book both honest and uplifting. The story moves at a good pace and never feels heavy. Anyone looking for a memoir about finding oneself will enjoy these pages. The writing stays clear and friendly from start to finish.