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Horse Barbie

A Memoir

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Horse Barbie

By: Geena Rocero
Narrated by: Geena Rocero
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About this listen

“A moving chronicle of trans resilience and joy” (Vogue) from one of Out100’s Most Impactful and Influential LGBTQ+ Storytellers

“Groundbreaking . . . [Rocero] quite literally models what triumph can look like.”—Glamour (Women of the Year)

WINNER OF THEM’S AWARD FOR LITERATURE • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Book Riot, Elle, Esquire

As a young femme in 1990s Manila, Geena Rocero heard, “Bakla, bakla!,” a taunt aimed at her feminine sway, whenever she left the tiny universe of her eskinita. Eventually, she found her place in trans pageants, the Philippines’ informal national sport. When her competitors mocked her as a “horse Barbie” due to her statuesque physique, tumbling hair, long neck, and dark skin, she leaned into the epithet. By seventeen, she was the Philippines’ highest-earning trans pageant queen.

A year later, Geena moved to the United States where she could change her name and gender marker on her documents. But legal recognition didn’t mean safety. In order to survive, Geena went stealth and hid her trans identity, gaining one type of freedom at the expense of another. For a while, it worked. She became an in-demand model. But as her star rose, her sense of self eroded. She craved acceptance as her authentic self yet had to remain vigilant in order to protect her dream career. The high-stakes double life finally forced Geena to decide herself if she wanted to reclaim the power of Horse Barbie once and for all: radiant, head held high, and unabashedly herself.

A dazzling testimony from an icon who sits at the center of transgender history and activism, Horse Barbie is a celebratory and universal story of survival, love, and pure joy.

©2023 Geena Rocero (P)2023 Random House Audio
Biographies & Memoirs Women Heartfelt

Critic Reviews

“Inherently American . . . Geena Rocero’s enthralling, redemptive, and heartfelt journey forces me to see the world through newly bright and hopeful eyes.”—America Ferrera, Emmy-winning actor and producer, and author of American Like Me

“Interspersed with vivid, captivating, and often hilarious behind-the-scenes stories about the pursuit of fame—on music-video sets, gaining entry into exclusive clubs and parties—Horse Barbie recounts Rocero’s painful decision to hide her trans identity as she pursued a modeling career in New York, and her empowering journey toward reclaiming her true self.”Vulture

“Candid . . . Rocero [is] no longer hiding. Her memoir does not shy away from topics like colorism, gender disclosure, sex work and the nuts and bolts of medical transition.”The New York Times

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