US, CO: 'It's me in a different way' http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/01/its-me-in-a-different-way/'It's me in a different way'By
Jeff Kass, Rocky Mountain News (
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Photos by Matt McClain, Rocky Mountain News
Originally published 12:30 a.m., March 1, 2008
Updated 03:13 a.m., March 1, 2008
On the first day of eighth grade, Melaina Marquez wore a polo shirt, wedge shoes and denim skirt with ruffles.
The year before, that outfit would have been out of the question. At that point, Melaina was a boy known as Manuel.
Melaina, now 15, is considered to be transgender: a person who does not identify with the sex based on his or her genitalia. She decided to tell her story after news reports last month about a 7-year-old Douglas County girl who attended school last year as a boy.
At age 2, Melaina recalls playing with Barbies and her favorite toy, a kitchenette. When she played house in pre-school, "I would always want to be the mom."
Melaina says she never struggled with her identity. But her mother, Michelle Benzor-Marquez, cannot say the same.
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