By Somer Sodeman & Gloria Zink
Ceniad
East Lansing HS
Ozzie Roman-Baker (11) was pissed.
The substitute teacher for Roman-Baker’s second hour English class had just refused to accept that Ozzie’s birth name was Zoe.
“Zoe,” the sub said as she scanned down the attendance list.
Roman-Baker raised their hand and said “here.”
The sub looked at Roman-Baker, a person with short hair and an otherwise masculine appearance, and decided that they must have been joking.
“Very funny,” the substitute said. “Now is Zoe here or not?”
The class went silent, and though they were surrounded by 28 classmates, Roman-Baker felt alone.
While they hated these situations, Roman- Baker was no stranger to them. They’d become accustomed to people questioning their gender, judging their identity or simply not accepting them.
And it was these situations that made Roman-Baker transfer to LCC because they dreaded coming to school every day.
After coming out as bisexual in middle school, it wasn’t until middle of freshman year when they knew that there was more to their identity. Roman-Baker was never able to find an adjective to describe their gender identity. It was not until they had done hours of research on what it meant to be gender fluid. They came out on Instagram at the beginning of sophomore year as non-binary and asked to go by they/them pronouns.
According to Roman-Baker, it was five months after they came out when they started to understand what it meant to be gender fluid.
“It was a long process to get there and to find the word non-binary, but I think to me being gender fluid is just a process.” Roman-Baker said. “I don’t feel stuck in a binary way. Being gender fluid means some days I am more feminine and some days I am more masculine. It is just a constant evolving cycle.”
After coming out, Roman-Baker was more comfortable with their identity. However, this assurance didn’t always get the best with everyone. They recall many instances of confused staff stopping them from using their assigned restroom.
But the majority of their time at school wasn’t all bad. There were still moments that made Roman-Baker feel closer to acceptance.
One of those moments of acceptance came when gender neutral bathrooms were installed on the second floor in 2016. The first time they saw the bathrooms was in eighth grade, before they had known that they were non-binary.
“I just stared and looked at it for so long,” Roman-Baker said. “I wasn’t out yet, and I didn’t really know who I was. Looking at it, it just felt right.”
Now, these gender neutral bathrooms serve as a safe place for them.
“I know the world is extremely divided upon which bathroom I should choose,” Roman-Baker said. “I would personally like to have a separate bathroom because I am not either gender, I am a little bit in between. So having a bathroom to myself means a lot to me. Having them makes me feel a little bit better about myself, that I am seen and valid.”
And although they have struggled with being out as bisexual and gender fluid, Roman-Baker knows that their outing makes the next persons struggle a little bit easier by making the LGBTQ+ community more visible within our school.
They find hope in fellow students. Roman-Baker often had students come up to them to thank them for being openly bisexual and gender fluid.
“Even though they don’t know me, they tell me that me being out really helps them,” Roman-Baker said. “It’s a community that is silently built into this school, and it is so beautiful.”
But Roman-Baker doesn’t plan on keeping their safe community silent. They plan to break that silence by becoming a film director who strives to make LGBTQ+ persons visible.
“Knowing that I have to grow up in a world where not everyone accepts me really scares me,” Roman-Baker said. “But, I am so ready to make a change. And I am so excited to be proud of myself and to make my name known.”
1st Place
Division 2, Yearbook Verbal
Y-06. Personality Profile
Writing focusing on one teacher, staff member or student that makes the character three dimensional. An individual story may not be submitted in more than one writing category. Submit a PDF of the page(s) showing the entry. CLEARLY INDICATE WHICH STORY YOU WISH JUDGED in Additional Information field if there are multiple stories on the page.
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