Eighty-year old Romanie Viola Simpson recalled the first time Hollister, who was born a boy, identified differently to the family.
“One day, she told us that she don’t feel like a boy. She feel like she’s a girl,” Simpson said. “We accepted it because that was how she feels,” she added. Hollister Avery Hooper is a transgender woman and her grandmother Romanie has been by her side all her life.
“She always like to dress up. You’d always see she got these fancy hairstyles and make-up on her face. We just had to accept it and love her for who she is,” Grandmother Romanie shared.
Hollister lost her mother at a tender age. She remembers her mother’s love and protection growing up. Hollister said she knew she was different and her mother knew this too.
“My mother would wait for me on the road in front of our home to ensure I was safe,” she recalled. That same security remained intact for Hollister when her mother passed. Grandmother Romanie and other family members became very protective and supportive of Hollister.
“Hollister is very, very respected in the area. Everybody loves her for who she is,” Grandmother Romanie pointed out. Their relationship remains special, “because Hollister does everything for me. Hollister is very caring, very loving. I never had a problem when I understood who she is,” Grandmother Romanie said.
She also shared advice for other families. “I am very, very proud of her. I would tell other parents and grandparents to accept whatever is happening with their child or children because they didn’t make themselves,” Grandmother Romaine declared.
Hollister and Romanie’s story is the focus of Guyana Together’s fourth video for its campaign. This video’s release is timed to mark Trasngender Day of Visibility, observed on March 31 worldwide. It is a day to celebrate the lives and contributions of transgender people, while also raising awareness of the discrimination faced by trans people worldwide.
This fourth video will be aired both on local television stations and across a wide range of social media platforms. It complements three other videos launched between September 2023 and in 2024.
The first video features a young lesbian, Krystal Trim, and ally Eusebia Liverpool, who has been a mother figure in Trim’s life since her biological mother passed away when she was a teenager.
The second video features Guyanese Model and Pageant Queen Kristal Inshan and her gay, best friend, fashion designer Avinash Narine and captures support through friendship.
The third video saw sister Kaisha Davis and her trans brother Tarique. Their love and support transcend a mere sibling relationship as it cemented an everlasting bond of trust.
All the videos capture real stories of immeasurable love and support from family and friends for gay and transgender Guyanese.
Guyana Together is a grassroots campaign aimed at growing public support and understanding for gay, bisexual and transgender people and calling for the repeal of the country’s outdated, colonial-era law criminalising intimacy between men.
The campaign brings together leading business voices, faith leaders, and over 100 Guyanese organisations – all while elevating the voices of everyday Guyanese people who believe in respect for their fellow gay and transgender citizens.
A national 2022 poll shows a majority of Guyanese nationwide support the repeal of the laws criminalising same-sex intimacy, SASOD pointed out.
The organisation said the videos have seen positive support publicly. They can be accessed online at guyanatogether.gy and social media pages-TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube
