An 11-year-old transgender girl is “living her best life,” her mother insisted as the couple rose to applause at the Come Out With Pride festival in Orlando on Saturday.
Dempsey Jara became the youngest grand marshal in the event’s history when she paraded through the streets of the Florida city in an open car at one of the largest Pride events in the world.
Wearing pink heart-shaped sunglasses and a floral dress, she blew kisses to the crowd while clutching a puppy wrapped in a blue bow as her parents beamed in the back seat.
“She just always has a thing for girls’ things, girls’ toys,” teacher Jaime Jara, 45, told the Orlando Sentinel.
“She would say, ‘I’m a girl in my heart and my brain.’ She’s been on this journey since she was five years old, living her best life.”
Supporters cheered Dempsey through the streets of Orlando at the city’s Come Out With Pride festival, while her beaming parents sat at the front
The 11-year-old from Long Island, New York, took pride of place as the youngest grand marshal in the event’s 18-year history
Dempsey’s parents Dennis and Jaime documented her transition on an Instagram page
Florida has pushed back on the transgender movement under Gov. Rod DeSantis, who has banned gender-affirming care for children and branded gender reassignment surgeries “mutilation.”
“I mean, they’re trying to perform sex reassignment surgeries on minors, give them puberty blockers and do things that are irreversible for them,” the Republican governor said last year.
With the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, the state has also banned school lessons about gender identity or sexual orientation for children in younger grades.
But an estimated 200,000 people attended the event in Orlando and Dempsey, who traveled from her home in Long Island, New York, insisted she would continue to “stay true to her identity.”
“Being transgender is not a choice,” she told reporters.
“It’s about being true to myself.” It’s about embracing who I am, even when the world tries to tell me otherwise.
“It’s about standing by my identity, even when it’s really hard.”
Democratic politicians attended the parade, including Florida Representative Maxwell Frost, who sang and danced on one of the carnival floats.
“Being transgender isn’t about a choice,” she told reporters, “it’s about being true to myself.”
With the support of her parents, the 11-year-old has become a passionate advocate for social justice
“Our former pediatrician told us that Dempsey was going through a dress-wearing phase and said ‘transgenderism’ wasn’t real,” said mother Jaime.
“This event is important because there is a lot of hate across the state right now, but today is about love in the ‘city beautiful’ Orlando, where we love each other no matter what, with music and everything,” he told the local Broadcaster WESH who reported on the event.
The station was equally enthusiastic: presenters Michelle Imperato and Michelle Meredith raved about Dempsey’s performance.
“There she is with the sunglasses blowing kisses,” Imperato told viewers.
“Isn’t she cute when she also has an adorable little dog with her?
“They were on TV shows and she was just telling her story and hoping to inspire other little kids you know to live their truth and be who they want to be.”
“And her parents have set a remarkable example for other parents.”
Four years ago, Dempsey’s parents told that they had been accused of “child abuse” for supporting her during her transition.
“Our former pediatrician told us that Dempsey was going through a dress-wearing phase and said that ‘transgenderism’ wasn’t real,” Jaime said.
“Later, she talked about our family behind our backs and called us ‘freaks’.”
“But we’ve also had some amazing responses; A gas station clerk saw Dempsey in her dress and short, slicked-back hair and called her little Lady Diana.
“When I showed Dempsey pictures of the late Princess Diana, she beamed for a week.”
The Long Island family changed Dempsey’s birth certificate in 2019 to reflect her gender transition and set up an Instagram page to document her evolution.
“Dempsey has been gender non-conforming since she was 18 months old, basically since she was able to express herself. “She’s always had a love of dolls, dresses and shiny things,” Jaime said
“Knowing these items were what she wanted, we purchased them knowing how happy they made her.”
“When I began sharing our daughter’s journey publicly, I received a flood of messages and calls from friends, acquaintances and complete strangers in similar situations asking for help and guidance for their transgender or gender non-conforming children,” Jamie said. “That continues to this day.”
“I feel like I’m doing my part in some way to help the very marginalized transgender community.” Being a parent is never easy, it takes everything you have almost every day.
“She always portrayed herself as a girl with long blonde hair. “She would ask for dolls and princess dresses as gifts for the holidays,” Jamie said
Dempsey’s parents initially thought it was a phase where she would become more interested in female toys and clothing
Parents have accused Jaime and Dennis of child abuse for the way they are raising their daughter and attacked Jaime for “brainwashing.”
“Dempsey has really blossomed since his social change and has come full circle; “She’s happy, successful and overall pretty pleased with herself,” Jamie said
Supportive: The mother has now created an Instagram account to better inform the public about her daughter
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed six anti-LGBT laws this year, including a ban on gender-affirming care for minors
“Having a transgender child who has poor opportunities in all areas of life makes it even more difficult.”
“Unfortunately, I was also harassed and verbally attacked by parents who said I was abusing my daughter and that my children should be removed from our home.”
“A lot of people have said that Dempsey is lucky to have me as her mother.” I feel the exact opposite. I consider myself lucky to have Dempsey as my child.
“She teaches me new things every day and has changed my perspective on so many things, many of which are about compassion and acceptance.”