Homestead, Fla. • It was May of seventh grade, and 14-year-old Theo Ramos was in a new school. Perhaps because it was an arts magnet program, or because it was a diverse place, kids and adults seemed to embrace the transgender boy much more than those at his old school did. There were fewer nasty comments, less bullying.
Theo knew he sometimes "presented like a girl" — like when he would Snapchat crowns of flowers on photos of his kitten, or how he colored his hair every shade of the rainbow. And he spent hours watching makeup artists on YouTube because, but, he said with a shrug, "you can be a boy and like makeup.