PRIDE IN HER LIFE, WORK
THE FDNY’S FIRST transgender firefighter has been named a grand marshal at Manhattan’s Pride Parade.
Brooke Guinan, 29, a transgender woman, will be among three grand marshals in the June 25 march.
Guinan said she was in disbelief when she received the invitation by email.
“I called the director (of the parade) and said, ‘I think you mistakenly sent me an email and I don’t know who it should go to.’” Guinan recalled.
“I really don’t get why they chose me,” she said. “I’m a trans person and I work in a great job and get a lot of support from family and friends and colleagues, but there are so many people that are really deserving of this honor.”
The 48th annual parade’s other grand marshals are Krishna Stone, the director of community relations at Gay Men’s Health Crisis, and Geng Le a leader in the burgeoning movement for LGBTQ equality in China.
The nine-year FDNY veteran will march with her husband of two years and her best friend when the parade steps off at 36th St. and Fifth Ave. next Sunday.
Guinan, a third generation smokeeater, began her transition from male to female in 2010.
Since then, the Queens resident earned fans around the world as a poster child for a global campaign to raise awareness for gay and transgender rights.
In a digital poster put out by the Vocal Organization for International Courage and Equality’s “So Gay So What” campaign, Guinan stands with her hands proudly at her hips, wearing her fire gear and a “So Trans So What” shirt.
Guinan — the FDNY’s LGBTQ outreach coordinator — is credited with directing the department’s powerful “It Gets Better” video.
The clip features gay, lesbian and transgender firefighters, paramedics and EMTs discussing their struggles coming out to their friends and family.
Emergency workers on the video say they are happy to live out in the open and encourage viewers that suicide, should never be an option.
“I just want everyone to know that there are many ways to be brave and save lives, all you have to do is put yourself out there,” Guinan said.
While she celebrates on Sunday, her mind will be on those in the city’s transgender community, who don’t have the support she has received.
“Last week two trans women were attacked in the city,” she said. “There is a constant and real threat that queer and trans people are facing in 2017. Post marriage equality, some think that LGBTQ issues are not that big of a deal, but they very much are real and prevalent.”
“We still have a lot to march for,” she said.