Gabriela Mansilla - Yo nena, yo princesa

2014, Argentina, Gabriela Mansilla, Spanish,

"Original title: "Yo nena, yo princesa: Luana, la niña que eligió su propio nombre" (Me baby, me princess: Luana, the girl who chose her own name) by Gabriela Mansilla.

“Yo nena, yo princesa: Luana, la niña que eligió su propio nombre” is a moving and courageous autobiographical book written by the Argentine author and activist Gabriela Mansilla, published in 2014. It tells the true story of her daughter, Luana, who was born in 2007 and assigned male at birth, but from the age of two began to express a clear and consistent identification as a girl. What began as confusion and concern within the family quickly transformed into one of the most important human rights stories in Argentina and, indeed, the world. The book is not only a personal testimony of a mother’s love but also a political and social document that exposes the rigidity of institutions when faced with the reality of trans children.

 

From the very beginning, Gabriela and her family followed the conventional expectations for raising their twins, Manuel and Elías. They were dressed in blue, surrounded by toy cars, and treated as boys. Yet by the age of two, Manuel started rejecting this role. She refused to wear boys’ clothes and insisted that she was a girl. The family’s initial reaction was one of confusion, fear, and even denial. Society, after all, offers few tools for understanding or accepting such early expressions of gender identity. The situation became even more complicated when Luana’s school demanded that she conform to male behavior, refusing to acknowledge her self-perception. Seeking help, Gabriela consulted a psychologist who recommended stricter rules, advising the parents not to allow any feminine expression. This advice, rooted in outdated gender norms, only deepened the family’s anguish.

 

A turning point came when Gabriela’s sister happened to watch a television program in which a professional discussed transgender children. That moment opened a new door of understanding for the family. Gabriela began to see her child not as a problem to fix but as a little girl who simply needed to be loved and respected for who she was. With support from psychologist Valeria Paván, a specialist from the Comunidad Homosexual Argentina, the family learned to accompany Luana’s transition with empathy rather than fear. They changed pronouns, clothes, and language at home, allowing Luana to blossom as herself. Her father struggled longer with acceptance, weighed down by internalized prejudices, but Gabriela’s determination and Luana’s persistence slowly transformed the family’s dynamic.

The book follows Gabriela’s relentless efforts to secure an identity document that would officially recognize her daughter as female. The Argentine Congress had passed the groundbreaking Gender Identity Law in 2012, which allowed individuals to have their self-perceived gender recognized by the state without judicial intervention. However, when Gabriela applied for Luana’s new ID, the authorities refused, arguing that at five years old she was too young to decide such a thing. This bureaucratic obstacle became the heart of Gabriela’s fight. She refused to accept the notion that her child’s identity should be invalidated simply because of her age. Her struggle reached the highest level of government, and in 2013 President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner intervened personally, ordering that Luana be issued a new identification card reflecting her gender identity. With that, Luana became the first trans girl in the world to be officially recognized by her state without a court ruling. It was a victory that transcended Argentina and marked a milestone for the rights of transgender children everywhere.

 

Gabriela’s writing is deeply personal and unfiltered. She does not present herself as a perfect mother or a flawless activist. Instead, she invites the reader into her confusion, her fears, and her growth. She shares the sleepless nights, the difficult conversations, and the moments of heartbreak, along with the triumphs. Through her eyes, we witness how a child’s simple insistence, “Yo nena, yo princesa”, became a rallying cry for visibility and dignity. The narrative confronts readers with the stark contrast between a child’s innocence and the cruelty of social rejection, between institutional rigidity and a mother’s unconditional love.

 

The book’s publication by the Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento was in itself an act of defiance. Academic publishers rarely release such raw, emotional, and non-academic works, but this story demanded to be told in its own voice. As Rector Gabriela Diker later observed, the book challenged the assumptions of academia, urging scholars to rethink what they knew about childhood, identity, and rights. It also became a touchstone in Argentine education, inspiring debates in classrooms, professional trainings, and legal circles.

 

Critics have described the book as both a testimony and a manifesto. Infobae included it among its “Great Books,” recognizing it as a milestone in the struggle for gender identity and a profound reflection on prejudice. The psychoanalyst Néstor Yellati offered a more skeptical view, questioning the concept of self-perception from a psychoanalytic standpoint. Yet, even his critique underlines the cultural and intellectual disruption that Gabriela’s book produced. Others, like Manuel Allasino in La Tinta, celebrated it as an extraordinary story of perseverance and love that exposes the ignorance hidden behind social norms.

 

In 2021, the story reached new audiences with a film adaptation of the same name, broadcast internationally on Star+. The movie captured the emotional intensity of Gabriela and Luana’s journey, bringing their message to families who might still be struggling to understand their transgender children. The cinematic version extended the book’s legacy, transforming it into a visual symbol of hope and acceptance.

 

“Yo nena, yo princesa” is more than a mother’s chronicle; it is a declaration of human dignity. It shows that gender identity is not a theory or a whim but a deep, lived truth that demands recognition and respect. Through her words, Gabriela Mansilla teaches that love, when guided by empathy and courage, can move mountains, change laws, and redefine what it means to be a family. The story of Luana is not only about a girl who chose her name but also about a society learning, slowly and painfully, to listen when a child says who she is.

Available via Wikipedia

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