Geena Rocero, the transgender model who came out in a TED talk in March, recently went into further detail about her decision to be open about her history.

Geena Rocero Talks Coming Out

Rocero found success in the modeling industry over the years with her employees becoming none the wiser about the gender she was assigned at birth. Eventually, the fear of her secret coming to light and her own growing desire to live more openly and honestly led her to seek a way to reveal her transition.

"There was always that fear: What if people found out? They'd think I'd duped them, and maybe I'd lose my regular clients. It could ruin my career," Rocero told Glamour magazine. "I carried the paranoia with me every day."

When Rocero’s agent at Next Management, Ron Gerard, learned that she was a transgender woman, he was stunned. "I had no idea. It was like, boom!" he said. "I give her a lot of credit for doing what she's done and taking a stand."

Rocero was fortunate in that she had the steadfast support of her parents, who allowed her to have her boys’ uniform altered at her Catholic school in the Phillipinies and ultimately helped her seek out gender-reassignment surgery after she moved to the United States to live with her mother in San Francisco. After the surgery, Rocero, who knew she was a girl from a young age, felt reborn.

"It was like a rebirth. I never enjoyed having sex before, and all of a sudden it felt good,” Rocero admitted. “I was much more in touch with my sensuality, and I went crazy exploring it.”

Now that Rocero has not only had the benefit of transitoning, but has also thrived from opening up about it, she hopes to help combat the discrimination directed at members of her community. The activist said, “I want everyone to understand that transgender women are women.”