{"id":1192,"date":"2024-02-07T15:28:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T15:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/translash.org\/2024\/02\/07\/what-cecilia-gentili-means-to-trans-people\/"},"modified":"2024-07-14T23:56:41","modified_gmt":"2024-07-14T23:56:41","slug":"what-cecilia-gentili-means-to-trans-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/translash.org\/articles\/what-cecilia-gentili-means-to-trans-people\/","title":{"rendered":"What Cecilia Gentili Means To Trans People"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cecilia Gentili, beloved activist, actress, author, and chosen family to many, passed away on February 6, 2024. As reported by them<\/a>, friends and family notified the public of her passing via a post on her Instagram page<\/a>. TransLash Media is compiling reactions from our communities and will be updating this memorial tribute through the rest of February.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn More About Cecilia Gentili From People And Organizations Close To The Irreplaceable Trailblazer, In Their Own Words:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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A photo of Imara Jones and Cecilia Gentili at #TransProm<\/a> 2023. Imara, wearing a blue dress, is smiling while holding Cecilia, who is also smiling with full red lips that match her red dress. Both of their faces are glowing from a beautiful day of celebrating trans youth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Imara Jones\u2019 Tribute To Cecilia Gentili<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t remember the first time I met Cecilia Gentili nor the first time I ever heard her name. Perhaps it\u2019s because she\u2019s been an ever-present, powerful force in our community for so long that it\u2019s hard to imagine any time without her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even though I can\u2019t remember the first time I met her, what I do know is that she was and always shall remain unforgettable. Her laugh, wit, intelligence, sexiness, bawdiness and sheer grit were all outsized. No matter what room she was in, nor who was it, Cecilia stood out for all of the right reasons. It is fitting that she had a one woman show because no matter who she met Cecilia was unparalleled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cecilia
A text thread between Imara Jones and Cecilia Gentili on her birthday, January 31, 2024. Imara texts: Happy Birthday, Reina!! You are a marvel! Cecilia replies: Amor. Thank you. I love you.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was fortunate to know her and to see her in more, different types of scenarios than I can remember. Vigils, boardrooms, conference halls, and brunch tables all spring to mind. While she will be feted for her public face, what I recall is her private one. She is one of the shrewdest people I know. Cecilia got so much done on behalf of trans people because she knew where power lay, how to sell to it, and get it do what she wanted. I observed her roll men in suits more times than I can remember. To be honest, in a less transphobic society, #CeciliaGentili<\/a> would have been an EMMY Award winning actress AND governor of a state. Cecilia had the range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all of these reasons, it is hard both for me and our community to fathom life without her. But she would expect nothing else. She knew that the creation of a better world was larger than one person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will especially miss her ability to know what I was going to do next even though I had never said it. I still don\u2019t know how she did this exactly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, as a journalist I had the opportunity to sit down with her for many hours of interviews. At the end of one for the #antitranshatemachine<\/a> I said, \u201cThe United States is lucky that you chose her to make your life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The response to her passing over the last three days underscores how fortunate we all were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R\u00edo Sofia\u2019s Tribute To Cecilia Gentili<\/h4>\n\n\n
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A post shared by Ri\u0301o Sofia (@rioxofia)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>