![]() That's when I began to realize that I wanted to be Mara Gomez, that I wanted to be a woman, that I felt like a woman.Īround then, I began to change how I perceived myself, as well as shifting my looks from the typical mama's boy to the typical mama's girl. Until I turned 11, I was confused about my feelings. I always played as a mum, sister, daughter, aunt - everything related to the female gender. Throughout my childhood, every time I played or imitated someone, it was always related to a female role. We have lunch together we eat dinner together. Even though we have some separation, we're always sharing the same spaces. I live with my mom, her husband, my sisters and my brother-in-law. My sister, who lives with her partner and her daughter, occupy the house at the bottom of the lot. My family occupies the house in the middle of the lot: it's in the largest house of the three. I live with my family on the same lot there are three houses on it. I live in the city of La Plata, located in the Buenos Aires Province, in the La Granja neighborhood. When I say that "it saved my life," it's because I had suicidal episodes when I was a teenager and football was the one thing that allowed me to take those thoughts off my mind.įootball is still the thing that emotionally keeps me together it's my lifestyle. What would I be able to accomplish in terms of a dignified job, an education, having the life any human being has: those are fundamental rights.Īs I said before, and always say, for me, football was and is my therapy, my emotional source of support it's a lifestyle for me. It wasn't that I was looking for a hobby and said "I'm going to do football because I want to commit to something." Football helped me navigate all the emotional issues and all the suffering I dealt with daily because of all the discrimination and exclusion, and the fears that it caused inside me when I'd think about my future. I always consider "football" as if it was a sort of anesthetic for my pain, because that's what it was. It was hard for me to think of myself as someone who would fulfill a space inside something so limited, not just because of institutional rules but also because of ideological and cultural ideas football's "place" in society has always been occupied by men. I am living an undreamt dream, because it was hard for me to visualize myself as a professional player. 'Football is the thing that keeps me together' Read this story in other languages: Spanish and Portuguese ![]() We have kept her words in her voice as much as possible except where certain idioms did not directly carry over. She was interviewed in Spanish, which was then translated to English from those transcripts. Here she tells ESPN senior writer Tom Hamilton about her life and journey to realising her dream of playing football, but also explains why she is far from finished.Įditor's note: The following was edited and condensed from two 90-minute interviews with Mara conducted over Zoom. Mara is just 24 years old and is a reluctant activist, but she wants her story to inspire those marginalised in society, or anyone who is trying to navigate their way through life looking for the light at the end of a tunnel. She says football has saved her life, and she wants to use her experiences and powerful voice to tell the world the importance of equality, love and opportunity. Her debut for Villa San Carlos in Berisso, Argentina, against Lanus in the Primera Division was the culmination of years of struggles, having dealt with persecution, discrimination and abuse. In December 2020, Mara Gomez made history as the first transgender footballer to play in Argentina's women's championship. Mara Gomez, first transgender female pro in Argentina, in her own words: 'Football saved my life' ![]() You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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