When I was five, long before I understood what the word 'gender' meant, I would always tell my mother that I wished I were a girl.

I can only imagine how much more fun it's going to be to play someone who shares my identity rather than having to contort myself to play a boy. I'm going to gun for those roles, be it a transgender female or a cisgender female.

My pronouns are she, her, and hers. I identify as female, specifically as a transgender female. And my name is Josie Totah.

I believe that I am transgender to help people understand differences. It allows me to gain perspective, to be more accepting of others, because I know what it feels like to know you're not like everyone else.

Looking back now, I realise that belonging to the family of a labourer actually helped to prepare my body for boxing. There were many times when my family didn't have enough food or warm clothing to go around. All this made me physically, as well as emotionally, tough.

Christmas is always a great time because I get to be around family and spend time with my brother, nieces, and nephews, so that's what I plan to do. It's great to disconnect from everything.

There was a substantial vinyl collection in my home, and my mom played piano. We, the children, were enrolled in piano lessons very early on.

My father is black and my mother is white. Therefore, I could answer to either, which kind of makes me a racial Lone Ranger, caught between two communities.