Keat Rhodes, 9, looks just like any other little girl - she has long curly hair and prefers to wear pretty pink clothes.
But Keat was actually born a boy.
"People said that we were being abusive parents. I sat in front of the computer and just cried"
The schoolgirl was just seven years old when she was diagnosed with gender identity disorder and began her transition from boy to girl.
Emily Levin, Keat's adoptive mother, has revealed that - while she and her husband have been very understanding of Keat's decision - others were not so understanding:
"One father actually said he was going to go into the school and beat the boy back into Keat.
"Other people said that we were being abusive parents. I sat in front of the computer and just cried… I couldn't believe people were saying these hateful things."
But they have fought the bullies and are striving to give their daughter a normal life. Here's their story:
Over the next few years Keat will undergo treatment to complete her transition from male to female; she will take puberty blockers, before moving on to hormone therapy and full gender reassignment surgery.
As Emily says: "It just comes down to love. if you love your child, then you will do anything in the world for your child. It's just as simple and as pure as that."