As we mark Pride month, WNYC asked some older adults in LGBTQ+ communities to share their own personal histories and reflections in honor of the occasion. Victor Rios of the Bronx shares her story. 

The transcript of Victor Rios's story has been lightly edited for clarity.

My name is Victor Rios. I'm 61-years-old. I feel like a woman inside. I look like a man, but I'm a woman. Ever since I was born and raised, I was me the way I am now. People may like it or dislike it, but that was me and I'm still me that way now. I feel like a woman.

I was born and raised in the South Bronx. It was very scary because there was a lot of machismo and it was scary because they used to beat you up. Nowadays in this century, it's much better -- we are more accepted. To me, it wasn't hard. It was harder for my family to accept who I was, and they didn't like it because they were Puerto Rican people. And at the same time, I tell them -- this is me and I'm gonna live my life as I am. The only one that used to tell me was the guys -- my uncles, my father, and people like that. And I was like, no, I'm me. It was scary because I was scared. I was doing maintenance and in the maintenance department, there's a lot of men. It was challenging because some of them, they used to look at me weird. Some of them used to make noises and say things. It was overwhelming because I didn't know which way to go and what to do. So, what I used to do was walk out of the job. They never threw me out for no job, but I walked out.

I feel good here. I work at the Queens Center for Gay Seniors in Jackson Heights. I'm a kitchen helper. I feel comfortable. I feel like I'm a whole person here. There's no thinking about being a woman or gay because I'm hanging out with them, and I know they are in the same predicament that I am. And it doesn't matter if you gay or not, we are human beings -- we brothers and sisters. That's it. It doesn't make no sense that you say you gay, you this or that. No, we brothers and sisters, and we have to help each other because we alone.

The best medicine in this world is laughing. I think that's the best. I keep on telling them to laugh. No matter how much you're in pain, laughing is the best thing to do in this world.