Derek McGuiness Character Analysis in This Is How It Always Is

A bully at Roo and Ben’s school. Derek McGuiness is forever making transphobic and homophobic comments, and Roo gets into frequent fights with him. Roo is ultimately suspended from school for fighting with Derek, and Rosie must stitch up a cut on Roo’s head. Derek McGuiness represents the abuse and bullying LGBTQ kids often encounter at school, which, Frankel implies, contributes to the disproportionate rate of suicide for transgender adolescents.

Derek McGuiness Character Timeline in This Is How It Always Is

The timeline below shows where the character Derek McGuiness appears in This Is How It Always Is. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...into a school. Fighting is “sexy,” Cayenne says, and she heard that Roo beat up Derek McGuiness because he called Roo “gay.” She asks if Roo really is gay, and when he... (full context)

...to her office, where she learns that Roo has been fighting with a kid named Derek McGuiness for over a year. Derek called Roo—and several other kids—“gay and faggot and fucking fairy,”... (full context)