WATCH: Agender Teen, Hate-Crime Victim, Happy to Be Home

Sasha Fleischman, who identifies as agender -- a nonbinary gender that's neither male nor female -- suffered third-degree burns when another teenager lit Fleischman's skirt on fire on a public bus in Oakland.

Sunnivie Brydum

Sunnivie is the managing editor of The Advocate, and an award-winning journalist whose passion is covering the politics of equality and elevating the unheard stories of our community. Originally from Colorado, she and her spouse now live in Los Angeles, along with their three fur-children: dogs Luna and Cassie Doodle, and "Meow Button" Tilly.

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Sunnivie Brydum

December 02 2013 1:02 PM EST

November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST

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Sasha Fleischman, the 18-year-old high school senior who was badly burned last month when another teenager set Fleischman's skirt on fire on a city bus in Oakland, Calif., was out of the hospital and home in time for Thanksgiving, reports San Francisco's KGO TV.

Fleischman is a senior at Maybeck High School in Berkeley, Calif., and identifies as agender, a nonbinary gender that is neither male nor female. Fleischman prefers the pronouns they, them, and their, to refer to themselves.

And despite the vicious attack that left them with third-degree burns on both legs, Fleischman isn't angry, nor are they planning to change their presentation.

"I'm going to keep wearing a skirt," Fleischman told KGO in their first televised interview since the attack. "That's something that I'm not going to give up. It's a big part of who I am."

The 16-year-old who set fire to Fleischman's skirt has been charged as an adult with two felony hate crimes, notes KGO. Richard Thomas, a 16-year-old junior at Oakland High School, was arrested shortly after the attack on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and mayhem.

After the attack, friends, schoolmates, and even strangers rallied around Fleischman, contributing to an online Fundly campaign that raised more than $20,000 in three days to cover Fleischman's medical bills. Students at Maybeck High School also wore skirts to demonstrate solidarity with Fleischman in the days following the attack.