LGBTQIA+ pride and coming out is always a complicated subject. With the amount of hate the community faces, many people feel it is safer to stay closeted. Some people, however, choose to take a stand, and come out and be proud of their identities.
On Jan. 13, Nikkie de Jager of beauty YouTube channel NikkieTutorials, came out as a transgender woman on YouTube and took her stand on pride.
“I was born in the wrong body, which means that I am transgender,” de Jager said proudly.
Growing up, de Jager played with stereotypical “girly” toys, such as dolls, and fondly recalled she “did everything with nail polish, with hairbrushes, with fake hair, with Barbie dolls- like all of me was girly.”
De Jager’s mother consistently supported her gender identity and expression, as well as de Jager’s immediate family and her fiance, who also supports her identity.
De Jager was relieved to come out to the world, saying it “feels good to finally do it, it is time to let go and be truly free.”
However, de Jager rebelled by coming out in one more way as well.
She had been blackmailed with the information of her past, and the people or person behind this threatened to tell the press. De Jager insulted the blackmailer(s), calling their actions, “evil”, “vile” and “gross.”
She then stated she wasn’t scared for people to know her truth, adding “so to the people who tried to blackmail me and though they couldn’t really. This one’s for you,” while flipping off the camera.
People have been talking about this worldwide, and our student body has also discussed it. Mimi Montefiore, ‘21, co-president of WHHS’ Gender/Sexuality Alliance club, shared their thoughts.
“I think it was incredibly brave. She admitted that she was being blackmailed and that’s what ultimately forced her to come out before she was ready, and that’s really sad,” Montefiore said. “However, she’s been seen as one of the most beautiful and talented women on the internet and she gave a lot of plus size women confidence and now I’m sure she’ll continue to do that for trans women.
“Ultimately I’m glad she came out, but I’m sad that she had to come out for the reason that she did instead of truly being ready to share her story,” Montefiore said.