Celebrating Trans Trailblazers

The Role Models We’ve Been Waiting for

“So, today, I am taking back my own power, and I have to tell you something…” These are the famous words that Nikkie Tutorials expressed in her coming-out video, now viewed close to 35 million times, that shocked the YouTube and beauty communities as a whole.

With over 13 million subscribers on YouTube, Nikkie de Jager, known as Nikkie Tutorials, is one of the most influential beauty gurus. In light of International Women’s Day 2020, many young women honoured Nikkie de Jager on social media for her powerful coming-out video where she came out as a transgender woman earlier this year. She has been posting videos on the platform since 2009, and has grown an immense following and a great reputation in the beauty world. Many significant beauty influencers such as Tati Westbrook, James Charles, Jeffree Star, and more, look to her for genuine reviews of products and killer makeup tutorials. Her coming-out video came as a shock to her followers, more so because she mentioned being threatened and somewhat forced into publicly coming out.

She opened up her video by saying, “Today, I am here to share something that I’ve always wanted to share with you one day… but under my own circumstances, and it looks like that chance has been taken away from me.”

Being an influencer and having a massive following obviously comes with its challenges, but no one should ever have to feel threatened to reveal their private secrets. Nevertheless, Nikkie Tutorials mustered up her courage and stood up for herself (and millions of trans people like her) by taking her power back and coming out to the world. There’s definitely something to admire about transgender YouTubers sharing their stories with millions of viewers; not only are they paving the way by providing a confident role model, but they are creating conversation and acceptance around transgender people in general. That being said, there are a few trans YouTubers that can be regarded as positive role models for the entire world, both in terms of their bravery and strength, and in their demonstration of solidarity.

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On January 13, 2020, Nikkie Tutorials uploaded a 17-minute video to her channel, declaring a powerful message: “Planet earth is full of labels and I never felt comfortable with labels. I wanted to be my own person, my own identity, my own human being, without any rules, any labels, and without any restrictions… I want to start the year off by finally revealing a part of my life that has made me who I am… I can’t believe I’m saying this today to all of you, for the entire world to see, but damn it feels good to finally do it. It is time to let go and be truly free. When I was younger, I was born in the wrong body. Which means, that I am transgender.”

The 25-year-old YouTuber said she fully transitioned by the age of 19 but decided to share her journey for the first time in 2020 after being blackmailed by people who threatened to share her story with the press. Garnering tons of positive responses from fans and fellow YouTubers, Nikkie expressed her gratitude for her family, friends, and fans in a second video, titled “Responding To My Coming Out.”

Coming out isn’t an easy thing to do, but luckily she was met with a wave of support; the YouTube community really set an example for us all. Notable influencers who shared their support for Nikkie include Jeffree Star, who stated “YOU are such an inspiration and so f***ing brave!” Other words of encouragement such as “I’M SO PROUD OF YOU SISTER!” and “Congrats my love! You’re [an] amazing, gorgeous, and brave woman!” came from James Charles and Manny MUA respectively.

Finally, Gigi Gorgeous and Nikita Dragun, two transgender female YouTubers and beauty gurus, also showed their gratitude to Nikkie on Twitter.

Dragun exclaimed, “I know how hard it is. To see you out and living your truth has brought me to tears! You don’t know how many people you’re inspiring and helping by sharing your story.”

Such praise coming from Gigi Gorgeous and Nikita Dragun, OG transgender beauty gurus, sure are touching. Gigi is a Canadian socialite, actress, and model, and one of the most well-known trans beauty vloggers, who has been uploading videos on YouTube for 12 years now. Debuting her YouTube career as a man and sharing every step of her transition is what pulled in viewers. She now has close to 3 million subscribers, who admire her for her strength and honesty. In 2008, when she started uploading videos about her transition, the community was very different (and a lot less accepting) than it is today. About her debut, Gigi said that she “had no one to look up to” and her desire to become that role model for her viewers is what pushed her to continue YouTube, no matter how hard it was at first.

In her most recent YouTube video, Gigi helps a friend transition and explores the whole process in detail, which just goes to show how informative and open she is. Her YouTube channel really is a safe haven for many trans people who need that kind of role model.

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As for Nikita Dragun, she also knows a thing or two about experiencing her transgender life in the spotlight seeing as she debuted her YouTube career 5 years ago in 2015, and uploaded her coming-out video titled “I Am Transgender” in 2016. Most of her influencer life has been about speaking her truth and shedding light on the challenges of being a transgender woman - and for Nikita, there are many.

She’s had her fair share of controversies in the beauty world, notably, for tweeting racist comments or sporting hairstyles that enraged her fans who came for her for “appropriating black culture.” However, she always seems to bounce back from those scandals by never giving them much attention, and simply moving on. Her true fans continuously stick up for her, regardless of her mistakes, as they believe everyone deserves a chance to redeem themselves, learn, and grow. This is partly because she has grown such a loyal fanbase, who has been with her from the start.

Ever since her coming-out video, Nikita has been very open about her transition, even vlogging her experiences and approaching difficult subjects like taking hormones or going through facial feminization surgery. Her honesty and openness is what keeps her fans defending her constantly. Now that her transition is complete, she stands tall as a woman and doesn’t let anyone take her down. The strength of these women is truly an inspiration. They are showing not only their fans, but the whole world how tough and tenacious transgender women are.

In 2019, Nikita launched her very own make-up brand, “Dragun Beauty,” which she claims is a “groundbreaking cosmetics brand all about empowering beauty lovers of all shapes, skin tones and sexualities” (DragunBeauty). When promoting the brand, Nikita put a heavy emphasis on “living your fantasy.” She also heavily promoted this idea when she clapped back at the Victoria Secret Fashion Show for not including any trans models. She tweeted her very own Fantasy Bra commercial captioned “Dear Victoria’s Secret, you said trans women can’t sell the “fantasy” so here I am as a TRANS WOMAN selling the FANTASY!” She received a lot of praise for standing up to Victoria’s Secret.

Personally, having that kind of confidence is the real fantasy! Fighting for inclusion is just one part of the battle towards acceptance for the trans community. These YouTubers have led the way, have shed light on what it’s like to transition in 2020 and have shown the world that openness, acceptance and mutual-support make all the difference. And, they did it in style.

What do you think, CULTURVERSERS?

Are these strong women the role models we've been waiting for?