I think I had something to prove to myself, that I could book a cis role and then if I did come out one day and start auditioning for trans roles, I could say, 'Look, I've already worked in a cis role.'
It was a dream of mine to be in an action film.
Growing up, I never saw images of trans people succeeding.
Everyone has a voice. I mean, that's the good side to the Internet Age and social media. Obviously, there's negatives to it, but I think that the fact that everyone has a voice now is a tool that we can use for good.
Now that I'm out there and it's known that I'm trans, I think that sometimes might hinder my opportunity in snagging a big cis role.
I lived what we call 'stealth' for a number of years. Even when I started acting in the industry, I didn't disclose. I didn't come out. My first job on 'Law & Order' was not a trans role.
In my own personal life, it's been pretty hard navigating love, and so I've found this kind of contentment in loving myself and waiting for the world to catch up.
My body has carried me a long way and has had many evolutions. I honor it, flaws and all.
I got to choreograph a halftime dance with the cheerleading squad, which was all-female, at my high school. And I was the only boy, at the time. We did this whole routine to 'Maria Maria' by Santana, and 'Thong Song' by Sisqo - it was a mix.
Drag was not only my introduction to womanhood, but my introduction to entertainment. It was the first time I realized that I could move a crowd.
My own experience of dating cis-hetero men has really been a challenge, because of the stigma they have to endure for attempting to love us.
I had a lot of fights in high school.
I feel like if Hollywood can stretch for inclusion and intersectionality, and being intentional with its intersectionality, that that can ripple out past Hollywood into whatever industry and kind of affect society as a whole.
It's not fun for an actor to be pigeonholed in any way.
Oftentimes, I feel like, because of my cisnormative look or my aesthetics, that sometimes my talent might get overlooked.
I think it's really important to understand that every trans story is not the same, and we are as varied as any other group of people.
I don't have shame around where I've been or what I've done to survive to get to where I'm at in my life. When you don't have shame around something, it can't hurt you.
I think that trans women have endured a lot and they compromise a lot when dealing with cis hetero men.
Trans women are conditioned to accept that society sees us as overly sexualized objects - even more so than how society already sexualizes cis women. It's almost as if they don't see us as fully developed human beings.
We have to be intentional with including trans women, all women, all marginalized people. Whether we say 'Me Too' or call ourselves feminists or strive to create a diverse workplace that reflects the world we live in, it's all about being intentional.
