Welcome Elliot Page: other great LGBTQI + artists

“I have been endlessly inspired by many people in the trans community. Thank you for your courage, your generosity and your relentless work to make this world a more inclusive and compassionate place, ”Page said in a statement. “I will offer all the support I can and will continue to fight for a more loving and equal society.”

And even though more and more film, music, and fashion personalities express being non-binary, intersex, or transgender, discrimination against the community remains high. According to a report published by the Homosexual Integration and Liberation Movement (Movilh), this year, 93% of trans women living in Chile claim to feel discriminated against because of their gender identity, a scenario in which actions such as Page’s could serve as support, according to the Director of the Human Rights Area of ​​Movilh, Ramón Gómez, comments to Culto.

“The statements of famous and loved people, who are openly recognizing themselves as trans or non-binary in public spaces, not only generate identification with them, but also show that it is possible to develop without hiding who you really are,” says Gómez, for later add that the reality of trans men, like the actor, is even more invisible than that of trans women.

While Page will continue to play Vanya Hargreeves – a cisgender woman – on the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy, she also confirms “how extraordinary it feels to finally love who I am, enough to pursue my authentic self.”

Among the more prominent names that have been publicly identified as transgender, non-binary, or intersex in recent years are Directors Lana and Lilly Wachowski. The first – previously known as Larry – announced that she was a transgender woman during the promotion of the series. Cloud atlas (2012), while the second did so four years later in an interview with Windi City Times.

“Yes, I am trans and yes, I completed my transition. I just wanted and needed some time to assimilate it in my head, but apparently one cannot decide this, “she commented, later adding that her decision was motivated after a British journalist pressured her to reveal personal data, in exchange for a promotional interview.

Along with this, in August of this year he informed the YouTube channel, Netflix Film Club, that the story of his popular trilogy of Matrix corresponds to a trans metaphor.

—I’m happy that people talk about the tapes with a trans narrative. I love how meaningful they are to people. I am grateful that I can toss them a rope to help them on their journey.

Another of the best known cases in the cinematographic field is that of the Chilean Daniela Vega, who starred in the film A fantastic woman (2017) in the role of Marina Vidal, a waitress and singer who has to deal with discrimination from the family of her partner, Orlando Onetto (Francisco Reyes), after his death. The work directed by Sebastián Lelio won the award for “Best Foreign Language Film” in the 90th version of the Oscars, and Vega became the first trans person in the history of the contest to be the presenter during the gala.

As he commented in Paula magazine, he spoke to his parents about his gender identity when he was 15 years old, after they asked him over lunch if he was homosexual.

“I just don’t feel gay.” I feel like a girl. I feel like I want to be a woman, ”she told them and, from there, began a transition period that lasted three years, until she built an identity image as Daniela Vega.

In music, one of the best-known non-binary people is Alejandra Ghersi —born as Alejandro Ghersi—, of Venezuelan origin and who performs under the pseudonym Arca. Today he accumulates four studio albums in which he mixes electronics, avant-garde pop and reggaeton, as well as other styles. In a live story through her Instagram account, in November 2019, she referred to her transition process when consulted by her followers.

“I identify as a trans woman and see my identity gender as non-binary,” she declared.

Even just seven months later he published KiCk I (2020), an album that includes the single “Nonbinary” and that presents multiple lyrical references to how he really feels, as an identity statement that had not been explicitly presented in his previous installments.

And she is joined by the non-binary person Tash Sultana, a multi-instrumentalist from Australia who was presented as part of the Lollapalooza Chile 2018 poster and who on several occasions has asked to refer to his identity with the English pronoun “they”, to thus avoid the singular “he” and “she”, which focus only on a male or female character.

The world of haute couture is not exempt either. Hanne Gaby, an intersex model —that is, she is part of around 1.7% of the world population that is born with biological characteristics of male and female at the same time, according to UN data— has walked the catwalks of the most important firms of the world, such as Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs, Rodarte, Chanel and Givenchy. She has also stood out on the covers of magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and ID, while also actively participating in interACt, an organization that motivated her to present herself as intersex in 2017.

“For years I had a kind of secretive and shameful situation about this. Coming out of the closet was one of the most liberating experiences in the world. As a survivor of sexual genital mutilation, I was shocked to learn that this practice is still going on today and after speaking with my family and close friends, I decided that it was time to use my public position to focus on pay attention to this serious matter ”, he declared in an interview with El País, in addition to confirming that same year to The Times UK that he identifies as a woman.

From Movilh, Gómez observes this cultural scenario with optimism. Despite the fact that the identities mentioned have always been part of society, the leader assures that the Internet makes it easier for new generations to access more information and find support networks.

“These types of statements help trans people have the courage to tell their families who they are at an earlier age and, in turn, that they can understand the reality of the trans population,” says the spokesperson.

Then he closes: “In recent years we have lived precious moments with transsexuality worldwide and in Chile, the Oscar of Daniela Vega and A fantastic woman it is a case, but there are also more and more public figures who are close to the people and speak out against discrimination ”.