For actor Elliot Page, the journey to authentic life was and remains an emotional journey. In his first interview since get out As a transgender person, Page spoke to Time Magazine in December about the “deep gratitude” he felt “for reaching this point in my life” and about his struggle to ensure that all trans people get the support they need.
“I want to live and be who I am,” Page, known for his role on Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy,” told Time. “… It’s a complicated journey and an ongoing process.”
Page is the first transgender man to be on the cover of Time magazine, according to Reuters.
Despite coming out only three months ago, Page, 34, said in the interview that he felt and wanted to identify as a boy since he was a kid. But he said that as a professional actor, a career he started at the age of 10 required him to “ look a certain way. ”
When he decided to tell the world his name is Elliot, he said he expected a lot of support and love, but also “a tremendous amount of hatred and transphobia.”
“That’s essentially what happened,” Page told the magazine. Yet despite the criticism he received, he told the magazine that he believes he has the privilege and responsibility to be honest and to live authentically.
“Extremely influential people are spreading these myths and damaging rhetoric – you see our existence being debated every day,” said Page. “Transgender people are so real.”
Much of this debate has been political. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, more than 100 bills have been introduced so far in 2021 that would negatively impact the LGBTQ community. More than 60 of those bills specifically target transgender youth, the ACLU said.
Since coming out, Page has mainly used his social media pages to raise awareness about crimes and legislative actions harming the LGBTQ community. One of the topics he focuses on is access to non-discriminatory health care for transgender people.
One of the most comprehensive studies of transgender individuals in the US, published in 2016, found that one in three transgender individuals who had seen a doctor in the past year had reported at least one negative experience related to being transgender, including intimidation and refusal of treatment. Those who are transgender were also more likely than the general population to be uninsured.
“My privilege has given me the tools to get through it and be where I am today,” Page told Time, “and of course I want to use that privilege and platform to help in the ways I can.”
Even when he tweeted about his interview in Time, Elliot used his platform to raise awareness about the discrimination transgender people face. “With deep respect for those who came before me, gratitude for those who supported me and deep concern for the generation of trans youth we all need to protect, please join me and dislike anti-trans law, hatred and discrimination in all its shapes, ”he tweeted.
“We know who we are,” Page told Time, referring to the debate over transgender rights. “People cling to these solid ideas [about gender] because it makes people feel safe. But if we could celebrate all the wonderful complexities of people, the world would be such a better place. “