Nikkie Tutorials' Reason Behind Coming Out Is A Prime Example Of The Shit Trans People Face For Existing
On Day 13 of what many are now referring to as the WILDEST YEAR EVER, beauty YouTuber Nikkie de Jager, aka Nikkie Tutorials, came out as a trans woman.
Coming out is something that’s so personal and life-changing to anyone who has made or will make the decision to do so, and to come out as trans in our current sociopolitical climate is an incredible act of courage. Yesterday’s video is the first time that the 25 year-old has opened up about her gender since she started her channel in 2008.
“I am here to openly share that I am transgender,” she said. “And with this message, I want to inspire little Nikkies around the world who feel out of place, who feel misunderstood. I hope by me standing up and being free that it inspires others to do the same, to truly live your life like you want it and the way you desire it. This world needs us. We need to accept each other. We need to respect each other. But most of all, we need to hear each other and understand.”
Her near-13million subscribers rallied to support the Dutch beauty vlogger, and as the news broke, thousands of people across social media showed their love and praise. Despite describing coming out as “friggin’ liberating” and the support she received from family and school teachers in her video, Nikkie also spoke about her worries around coming out as transgender.
“The last thing I want in my life is for you to not trust me anymore or to look at me with different eyes, or to look at me in a different manner or think that I have changed,” she said. “I have changed a bit – because damn, this feels liberating and freeing – but I, at the end of the day, am still Nikkie. And nothing changes about that.”
There is absolutely nothing more incredible than someone living their truth and being able to be their authentic selves, but whilst Nikkie’s coming out is a huge moment for herself and the trans community, it can’t be ignored that her reason why she came out was far from because she was ready to share her story with the world.
In the 17-minute YouTube video, Nikkie said that, whilst she had planned to tell her fans one day, her decision to come out sooner was as a result of being blackmailed, with someone threatening to out her to the media. This left her with a huge decision to make, which saw her sharing her story on her channel and by doing so, “taking back [her] own power."
“It was frightening to know that there are people out there that are so evil, that they can’t respect someone’s true identity. It is vile. And it is gross. And I know you are watching this. They said they wanted to leak it because I’m lying or that I don’t want to tell my truth or because they feel like I’m too scared for people to know who I truly am. I’m not scared.” She then addresses her blackmailer by looking straight into the camera, flipping her middle finger up and saying, “This one’s for you. I hope you can sit nice on it.” How fucking iconic.
Nikkie’s inability to come out entirely on her own terms and in her own time is a prime example of one of the many ways in which trans lives are endangered on a daily basis. Hate incidents and hate crimes affect trans folk the world over, and outing – or threatening to out – someone is a regular act of anti-LGBTQA+ violence that too many people within the community have had to experience. In the UK, 41% of trans people experienced hate crime in 2019, with 79% of hate crimes going unreported. In the US, there were at least 25 trans or gender non-conforming people killed last year as a result of fatal violence, the majority of whom were black trans women.
As you can probably imagine, corners of social media threads and comments sections are their usual cesspool selves, highlighting issues surrounding passibility, people’s entitlement to information of trans folk’s transitions, and more. That being said, for the most part, the support for Nikkie is incredible.
Despite the unfortunate circumstances that left her with little choice but to come out before she was ready, she’s inspired innumerable amounts of people, fans or non-fans alike.
You can watch Nikkie’s video here:
Love, light and power to you, Nikkie!
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