ELLIOT PAGE MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST TRANS MALE TO COVER TIME MAGAZINE

Back in December, Juno and The Umbrella Academy star Elliot Page shocked the world when he came out as transgender. We hadn’t heard much from the actor (except for his split from wife Emma Portner shortly after) until now, since he’s gracing the cover of Time magazine.

“What I was anticipating was a lot of support and love and a massive amount of hatred and transphobia,” Page explained of their expectations for how the public would react to the announcement he was trans. “That’s essentially what happened.”

While the announcement may have stunned some fans, Page said he felt that he was in the wrong body from an early age. In the cover story, he recalled his exhilaration as a nine-year-old growing up in Nova Scotia, Canada, when he was allowed a short haircut.

“I felt like a boy,” Page said, revealing the weighty significance of the event. “I wanted to be a boy.” But starting a career in entertainment at age 10, the young performer was forced into wigs and growing out his hair, appealing to traditional expectations. This lasted throughout his career, becoming more pronounced at major moments like in the press tour for Juno. The global pandemic and resulting shutdown provided Page the solitude he needed to come to terms with his identity, something they admit they were avoiding.

“I just never recognized myself,” he said, underscoring the powerful role clothing plays in gender identity. “For a long time I could not even look at a photo of myself.”

Donning feminine clothing for onscreen roles proved equally difficult. “Even though [I was] an actor, just putting on a T-shirt cut for a woman would make me so unwell,” he added.

The “Hard Candy” actor’s friend Alia Shawkat, who co-starred with him in 2009’s “Whip It,” also spoke to Time about Page’s struggles with performing femininity through fashion. “I’d be like, ‘Hey, look at all these nice outfits you’re getting,’ and he would say, ‘It’s not me. It feels like a costume,’” she recalled.

After Page came out as gay in 2014, he pivoted from dresses to suits on the red carpet and began accepting roles with the condition of requiring masculine clothing, marking a turning point in his journey.

Hair has also played a crucial role in allowing Page to live his truth. He pointed to cutting his hair short “around age 9” as the first time he truly felt like himself — and that others perceived him clearly.

I’m glad that Elliot, who recently underwent top surgery can finally live in his truth, and I’m also quite curious to see what they plan to do with the Vanya Hargreeves character when Umbrella Academy returns on Netflix for it’s third season.

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