Elliot Page has been open about his struggle with gender dysphoria since coming out as transgender in 2020, and has since been using his voice to help others who might be going through the same isolating experiences.
The Umbrella Academy actor recently sat down with ABC for its upcoming Pride special and detailed how fame affected his upbringing as someone who felt like there was little support for transgender youth in the industry. “I think it especially became complicated as an actor. People would just say ‘You’re an actor, just put on the f*cking clothes,” he in a new clip.
Page began acting at the age of ten, and slowly began to feel a sense of discomfort while his body began to change. “When my body started to change and clothes sat on me differently…all of that was the beginning of really disconnecting from myself and feeling a degree of discomfort that was very erosive and damaging,” he explained. Paired with being in the spotlight, Page struggled with the lack of information about being transgender.
“I don’t think I, even at that point, had probably even heard the word ‘transgender,’” he said. “If it did come up, it would be briefly in health class with then the sound of laughter.” The actor added that he had been bullied while in school, which only led to more “shame and self-disgust.”
After being thrust into the spotlight at such a young age, the dysphoria only got worse. “I think with gender dysphoria, it’s being assigned a gender at birth based on your genitalia, and that being the reality of not who you are—and the incongruence and disconnect with that—just continues to chip away at you.”
Now, Page uses his voice to help uplift others by sharing his joy in his own via his inspiring confessional selfies and on the page (literally!!) in his upcoming book, Pageboy.
The Freedom to Exist airs June 6th on ABC. Check out the clip below.