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Popular beauty vlogger blackmailed into coming out as transgender. Her video is worth a watch.

Popular beauty vlogger blackmailed into coming out as transgender. Her video is worth a watch.
NikkieTutorials/YouTube

In 2020, coming out as transgender isn't necessarily a bombshell. Slowly but surely, people are catching on to the fact that biological sex and gender are two different things, that those two things don't match up in some individuals, and that people are people no matter what gender they are.

Of course, there are also those who don't understand any of the above and feel the need to let other people's identities affect them, for whatever reason. Regardless, simply announcing that one is transgender, while sometimes a surprise, isn't headline newsworthy at this point.

What is newsworthy is someone being blackmailed into coming out, which is what happened this week to YouTube star and beauty vlogger, Nikkie de Jager.


Nikkie has been sharing has been sharing makeup tips on her YouTube channel NikkieTutorials for a decade. She's built up a following of 13 million subscribers on both YouTube and Instagram, entertaining and informing her viewers with her upbeat, positive approach to make-up artistry.

Until this week, the vast majority of those millions had no idea she was transgender. It wasn't something she'd ever announced, and though she says she had planned to share that fact with followers eventually, she wanted to do it when she felt ready.

RELATED: This university's transgender bathroom signs are on point.

Unfortunately, that right was stolen from her by individuals who threatened to go to the press and out her as transgender for money.

Nikkie made the most of the situation, choosing to come out on her own in a video posted to her YouTube channel:

www.youtube.com

"Today I am here to share something with you that I've always wanted to share with you one day, but under my own circumstances," she said in the video, "and it looks like that chance has been taken away from me. So today, I am taking back my own power and I have to tell you something."

"When I was younger I was born in the wrong body, which means that I am transgender," she said. She told her whole story, explaining that she dressed exclusively in girls' clothing from the time she was seven or eight, and was fully transitioned by age 19. But she also said she doesn't want to be identified with a label that she thinks isn't necessary.

"I am NikkieTutorials, and I am Nikkie," she said. "I am me. We don't need labels. But if we are going to put a label on it, yes, I am transgender. But at the end of the day I am me."

Without naming names, she said, "I have been blackmailed by people that wanted to leak my story to the press." She said she always wanted to share her full and true identity with her followers, but at the same time, she wanted to keep her channel focused on her makeup artistry. That sounds perfectly reasonable and respectable, doesn't it?

Nikkie has the right to share whatever she wants, and it's tragic that this announcement wasn't truly made on her own terms or on her own timeline. No one should ever feel forced to come out before they want to. No one should ever feel threatened over who they are or how they identify.

RELATED: The World Health Organization no longer classifies being trans as a 'mental illness.'

While she has made lemonade out of lemons and created a positive, uplifting, sincere coming out video, the way it came about was completely unacceptable. Not only is blackmail wrong—revealing oneself as transgender is a very personal thing. Nikkie has now publicly identified with a community that will no doubt welcome her with open arms, but she has also been forced to open herself up to transphobic ridicule and potential abuse. That shouldn't be the reality of being transgender, but statistics tell us it is. And people should get to choose when and if they make that announcement.

It also shouldn't matter. As Nikkie says in her video, "I'm sharing it with you now, but nothing changes." Clearly, she's a talented makeup artist and beauty vlogger or she wouldn't have the massive following she has. The fact that she's a transgender woman makes zero difference in her work, and she shouldn't have had to share that information with her fans unless and until she wanted to.

You don't have to fully understand someone's identity to respect their right to privacy and personal agency. Shame on the opportunists who forced her to come out before she was good and ready. They are the only people in this whole scenario who should feel ashamed of who and what they are.

Identity

Celebrate International Women's Day with these stunning photos of female leaders changing the world

The portraits, taken by acclaimed photographer Nigel Barker, are part of CARE's "She Leads the World" campaign.

Images provided by CARE

Kadiatu (left), Zainab (right)

True

Women are breaking down barriers every day. They are transforming the world into a more equitable place with every scientific discovery, athletic feat, social justice reform, artistic endeavor, leadership role, and community outreach project.

And while these breakthroughs are happening all the time, International Women’s Day (Mar 8) is when we can all take time to acknowledge the collective progress, and celebrate how “She Leads the World.

This year, CARE, a leading global humanitarian organization dedicated to empowering women and girls, is celebrating International Women’s Day through the power of portraiture. CARE partnered with high-profile photographer Nigel Barker, best known for his work on “America’s Next Top Model,” to capture breathtaking images of seven remarkable women who have prevailed over countless obstacles to become leaders within their communities.

“Mabinty, Isatu, Adama, and Kadiatu represent so many women around the world overcoming incredible obstacles to lead their communities,” said Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE USA.

Barker’s bold portraits, as part of CARE’s “She Leads The World” campaign, not only elevate each woman’s story, but also shine a spotlight on how CARE programs helped them get to where they are today.

About the women:

Mabinty

international womens day, care.org

Mabinty is a businesswoman and a member of a CARE savings circle along with a group of other women. She buys and sells groundnuts, rice, and fuel. She and her husband have created such a successful enterprise that Mabinty volunteers her time as a teacher in the local school. She was the first woman to teach there, prompting a second woman to do so. Her fellow teachers and students look up to Mabinty as the leader and educator she is.

Kadiatu

international womens day, care.org

Kadiatu supports herself through a small business selling food. She also volunteers at a health clinic in the neighboring village where she is a nursing student. She tests for malaria, works with infants, and joins her fellow staff in dancing and singing with the women who visit the clinic. She aspires to become a full-time nurse so she can treat and cure people. Today, she leads by example and with ambition.

Isatu

international womens day, care.org

When Isatu was three months pregnant, her husband left her, seeking his fortune in the gold mines. Now Isatu makes her own way, buying and selling food to support her four children. It is a struggle, but Isatu is determined to be a part of her community and a provider for her kids. A single mother of four is nothing if not a leader.

Zainab

international womens day, care.org

Zainab is the Nurse in Charge at the Maternal Child Health Outpost in her community. She is the only nurse in the surrounding area, and so she is responsible for the pre-natal health of the community’s mothers-to-be and for the safe delivery of their babies. In a country with one of the world’s worst maternal death rates, Zainab has not lost a single mother. The community rallies around Zainab and the work she does. She describes the women who visit the clinic as sisters. That feeling is clearly mutual.

Adama

international womens day, care.org

Adama is something few women are - a kehkeh driver. A kehkeh is a three-wheeled motorcycle taxi, known elsewhere as a tuktuk. Working in the Kissy neighborhood of Freetown, Adama is the primary breadwinner for her family, including her son. She keeps her riders safe in other ways, too, by selling condoms. With HIV threatening to increase its spread, this is a vital service to the community.

Ya Yaebo

international womens day, care.org

“Ya” is a term of respect for older, accomplished women. Ya Yaebo has earned that title as head of her local farmers group. But there is much more than that. She started as a Village Savings and Loan Association member and began putting money into her business. There is the groundnut farm, her team buys and sells rice, and own their own oil processing machine. They even supply seeds to the Ministry of Agriculture. She has used her success to the benefit of people in need in her community and is a vocal advocate for educating girls, not having gone beyond grade seven herself.

On Monday, March 4, CARE will host an exhibition of photography in New York City featuring these portraits, kicking off the multi-day “She Leads the World Campaign.

Learn more, view the portraits, and join CARE’s International Women's Day "She Leads the World" celebration at CARE.org/sheleads.


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Over or under? Surprisingly, there actually is a 'correct' way to hang a toilet paper roll.

Let's settle this silly-but-surprisingly-heated debate once and for all.

Elya/Wikimedia Commons

Should you hang the toilet paper roll over or under?



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