Being Your Authentic Self: Voices from the Trans and Non-Binary Communities

“My beauty routine starts with embracing my own natural beauty, and its uniqueness.”

For Anna, confidence means not taking yourself too seriously. As she started to discover her authentic self, the women she was idolizing changed and she found herself drawn to more unique beauty. At first, wearing makeup was an act of defiance that made Anna feel more confident. Then, it became her comfort and security. These days, not wearing makeup has more meaning, allowing her to project who she is to the world, without hiding – and feel confident doing it.

“I remind myself that beauty and confidence comes from within and that you shouldn’t be comparing yourself to others. You should create your own version of beauty.”

Angelica constantly learns about themselves through their style. For them, being nonbinary means that there isn’t one way to look or be, and instead you have a full range of options to explore. They believe that we should never be restricted or limited by our beauty and that being creative with our identity should be fun and personal. Their advice: be your authentic self – not what society tells you to be.

“Having to reimagine myself, every aspect of my identity—who I am, how I look, what I wear—was overwhelming and beautiful.”

For Myles, reimagining every aspect of her identity from who she is and how she looks to what she wears – felt like a rebirth – something beautiful and overwhelming at the same time. At the beginning of her journey, she struggled with her appearance and self-esteem and make-up was her creative escape. Now, it’s her armour and an extension of who she is. Since discovering her authentic self, she’s learnt how resilient, loved and uniquely beautiful she really is.