Transgender influencers play a prominent role in modern digital space by increasing public visibility, providing on-topic education, sharing their personal lives and experiences, breaking stereotypes, and building supportive online communities. Their presence also provides the following key benefits:

  • guidance: With young transgender individuals being particularly prone to vulnerability, creators take on the role of providing reliable guidance, resources, and necessary support;
  • normalisation: Transgender influencers share their everyday lives in a way that reminds others that they are merely humans, not a mystical concept; by humanising the transgender experience they help shatter myths and stereotypes, as well as combat widespread misinformation;
  • community: With many transgender individuals lacking real-life support, having access to online communities helps them connect with other people that share similar experiences, reducing feelings of loneliness and isolation.

“I got introduced to trans influencers for the first time as a 16-year-old – about five years before I discovered the local community. During that time, I felt like I was ‘the only queer person in Moldova’ (as I found out later, a lot of people here felt the same way) since my real-life environment was extremely cis/heteronormative. So, getting to know people online who shared similar experiences finally made me realise why I didn’t check the boxes others expected me to check. Before, it simply felt ‘wrong’ to me – now I had actual answers.

I am also thankful that the influencers I came across weren’t the ones promoting a single, rigid definition of what it means to be trans. Sadly, not all of them are as safe and open-minded as we’d expect them to be – some proceed as far as to publicly shame other trans-identified individuals (particularly YOUNG ones) in front of their audiences that primarily consist of conservative cisgender people. This behaviour puts young people at risk of getting bullied and harassed.” – Luci, genderqueer

Why safety is important

Young people in general are likely to be vulnerable and impressionable, with transgender youth being particularly prone to vulnerability as members of a heavily marginalised group. This means it is crucial that young members of the transgender community find themselves in genuinely safe and inclusive spaces, rather than ones pretending to be such.

For people outside the transgender community who wish to increase their knowledge, it is also important to be introduced to objective, reliable sources, rather than ones promoting harmful misinformation under the preface of “education” and “support”.

Here are some of the key moments to look out for when looking for a transgender influencer to follow:

  • audience: Does it primarily consist of other members of the LGBTQ+ community or cisgender individuals? What is the tone of the comments? Does the audience involve several transphobic cisgender people agreeing with the content of the video?
  • target: Who is the main focus? Does it target transphobic individuals or other transgender individuals, judging them for the way they look, present, or express themselves?
  • inclusivity: Does the influencer ever mention what one “should be” in order for their identity to be considered “valid”? Do they ever say that a transgender individual is obligated to medically transition? In which way do they talk about non-binary people?

There are visible transgender influencers on YouTube that are notorious for attacking other members of their own community, particularly trans-identified individuals who do not conform to gender stereotypes and non-binary individuals. Such influencers (Ex. Buck Angel, Marcus Dib, Blaire White) tend to subject their victims to public ridicule in front of hundreds to thousands of transphobic people that make for a major part of their audience.

On the other hand, some of the positive examples I grew up with include Jamie Raines/Jammidodger (the first transgender influencer I got introduced to while discovering my own gender identity), Noahfinnce, and Kovu Kingsrød (although no longer active).

It’s important to remember that a good influencer is someone who creates a safe and positive space, which is built on inclusivity, mutual respect, open discussion, and unconditional support towards members of marginalised groups.