Gizelle Messina: Black Trans Women Are Here To Stay →

crossdreamers:

She

image

Gizelle Messina is a black Los Angeles-based makeup artist for M·A·C Cosmetics – an important voice for both the African-American and the transgender community.

You can meet her in the new Showtime documentary More than T.

Wear Your Voice asks: Being a visible trans woman can be hard for many. How did you find the courage to step into your own truth and live authentically?

Messina answers:

It’s something that I still battle every day. For me it was almost like boot camp being that I had to transition while managing a store in Century City. It was tough but it definitely helped me thicken my skin more than it already was just from growing up and not being able to identify [as] who I was. Having to go to work every day and claiming my authentic self and demanding that people respect me for who I was, helped [me] curate strength. Even today, when I leave my home I get anxiety. We never know what’s going to happen when we’re out there. But I would rather go out in the street and take that chance; just going out and demanding your respect. You may not agree with it but I’m walking. Being a black trans woman, it’s imbedded in us because of the type of community we are in.

More about More than T.

Here’s an interview Messina made with the Transgender Awareness project:

(via crossdreamers)

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