Transition Is Life Saving, Elliot Page tells Oprah Winfrey

Elliot Page discussed transition with Oprah Winfrey in an exclusive interview with Apple+ TV and talked about what it was like to be going through a second adolescence in his early 30’s - this one in full view of the interested public eye. In a brave sit down with the talk show queen, who is making news in 2021 with her celebrity interviews after sitting down with Meghan and Harry earlier in the year, Page discussed what his journey has been like since he made the announcement to the public that he was a transgender man in 2020. "I was expressing this to people in my life much before posting that letter, and telling people for the first time, and knowing I wanted a moment to become comfortable in myself and to be able to get to that point," Page told Winfrey. https://twitter.com/oprah/status/1388146833172619269?s=21 "For me, in this time we're in right now and especially with this horrible backlash we're seeing towards trans people, particularly trans youth, it really felt imperative to do so." "I wanted to talk about it for a couple of reasons," Page said. "I wanted to share with people just how much it has changed my life. And I want people to know that not only has it been life changing for me, I do believe it is life saving and it's the case for so many people... and because there is such an attack on trans health care right now, when already there is such a lack of access or trans people who don't even want to go to the doctor." It’s a tough year for transgender people In this interview, Elliot Page discussed transition at a time when the stakes have never seemed higher for the trans community around the world - with more recognition and visibility than ever before also seeming to invite more hostility and governmental prejudice. https://twitter.com/theelliotpage/status/1333820783655837701?s=21 Winfrey asked Page what part of his transition so far had brought him the most joy and getting emotional he said, "Getting out of the shower and the towel's around your waist and you're looking at yourself in the mirror and you're just like, 'there I am'. And I'm not having the moment where I'm panicked, I'm not having all these little moments that used to be... Just being in a T-shirt. It's being able to touch my chest and feel comfortable in my body for the, probably the first time. Tears of joy." The year 2021 is gearing up to be the most legally fraught year for transgender rights in America with 144 anti transgender bills introduced so far this year, 100 in 2020 and 35 in 2019. The transgender community in Australia is similarly going through its own challenges with One Nation MP Mark Latham’s The Education Legislation Amendment (Parental Rights) Bill 2020 marching along in it’s path to becoming law. Page termed the laws that are being enacted against trans people have no factual basis and are in fact based on "actual, complete and utter lies." "If you are going to do this, and if you are also not going to allow trans kids to play sports, children will die," Page said. Page will continue to portray Vanya Hargreeves Page was nominated for an Academy Award for playing the titular character, Juno in 2007 and is currently filming season three of The Umbrella Academy, playing the cis gendered female character Vanya Hargreeves, which caused discussion about recasting the role. When approached for comment on the situation by Variety, GLAAD, the LGBTQ advocacy group, rejected that the Vanya character should be recast with a cisgender female actor. “Trans actors can and do play both trans and cisgender characters. I’m sure Elliot will continue to be brilliant in Umbrella Academy and many different types of roles in the future,” Nick Adams, director of transgender media at GLAAD, told Variety. View this post on Instagram A post shared by @elliotpage Page wrote in a post on Instagram along with a clip of the interview with Oprah, "My feelings aren't really linear. I feel emerging joy and excitement one moment, and then in the next, profound sadness reading about people wanting to take gender-affirming healthcare away from children. "I feel so grateful to be at this place in my life, and I want to use the strength I have to help in all the ways that I can. How can I feel grateful for my joy, and embrace my joy, and allow myself to have that joy - but then put that joy and that love into action?"

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