Popular Beauty YouTuber Comes Out As Transgender In Moving Video
NikkieTutorials just came out as transgender, hoping to inspire “little Nikkies” struggling with their identity
ICYMI, a Dutch YouTuber who goes by the handle NikkieTutorials has been killing the YouTube beauty game for years — 11, to be precise. It stands to reason that many of you reading (and this writer, too) have benefitted from her fabulous makeup guides. And, let’s be real, we all live in envy of those flawless brows. But today, Nikkie De Jager shared a video that is inspiring fans in a different and deeply profound way.
In a video titled, “I’m Coming Out,” De Jager did just that: She came out as a transgender woman. “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, and it looks like that chance has been taken away from me. Today, I am taking back my own power,” she begins.
She goes on to explain that she wants to start the new year off with her truth.
“Planet Earth is full of labels, and I never felt comfortable with labels. I wanted to be my own person, my own identity, my own human being without any rules, without any labels, and without any restrictions. It is a brand-new year,” she says, continuing, “I want to start the year off by finally revealing a part of my life that has made me who I am. I want to talk about a part of myself that makes me, me.”
That part of herself? De Jager was “born in the wrong body.” Both De Jager and her mom recognized from a very early age that Nikkie identified as female, and by six years old she had grown her hair out to align with her feeling of femininity. By around the age of eight, she was wearing girls’ clothes exclusively. And by 14, she began transitioning.
“I am here to share that I am openly transgender and, with this message, I want to inspire little Nikkies around the world who feel insecure, who feel out of place, who feel misunderstood… This world needs us. We need to accept each other. We need to respect each other. But most of all, we need to hear each other and understand,” Nikkie pours out, visibly emotional. “It doesn’t matter what type of label someone belongs to, what kind of hair color someone has, the type of clothing they wear, their height, their weight, their size, the way they look, the way they want to express themselves.”
Ideally, we’d live in a world where De Jager wouldn’t even need to make this video. Unfortunately, though, trans people are still often marginalized and viewed with prejudice. For her, that includes being blackmailed to reveal her truth — hence the reveal video to reclaim her own narrative.
But above and beyond taking the power back from her blackmailers, De Jager hopes that her message will strike a chord with her followers who haven’t felt comfortable up to this point stepping into their own identity. She spoke directly to them, saying, “I have taken that step many years ago — many years ago. But I’m fighting my battles every single day. I know you guys are out there, too. It won’t be easy, but damn, it will be so worth it.”
And mamas and daddies out there, Nikkie has something you need to hear, too. “Growing up, and the number one I think I’m most thankful for, is my mom,” she shares, “because she has been there for me since day one. She has always supported me, always accepted me, and that is everything you need as a kid — a parent that understands and listens and respects.”
She closes the video by emphasizing that, ultimately, this doesn’t change anything. Her bottom line? “At the end of the day, I am me. And at the end of the day, you are you.”
