Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Brittney Kade, a young video blogger that documents her life transition on YouTube. Hello Brittney!
Brittney: Hello Monika, thank you for having me!
Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?
Brittney: Well, my name is Brittney Kade, I am sixteen and transgender. I started my transition when I was fourteen, and have been on hormones for over a year now.
Brittney: Well, my name is Brittney Kade, I am sixteen and transgender. I started my transition when I was fourteen, and have been on hormones for over a year now.
Monika: I like your YouTube videos, especially your make-up and nails …
Brittney: Thank you so much, I really do put a lot of effort into my videos, as well as my appearance and I love being able to share not only my transition but also my beauty tips and secrets with the world.
Monika: What kind of outfits do you usually wear? Any special fashion designs, colors, or trends?
Brittney: You would usually see me in a dress, usually something tight where I could show off my figure (that the hormones have blessed me with). My style is very gaudy, luxurious, seductive, captivating to say the least.
 |
| Courtesy of Brittney Kade. |
Monika: Why did you decide to share your transition details on YouTube?
Brittney: Growing up there were no trans women that I had to really look up to, aside from the trans women that I had discovered on YouTube at that time.
Now almost five years later, I really wanted to be someone that I wish I could have had to look up to (at the time) when I seriously began to question my identity as well as the early beginning of my transition.
Monika: You answer many questions on YouTube. What has been the strangest question that you have ever answered?
Brittney: Hmmm, good question! Well, there are tons of strange questions that I don’t bother answering because they aren’t very appropriate, however the strangest one that I have answered was the question where someone asked if I would ever “date a black guy”, and I found it strange because I don’t ever judge a guy based on their appearance, it’s what is on the inside that truly matters to me.
Monika: At what age did you transition into a woman yourself? Was it a difficult process?
Brittney: I started my transition at fourteen and it was mainly mostly difficult in the beginning. The family that I surrounded myself with was very supportive (which I am very grateful for), however, the difficult part was dealing with insurance, finding a therapist, and finding a doctor so I could officially start my transition, all of which I had to do completely on my own to prove to my mother that this was something I was truly passionate about.
Brittney: Growing up there were no trans women that I had to really look up to, aside from the trans women that I had discovered on YouTube at that time.
Now almost five years later, I really wanted to be someone that I wish I could have had to look up to (at the time) when I seriously began to question my identity as well as the early beginning of my transition.
Monika: You answer many questions on YouTube. What has been the strangest question that you have ever answered?
Brittney: Hmmm, good question! Well, there are tons of strange questions that I don’t bother answering because they aren’t very appropriate, however the strangest one that I have answered was the question where someone asked if I would ever “date a black guy”, and I found it strange because I don’t ever judge a guy based on their appearance, it’s what is on the inside that truly matters to me.
Monika: At what age did you transition into a woman yourself? Was it a difficult process?
Brittney: I started my transition at fourteen and it was mainly mostly difficult in the beginning. The family that I surrounded myself with was very supportive (which I am very grateful for), however, the difficult part was dealing with insurance, finding a therapist, and finding a doctor so I could officially start my transition, all of which I had to do completely on my own to prove to my mother that this was something I was truly passionate about.
Monika: Do you have any transgender role models that you follow?
Brittney: Of course, I love Caitlyn Jenner, Lavern Cox, Carmen Carrera, Gigi, and Angela Vanity. I think you can learn very important things as well as take inspiration from each one of these women.
Monika: Which aspects of your experience could be used by other transgender girls planning their transitions?
Brittney: Good question, well it depends on the person since everyone experiences different situations when it comes to their transition. That’s one of the main reasons why I put almost every aspect of my transition out in the open, that way no matter what the situation is, there would hopefully be someone that could relate.
 |
| Courtesy of Brittney Kade. |
Monika: What was the hardest thing about your coming out?
Brittney: The hardest thing about coming out as trans was probably worrying about how others would take it. But since I’m not one who cares what other people think, I was able to overcome that very quickly.
Monika: What do you think about the present situation of transgender women in your country?
Brittney: I think that we are finally getting some recognition here in America.
I still feel like we have a long way to go but at least we have already been recognized to start the journey towards equality.
Monika: What do you think about transgender stories or characters which have been featured in films, newspapers, or books so far?
Brittney: I am very pleased to see all the new movies, series, and specials that are shining a spotlight on the transgender community. However, I do feel like it is unfair for a cisgender person to be acting in a film or series as a transgender person, I feel like the casting directors should be casting actual transgender people for the role.
Monika: The transgender cause is usually manifested together with the other LGBT communities. Being the last letter in this abbreviation, is the transgender community able to promote its own cause within the LGBT group?
Brittney: I feel like it would be possible, I think that the last 10 years have been mostly about getting sexuality equality. And now that in America we have just legalized mutual sex marriage, I think that we can finally start on getting transgender equality rights.
Monika: Do you participate in any lobbying campaigns? Do you think transgender women can make a difference in politics?
Brittney: I don’t partake in any lobbying campaigns; however I do believe that trans women can make a difference in politics. We have a long way to go but if we keep fighting for our trans rights, nothing will get in our way.
Monika: What do you think about transgender beauty pageants?
Brittney: Well, I don’t agree with the constant pressure on trans women to look a certain way in order to be ‘passable’. After all trans women are already constantly judged in society as it is, however, if the pageants were to help trans women gain confidence then I am totally supportive of them.
Brittney: Love is defiantly important in everybody’s life, everyone deserves love however I believe that in order to receive the love you need to be able to love yourself first. After all, how are you supposed to find love if you don’t even know what it feels like? You need to love yourself for who you are as a person first before you can accept it from anyone else.
Monika: Are you working on any new projects now?
Brittney: Yea, I am working on a few projects that I can’t really speak about just yet, as well as my YouTube channel which I am always trying to improve, and the quality and type of videos that my viewers would like to see.
Monika: What would you recommend to all transgender girls struggling with gender dysphoria?
Brittney: Just do whatever feels right to you, my best advice I could give that has always worked for me is, it’s always better to be hated for who you are than loved for someone that you aren’t.
Monika: Brittney, thank you for the interview!
Links:
YouTube - brittneykade
Facebook - Brittney-Kade
Instagram - Brittney_Kade
Twitter - Brittney_Kade
All the photos: courtesy of Brittney Kade.
© 2015 - Monika Kowalska
