After coming out as transgender Elliot Page has opened up about his struggles with being a role model.
In an interview with AnOther, the 36-year-old delved into the intricacies of self-acceptance as well as the challenges of being an active voice for the transgender community.
"It can be daunting and lonely in that you don’t want to let people down," he tells the outlet. "I think Laverne Cox said it well [when she] referred to herself as a 'possibility model,' [by just] being a trans person out in the world, existing and loving who you are."
He continued: "I mostly just feel honored if anything I’m doing helps anyone, or in any way makes them feel seen or reflected or slightly less alone. I know how much that’s meant to me in my life."
When asked if he has any advice for other young people currently struggling with self-acceptance, he said it all starts with letting go of the negative emotions that come with feeling disconnected from your own body.
"I feel like right now it’s just so brutal," he admitted, emphasizing each word to the interviewer. "One thing I keep coming back to, which I wish I had known and felt and could have embraced a long time ago, is that the shame that you might be carrying – or the embarrassment, or pain or discomfort that is manifesting in your mind and body because of that – is not yours. It’s theirs.
"You know who you are, so do not let other people’s projections affect that," he continued before adding: "You just need to love yourself and hold onto yourself. You are a special, magical person who deserves to live and thrive. The shame is not yours, it’s theirs."
Earlier this year, the former Umbrella Academy star collaborated with Julia Garner, 29, and rapper A$AP Rocky, 35, on a new project for Gucci Guilty for their Guilty Pour Femme and Pour Homme fragrances.
The three icons came together for this iconic collaboration hoping to push the idea of love, acceptance, and friendship to the masses.
"They celebrate the countless iterations of love, embodying complete self-acceptance and showing how openness unleashes the purest form of expression," the brand explained at the time in a caption dedicated to the release on Instagram.
While both Garner and Rocky had previously starred in ads before, this was the first time Page was involved in a project of this nature.
"I had never done a campaign before, so I felt a tad shy at the beginning to be honest, but Rocky and Julia are the loveliest people, and upon meeting them, my nerves evaporated. They are big-hearted, kind, sincere, hilarious, and grounded," the 36-year-old told Elle.
Speaking to Esquire in 2022, the actor stated that despite having to undergo a massive transformation after he announced that he was trans back in 2020, his "biggest joy" is "really seeing yourself."
"I know I look different to others, but to me, I'm just starting to look like myself. It's indescribable, because I'm just like, there I am. And thank God. Here I am," Page continued. "So the greatest joy is just being able to feel present, literally, just to be present. To go out in a group of new people and be able to engage in a way where I didn't feel this constant sensation to flee from my body, this never-ending sensation of anxiety and nervousness and wanting out.
"When I say I couldn't have ever imagined feeling that way, I mean that with every sense of me," he added.
