When Did Isis King Feel Safe Enough To Reveal Her True Self?

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Model, actress, and designer Isis King may have been born biologically male, but ever since childhood she knew she was woman. Establishing a transgender identity does not come easy though, and at 23, Isis was homeless, living at a New York City LGBT shelter. After finding work as a background model for an America’s Next Top Model photo shoot, host Tyra Banks took an interest in her, and asked Isis be a part of the show’s next season. Within months, Isis was in the national spotlight as the first transgender contestant on Top Model, and she has used her platform to follow her dreams ever since – expanding her modeling and acting career, designing her own fashion line, and serving as an activist for…

Model, actress, and designer Isis King may have been born biologically male, but ever since childhood she knew she was woman. Establishing a transgender identity does not come easy though, and at 23, Isis was homeless, living at a New York City LGBT shelter. After finding work as a background model for an America’s Next Top Model photo shoot, host Tyra Banks took an interest in her, and asked Isis be a part of the show’s next season. Within months, Isis was in the national spotlight as the first transgender contestant on Top Model, and she has used her platform to follow her dreams ever since – expanding her modeling and acting career, designing her own fashion line, and serving as an activist for transgender people everywhere.

Escaping Taboos
As a kid, Isis always knew that she was different. But coming out as trans to your family or community is a different story. Isis never told her mother all of what she was feeling, especially because she had “heard stories of kids who were gay being put out of the house.” Because she was transgender, her concerns were multiplied. “There’s a lot of taboo surrounding LGBT people in the black community,” she said.

Isis first told people about her identity when she was in college. It was there, where she studied fashion, that she found a more acceptant audience. Her identity didn’t take its full form until she had gotten her degree, because “she wanted to be okay her own, just in case she ran into trouble at home.”

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When Did Isis King Feel Safe Enough To Reveal Her True Self?