>> Model Andreja Pejic Comes Out as a Transgender Woman
Connu pour son côté androgyne et sa participation à des défilés masculins et féminins, le modèle s’est confié au magazine People.
Andreja Pejic l’a confirmé, elle a suivi une chirurgie de réassignation sexuelle. D’abord connu en tant qu’homme, le mannequin de 22 ans a maintenant terminé sa transition.
“À tous les jeunes trans, je tiens à dire, respectez-vous et soyez fier de qui vous êtes. Tous les êtres humains méritent un traitement égal, peu importe leur identité de genre et leur sexualité” a-t-elle expliqué à l’association LGBT américaine GLAAD.
Andreja Pejic a raconté s’être toujours senti fille. “J’ai compris qui j’étais très tôt, à l’âge de 13 ans, grâce à Internet” a-t-elle affirmé au site Style.com. “Je savais donc que la transition – devenir une femme – a toujours été quelque chose que je devais faire. Mais ce n’était pas possible à l’époque, alors j’ai arrêté d’y penser, et l’androgynie est devenue un moyen d’exprimer ma féminité sans devoir m’expliquer aux gens” a-t-elle poursuivi. Et heureusement, sa mère, sa grand-mère et son frère l’ont soutenue tout au long de son adolescence.
Andreja Pejic a été repérée par un agent de mannequins dans la rue à 17 ans et s’est très vite fait un nom en tant que modèle androgyne. On la connait notamment pour ses défilés pour Jean Paul Gaultier, Paul Smith ou Raf Simons.
Maintenant la transition ne lui fait pas peur, c’est pour ça qu’elle a sauté le pas. “Je me sens mieux dans ma peau que jamais. Je me sens à 100%” a-t-elle déclaré au magazine People.
>> I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the love and support throughout the years. You’ve all helped me through this journey and I have learned a lot and really come into my own and the response to today’s announcement truly overwhelmed me and reminds me of why I chose to do this publicly.
I think we all evolve as we get older and that’s normal but I like to think that my recent transition hasn’t made me into a different individual. Same person, no difference at all just a different sex 
I hope you can all understand that.
I would also like to to reach out to all young gender non-conforming youth out there: I know it’s hard, I’ve been there, but remember it’s your right to be accepted as what you identify with—you deserve the same respect as any other human being on this planet. As a transgender woman I hope to show that after transition (a life-saving process) one can be happy and successful in their new chapter without having to alienate their past. Most importantly differences should not equal divisions, let’s all stand together in union. #betruebeyou
>> Australian model Andreja Pejic announced in interviews with Entertainment Tonight, People.com, and Style.com, that she is a woman on Thursday. The 22-year-old model has long indicated a nonbinary transgender identity, and made use of feminine pronouns, but it was only last night that she came forward, confirming that she has been taking steps to medically transition.
The Bosnian-born Pejic entered the public consciousness in 2011 when she appeared modeling both men’s and women’s wear as part of Jean-Paul Gaultier fashion shows, becoming one of the world’s most versatile and visible, androgynous models. Since then, she’s appeared on the covers of Elle’s Siberian edition, and New York magazine, among a number of other publications, and was featured in David Bowie’s “The Stars are Out Tonight” music video alongside Tilda Swinton. Earlier this year, Pejic was cast in Sophia Coppola’s upcoming live-action film adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
In a Facebook message, Pejic thanks her supporters and issues advice to younger, gender nonconforming individuals.
Earlier this year, Pejic criticized fashion icon Tim Gunn for stating that he is “conflicted” on the topic of of transgender models, pushing back against statements that trans women are “tall, skinny guy[s] with no hips.”
Moving forward, Pejic has stated that she will only be modeling women’s fashion lines.
Avec Charles des Portes – Le HuffPost
