I'm Ashley Graham, model,
designer, entrepreneur,
00:00
I'm so grateful to
be where I am today,
00:04
but the path wasn't easy.
00:07
Now I'm so honored to help
others gain the confidence
00:09
that they need to take the
next step in their lives
00:12
to be totally,
unapologetically fearless.
00:15
Kaiden is 26 years
old and identifies
00:20
as gender non-binary.
00:23
I am assigned female at birth.
00:24
But I never felt good about
how I was expressing myself
00:26
I don't necessarily
want to be a guy,
00:29
but I don't want to be a woman.
00:31
Kaiden is proud of who they are,
but they're having a hard time
00:32
finding other people
that have gone
00:34
through similar experiences.
00:36
I feel alone during
this process.
00:37
No one knows how much
you're struggling.
00:39
Total Wireless is connecting
us to help them take
00:41
the next step in their journey.
00:44
I know the difference
between gender and sex
00:46
can be so confusing.
00:49
Can you explain that for us?
00:51
For me, I am assigned female
birth so, my sex is female.
00:53
And it's always
going to be female.
00:56
I'm not going to change that.
00:58
My gender, though, is how I feel
up here, how I feel in here,
00:59
and how I want the
world to see me.
01:03
I'm a trans masculine
individual--
01:06
--which means I'm not
man, and I'm not a woman.
01:08
I want to live in a world
where I don't need a label
01:10
and I can just exist.
01:12
You're happy not being a man.
01:13
You're happy not being a woman.
01:16
You said, I am Kaiden.
01:18
So you've had a
couple surgeries.
01:20
About five weeks ago,
I had top surgery.
01:22
And then September 13, I
had a total hysterectomy.
01:24
And I'm feeling pretty
relieved to have
01:27
the weight off my chest.
01:29
What was the hardest
part after surgery?
01:33
It's trying to feel OK
in the world you exist
01:36
in when you feel
good about yourself,
01:39
but you don't fit
in with that world.
01:41
You go back to work.
01:43
What was that like
starting work again?
01:44
Please refer to me with
they/them pronouns.
01:47
And how did everybody handle it?
01:49
When you come out to
a bunch of people,
01:52
it was not easy, because
they knew me as someone else.
01:54
How did your family react?
01:56
They want to blame something.
01:57
There's an answer to everything.
01:59
The answer is, this is just me.
02:00
When did you, all of a sudden,
say, this is what I want?
02:02
I was teaching at a
Title I school in Tacoma.
02:05
And I was going by Professor
KB instead of Mr. or Mrs.
02:09
But it was that fall when I
was kind of reflecting a lot.
02:12
And I talked to
my partner, Steph.
02:15
Something's got to change.
02:16
How long have you and
Stephanie been together?
02:17
Two years coming up in November.
02:19
I want to give her so much
credit for being open to me.
02:22
So Stephanie has been
a beacon of light.
02:27
But do you have any friends
that have transitioned or are
02:30
So I met one person
on Instagram, James--
02:35
--and he's living his best life.
02:38
When you are living in such a
world where you feel insecure,
02:39
you need a constant
set of support systems
02:41
with people where
you're like, hey.
02:43
If I text you, I
know you're going
02:45
to text back kind of thing.
02:46
What are your biggest
concerns for the future?
02:47
Feeling accepted or finding
people that I can feel like I
02:49
Well, Kaiden, I just
want to say thank you.
02:54
Thank you for being so
brave, for talking to me,
02:57
I know that you face
adversity every single day
03:01
of your life in this world.
03:03
But I want to show you
something very special right
03:05
through those curtains.
03:09
Roll the tape, please.
03:15
It's your friend James.
03:18
First of all, I want to
say how proud I am of you.
03:19
And I want you to know
that you're not alone,
03:21
and I'm always here for you.
03:22
And I'd also like
to introduce you
03:24
to some other people
that understand
03:25
what you're going through
and also have your back.
03:27
Hey, I'm Wyatt, and I identify
as a trans masculine person.
03:29
You are absolutely not alone.
03:33
There's a lot of
people that don't even
03:35
believe in the idea of
non-binary, transgender.
03:37
Most people think that I'm
doing it for attention.
03:42
The biggest thing that
people misunderstand
03:46
is, we're not trying
to be someone else.
03:48
We're trying to be ourselves.
03:51
I was born and
assigned male at birth.
03:53
And I've been on hormones,
but I've kept my beard.
03:55
And it's very confusing
to a lot of people.
03:58
Don't let people freak
you out about your body.
04:00
I figure, we all are given
our bodies kind of like cars.
04:03
And it's up to you how
you want to soup it up.
04:06
Kaiden, I think your
story was amazing,
04:09
and I relate a
lot to your story.
04:12
If you ever need anything,
you can contact me.
04:14
You don't ever have to be alone.
04:16
Come on over, Kaiden.
04:19
We're waiting for you.
04:20
You are more powerful
than you know.
04:21
So how do you feel
after seeing that video?
04:24
You feel like almost, like,
an arm's reach away, though.
04:28
And it's like, great.
04:31
Let's find ways to
feel more connected.
04:33
Well, I know how
important that is for you,
04:36
and I know how important support
and a community is for you.
04:38
So I want you to
meet a few people.
04:41
This is everybody in the video.
04:51
[MUSIC - ANDRA DAY, "RISE UP"]
04:53
(SINGING) We'll rise up.
04:54
Kind of funny how
you just said they
04:56
were just an arm's length away.
04:58
And now everybody is.
05:00
I think everybody has a few
things they want to say.
05:02
First of all, I'm so excited
about this year for you.
05:04
It has been fast and furious.
05:06
And I know how scary the
other side of transitioning
05:07
is, where you're like, oh, no.
05:10
Now everyone sees me, and
I'm accountable for that.
05:12
You're only at the beginning
of building a huge community
05:15
that you're a part of.
05:17
And we all got your back.
05:18
I'm a trans guy, and
I've been where you are.
05:21
It does get better, and just
don't ever suffer alone.
05:24
We're here for you.
05:27
And we all here
understand what it's
05:29
like to be misgendered
constantly--
05:31
--to have to overcome obstacles
and to navigate a world that's
05:32
often designed against us.
05:36
But we also understand what it's
like to be resilient, right?
05:37
To have community behind us
and to be loved and celebrated.
05:40
And so we're all here to let
you know that we love you,
05:44
and we're proud of you,
and we're excited for you.
05:46
When you find people that
can have shared experiences
05:54
with you, and then they can
say they see you in a way
05:57
that no one else can,
that's super special.
05:59
It is special,
because everybody here
06:02
has been through very
similar experiences.
06:03
I mean, I'm feeling
the support as well.
06:06
So we want you to stay
connected with everybody here.
06:09
And so Total Wireless and
I want to give you a phone.
06:12
Don't you love it
when things fly in?
06:18
But also, I know how
important Stephanie is to you.
06:21
And we want to give
you a trip to Vegas
06:25
to stay at the Venetian.
06:28
You're going to
have some sexy time.
06:32
And you get to go
to Ellen's show
06:36
during the 12 Days of Giveaways.
06:38
You watch that all the time,
and you're like, ah, if only.
06:45
How are you feeling?
06:49
Well, I really do
hope that you stay
06:52
connected with your friends.
06:53
They came here to support you.
06:55
And whether the outside
world says whatever they say,
06:56
you look back at these faces
and you remember, I am loved.
07:00
There is a huge
community of people
07:07
that have been misunderstood.
07:08
Finding those people today have
shown me that I'm not alone.
07:10
Because I feel seen.
07:13
I am so glad that now Kaiden
has a community that's not just
07:16
an arm's reach away.
07:20
They're right there.
07:21
I hope that people that have a
family member or a friend that
07:23
is going through this
journey and transition,
07:25
that the thing they can do the
most is just ask them, hey,
07:27
So you can better
respect that person
07:31
and hopefully show
them love and kindness
07:33
the way they deserve to be.
07:35