A transgender teenager who was born a boy has told how she returned to school after the summer break as a girl – modelling herself on Kim Kardashian.
With her glossy black hair and expertly contoured cheekbones, Kairah Kelly, 15, from Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, has taken inspiration from the famous reality star.
Until recently, she was known as Tyler – the name she'd been born with - to her classmates, having spent most of her life struggling with her identity.
But in September this year she returned to school as Kairah – and says some teachers didn't even recognise her with her new look.
Speaking of life before her transformation, Kairah explained: 'I felt really strange and different. I'd look in the mirror and the person I saw was a stranger.
'I'd imagine myself in skirts and dresses when I was as young as eight years old.
'Now when I look in the mirror I see myself. I was so nervous when I turned up for my first day on September 5 but I didn't need to be. Everyone was so supportive and happy for me.'
From the age of six, then living as a boy named Tyler, gender was always an issue for the youngster.
Feeling uncomfortable as a boy, he would often roam around the family home wearing make-up, nail varnish and heels.
At first his devout Christian stepfather Chris, 49, and mother Angela, 30, put a stop to his secret habit when they found out, fearing neighbours would gossip.
'They didn't understand what I was,' Kairah explained. We lived in a rough area and they thought I would be bullied.'
Their reaction left the little boy feeling isolated, finding it hard to fit in with other boys at school, as he hated football and wearing male clothes.
His closest friends were girls - but he often felt envious of their make-up, long hair and clothes.
At 11, Tyler came out as biexual - before coming out as gay to family and friends two years later.
Tyler's mother allowed him to wear make-up outside of school – but the teenager still felt it wasn't enough.
'I didn't feel confident after coming out as gay,' said Kairah. 'I felt like there was something missing.'
At 14, while watching a YouTube make-up tutorial, Tyler came across a video about a transgender woman.
The YouTuber spoke about feeling 'trapped in the wrong body' – and Tyler instantly identified.
Worried what his parents would think, he initially confided in his best friend in January 2015. Then, in a Geography lesson at school, the pair drafted a text message to Tyler's mum.
Kairah said: 'I didn't know how she'd react in person. I wrote that message four times, and when I got home I felt different.
'She was really supportive, telling my dad that night. He was accepting. The next morning he told me he loved me for who I was.'
In September 2015, Tyler published a post on Facebook announcing that he was transgender and would be changing his name to Kairah.
Now, living as a girl, she has been referred for gender identity treatment and hopes to start taking hormone blockers soon - although she believes her physical appearance may not change until she is 17 or 18.
And she wasted no time in emulating her female role model, Kim Kardashian.
She has swapped jumpers and tracksuits for skinny jeans, skimpy dresses and colourful tops.
After adding extensions to her hair and a full face of make-up, she loves dressing like the reality star, whose 'KK' initials match her own.
While she has been wowing friends with her glamorous outfits outside school, Kairah still dressed as a boy for classes until now.
She said: 'I dress as Kim Kardashian all the time, I put a full face of make-up on and it makes me feel glamorous.'
Speaking of her plans for the future, Kairah said: 'I have a long list of surgeries I want: gender reassignment, breast implants, a rhinoplasty, fillers for my lips, a mini-brow lift, brow-shave and hair line reduction.
'I love the glamorous look and I've always been a fan of the Kardashians.
'They were happy and comfortable with themselves and that's what I've always wanted.'
With her glossy black hair and expertly contoured cheekbones, Kairah Kelly, 15, from Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, has taken inspiration from the famous reality star.
Until recently, she was known as Tyler – the name she'd been born with - to her classmates, having spent most of her life struggling with her identity.
But in September this year she returned to school as Kairah – and says some teachers didn't even recognise her with her new look.
Speaking of life before her transformation, Kairah explained: 'I felt really strange and different. I'd look in the mirror and the person I saw was a stranger.
'I'd imagine myself in skirts and dresses when I was as young as eight years old.
'Now when I look in the mirror I see myself. I was so nervous when I turned up for my first day on September 5 but I didn't need to be. Everyone was so supportive and happy for me.'
From the age of six, then living as a boy named Tyler, gender was always an issue for the youngster.
Feeling uncomfortable as a boy, he would often roam around the family home wearing make-up, nail varnish and heels.
At first his devout Christian stepfather Chris, 49, and mother Angela, 30, put a stop to his secret habit when they found out, fearing neighbours would gossip.
'They didn't understand what I was,' Kairah explained. We lived in a rough area and they thought I would be bullied.'
Their reaction left the little boy feeling isolated, finding it hard to fit in with other boys at school, as he hated football and wearing male clothes.
His closest friends were girls - but he often felt envious of their make-up, long hair and clothes.
At 11, Tyler came out as biexual - before coming out as gay to family and friends two years later.
Tyler's mother allowed him to wear make-up outside of school – but the teenager still felt it wasn't enough.
'I didn't feel confident after coming out as gay,' said Kairah. 'I felt like there was something missing.'
At 14, while watching a YouTube make-up tutorial, Tyler came across a video about a transgender woman.
The YouTuber spoke about feeling 'trapped in the wrong body' – and Tyler instantly identified.
Worried what his parents would think, he initially confided in his best friend in January 2015. Then, in a Geography lesson at school, the pair drafted a text message to Tyler's mum.
Kairah said: 'I didn't know how she'd react in person. I wrote that message four times, and when I got home I felt different.
'She was really supportive, telling my dad that night. He was accepting. The next morning he told me he loved me for who I was.'
In September 2015, Tyler published a post on Facebook announcing that he was transgender and would be changing his name to Kairah.
Now, living as a girl, she has been referred for gender identity treatment and hopes to start taking hormone blockers soon - although she believes her physical appearance may not change until she is 17 or 18.
And she wasted no time in emulating her female role model, Kim Kardashian.
She has swapped jumpers and tracksuits for skinny jeans, skimpy dresses and colourful tops.
After adding extensions to her hair and a full face of make-up, she loves dressing like the reality star, whose 'KK' initials match her own.
While she has been wowing friends with her glamorous outfits outside school, Kairah still dressed as a boy for classes until now.
She said: 'I dress as Kim Kardashian all the time, I put a full face of make-up on and it makes me feel glamorous.'
Speaking of her plans for the future, Kairah said: 'I have a long list of surgeries I want: gender reassignment, breast implants, a rhinoplasty, fillers for my lips, a mini-brow lift, brow-shave and hair line reduction.
'I love the glamorous look and I've always been a fan of the Kardashians.
'They were happy and comfortable with themselves and that's what I've always wanted.'
Music: "Unwritten Return" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Source: DailyMail , The Sun
Comments
Post a Comment