Elliot Page has opened up about his struggles with being a role model more than two years after he came out as transgender.
The 36-year-old said in an interview with AnOther that it can be lonely and daunting as he doesn’t want to let anyone down.
“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 told the outlet.
Page 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.”
Advising other young people who are still struggling with self-acceptance, the actor said that it starts with letting go of negative emotions that come with not feeling connected with your own body.
“I feel like right now it’s just so brutal,” he expressed. “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.”
Page went on: “You know who you are, so do not let other people’s projections affect that. 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.”
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