From People Magazine
In a joint interview with stepmother Gabrielle Union for the Dove Self-Esteem Project, the 14-year-old teen — who came out in 2020 — opens up about how she has been impacted by detrimental beauty advice online.
"As a trans person, once I came out, there was a lot of hateful comments about how I should grow my hair out long or fit into a certain version of femininity, even though that's not true at all," she explains. "That kind of advice is just trying to break you, but don't let it."
For Union, it's important that she and her husband, Dwyane Wade, "try to stress" the value of "internal beauty" to Zaya.
"You can be a 'stunner' or 'classically beautiful person' but if your soul is rotten, you are not very beautiful at all," Union, 49, says. "We try to stress character, compassion, love, acceptance and joy. That hopefully radiates from the inside out. When it comes to how she moves through the world, we try to stress there is no one way to be a woman or to be feminine."
"There are a billion ways to exist because there are billions of people and each person has the ability to decide for themselves how they want to exist in the world and how they want to move through the world," the actress adds. "We talk to her about resisting anti-Blackness and not centering Eurocentric beauty ideals."
As for the most important lesson, Zaya says: "Her telling me that not everyone in the world and in the media is going to be truthful about what you look like."
"I don't have to believe everything they say. The only thing I have to believe is what I feel and what beauty means to me," she continues. "I think focusing on inner beauty is the most important."
18 comments:
They could have taught him that there is not one way to be masculine. He could be a boy with feminine traits..but nooooo they allowed him to identify with being a woman
Im amazed the hoops he went through to get a white girl. dear lawd
This chick was so desperate trying to get ' the ring' she would have went along with whatever to entrench herself and seemed needed. Now she is reaping the glorified nonsense of this mess.
In other words Gabrielle said you a ugly woman but it's what's on the inside that counts baby.
If anyone would know, about being ugly on the inside, it would be her. Gabs a mean girl.
Is there anything people don't put on social media. Stop sharing everything you put it out there people are going to comment.Good bad personally I think the child is doing much and the parents let him have to much exposure
Sometimes it's just to much
Mental illness is not a lifestyle stop promoting it.
A fourteen year old black Transgender... WE ARE DOOMED!
3:58
No yo ass is doomed, stop putting everybody in your hysterical ramblings, ain't nobody checking for this hollyweirdo's and them being agents for this ridiculous agenda, pushed by white gay males.
@3:58, no your mama is doomed! So is your father, but since you didn't know him... Shoulder Shrugs! YOU ARE DOOMED!
She hired a g@y nanny then put the boy in a dress. All this for what? He still like girls he is straight. She is trying to get him to want a boyfriend to complete this nightmare. He is a straight boy who cross dress many men in the industry do.
It's just something about Gab that's just vile.
@9:29: She is mean and vile. She does all of this to avoid talking about the break baby. Dwayne is finally admitting all of this. This is sad, a child needs love. ALL of the kids, do not ignore them.
Gabby gave great advice! It can apply to anyone regardless of how they identify.
These comments went hard on Gabby and her influence on this child. But, most said nothing about the child's FATHER who allows this all to take place.
@10:49AM
COMPLETELY AGREE. I was actually surprised; Gabby gave great advice, the type of advice mothers need to give their little Black girls! She'll do well by Kaava as she begins to blossom.
That being said, it's truly amazing that the public places all of the responsibility for Zaya on Gabby's shoulders. His father is the head of the house and was aware of his child's feelings before Gabby was in the picture.
Just a reminder that society blames women for things, even when they aren't our (or anyone's) fault. What is she supposed to do? Ignore the situation? You think that would fly with her hubby? I mean, obviously this is an unusual situation and it's unfortunate his mother is watching this go down from another state, but what is Gabby supposed to do?
@6:06 PM AMEN!!!
Where is the bio mom in all this? It looks like she has been completely erased due to politics and optics. I know she was painted as “crazy” in the blogs. But maybe things like this are why she went HAM in the first place. DW is a whole B for this.
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