Watch This Trans Guy Come Out To His Friends In The Best Way
Melbourne man Henry Tadebois wanted an easy – and entertaining – way to tell his Facebook friends he is transgender.
So the 24-year-old train driver, who studied film and TV at Swinburne TAFE, teamed up with friend Kaylene Tyler to make a killer coming out video.
He told BuzzFeed News it was important to him to come out in a light-hearted way.
"I didn’t want to be all serious, doom and gloom," he said. "Humour creates trust, and if you can laugh at something, it’s not a big deal."
"You might know me from school, or work. Or maybe you're a member of my family," Henry starts.
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"Up until now, I have represented the L. But actually, I hail from a different twinkle in the rainbow."
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Henry said he initially came out as a lesbian in high school – which was "hard enough back then" – but always knew he was transgender.
"I always felt it, even when I was a toddler I used to say that I was a boy," he said.
In March last year, on Henry's birthday, he had a big meltdown – and realised he had to come to terms with it.
"I had to come out to myself and say ‘Yes, I am trans'."
In the video, Henry explains what it means to be transgender.
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Then he talks about the various changes to his body caused by testosterone, or "T".
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Henry told BuzzFeed News that he wanted to be upfront about what would be happening to his body so people would understand and accept him.
"Whenever I see people later on, if I have a beard or I sound really different, they might be like, 'Woah'," he said. "I thought it would make it less shocking and weird for everybody."
He also uses the video as a chance to tell friends how they can support him.
"There's a couple of teeny things I need you to change, that would really help me out. Firstly, using my new name."
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"And of course, the pronouns to match."
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"I'll still be the same person you've always known," Henry finishes. "I just need to make the outside match the inside... And I'm super excited!"
The reaction to the video has been "amazing", Henry said.
"I’m really lucky, I have a supportive group of friends, my family are behind me," he said. "I know other people aren’t as lucky as me."
"It's been an amazing response – people I haven’t seen in years saying ‘I’m so proud of you’. It’s been good for the old confidence!"
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