"The Dream Is To Be Looked At With Kindness Rather Than Judgement.”

First of all, it’s THE ICONIC, I have to ask you about your style. Obviously, here, we’re all about dressing in any way that makes you feel good! Can you describe how you like to dress...
“I’m really loving short-shorts with old or vintage sweaters. Summer’s been really moody with blistering hot days and then a week that’s overcast and rainy, so I guess why not dress for both? I’m also trying to bring back boots for men more! It's totally unfair that girls get the height advantage so I’ve been kicking it with some heeled boots with my shorts to give me the height I wish I had – haha!”

Have you had any situations where you haven’t fitted into someone’s perceived idea of gender? 
“Every day of my life. I prefer to be called He/Him but I’m not the most masculine of guys, in fact I embrace femininity more. You can imagine that people look at me up and down like a specimen at a zoo and make their judgements everyday.”

And how do you deal with that?
“It happens so often that when I notice someone judging me or staring, I just try to smile and hope that they see I’m only human like them with feelings. Then I hope that whatever negative perceptions of me they had that my smile was able to paint it more positively. As much as it hurts that there are people that will see me as less than or uncomfortable with my difference, I’ll always hold onto hope for a better world where my smile won’t be a defence mechanism from judgement, but rather a response to another smile.”

Steph, you are THE ICONIC's Beauty Social Organic Coordinator – how does that feel and what does it make you feel about THE ICONIC for having a male in this position?
“I feel extraordinary every day! I'm so lucky that I get to work with a category I dive into constantly during my free time. I think breaking gender barriers in any situation is a great thing, cause beauty is not necessarily tied to only women. Beauty is whatever you make it, so I think it's important to note that difference is beauty in itself. When people see that it's the person and not the gender that can achieve whatever then that will be a great step forward! My female friend is currently the only female-engineer in her university class so any chance we get to make workplaces and schools more equal the better for future generations who then won't feel as typecast into roles.”

How important is it for someone to be accepted for who they are, and affirmed as such?
“For starters, no one asked to be born into this world. We’re all just doing the best we can to find happiness and to live our lives as best we can. Who is anyone to not accept another for thriving in their own way? It takes the same effort to address someone in the LGBTQ+ community by their pronouns as it does when addressing cis-gendered people, but can make that person feel so at ease and happy by being referred to that way. Being mis-identified feels like when someone calls you by a name you don’t like, you get uncomfortable and it dampens your light. Be someone that makes another person feel free to shine, and in doing so, your light becomes that much brighter too.”

This Levi’s Pride collection is all about pronouns. What do you hope for the future in terms of pronouns?
“I hope that we won’t have to justify why we should respect how someone wishes to be addressed. Pronouns are something that may not mean much to you, but it could be what brightens someone else’s day and that’s all it should really take to just use the correct pronouns, and if you’re not sure – ask!”

What is the dream in terms of acceptance and how people treat one another?
“As much as I ‘own it’ and come off as super confident, there will always be that part of me that gets anxious, so I think the dream for me is when happiness is unconditional. When what defines me are my actions rather than how I identify, when the way I’m looked at is with kindness rather than judgement and when I can let my guard down in public and truly, freely be at ease.”