‘I just want to be me’: Being transgender in Lebanon
Despite the negativity surrounding the transgender community in Lebanon, social media influencer Gigi tries to use her online fame as a means to help other transgender individuals to express themselves.
Gigi is a 21-year-old transgender woman from Beirut who works as a social media influencer through her YouTube page and other social media accounts. Growing up, she faced many challenges, especially in school because of her more feminine appearance.
“I found it really hard,” she told Al-Monitor, “especially in school because I was bullied, and I was always told that I should act more manly because I was very feminine.”
When she was around 4, she started to realize that she was a woman, but it was not until she was 16 that she knew that she was transgender - and she told her family.
“When I first told them, they were kind of hesitant about it,” Gigi recalled, “They didn’t really understand when I was telling them what it was. But then they got used to it. And they kind of knew because I was very feminine, very flamboyant, so they kind of knew that I was different. But it took them time. They still do not fully understand it, but they’re on their way there. It’s taking them time.”
