Model Teddy Quinlivan Makes a Powerful Statement About Trans Rights

 Teddy Quinlivan has spent the last few days walking for labels like Coach, Oscar de la Renta, and Tory Burch, emerging as one of the season’s leading faces. But today, Quinlivan is making headlines for a very different reason: She revealed publicly for the first time that she is transgender in a special interview with CNN and released an accompanying video on her Instagram page, instantly stepping into the role of advocate.

Directed by Amber Grace Johnson, the mini-film features Quinlivan speaking candidly about feeling displaced during her youth, when she lived as male. The interview is interspersed with home movies from her childhood and voiceover from her mother about her early ears. The story takes viewers into her personal life, from the lengths she went to in order to present as cis-gendered to her fears about the how potential partners would react. Sharing the information wasn’t easy, but Quinlivan felt it was necessary to speak her truth. ““I want to help break the stigma of what it means to be transgender,” said Quinlivan in a statement released with the video. We need more and more trans voices to speak out and share our humanity so that the world stops seeing us as ‘other.’”

Quinlivan’s announcement comes at a time when issues surrounding gender have become increasingly politicized. With the Trump administration banning trans people from the military and murder rates for trans people–particularly those of color–at an all time high, Quinlivan felt she couldn’t stand idly by. “Our rights are under constant threat from the highest levels of our government, and through cruel proposed legislation across the country that is designed to put us in harm’s way. Enough is enough,” she says. “I will use my voice to help our diverse, vibrant, and resilient trans communities overcome these obstacles and thrive.”

With the encouragement of her agency as well as friends like Nicolas Ghesquière, Pat McGrath, GLAAD president Sara Kate Ellis, and fellow model and intersex advocate Hanne Gaby Odiele, Quinlivan seeks to put her visibility as a model to good use, speaking up about the issues she’s faced and helping to fight against inequality for LGBTQ people everywhere. “We deserve to be treated with dignity and respect both under the law and in our daily lives,” she says. "I will promote love, understanding, and acceptance of trans people.”