Tommy Dorfman is ready to reintroduce herself to the world!
In an interview published on Thursday with Time Magazine, the 13 Reasons Why star opened up about her transition publicly for the first time, saying she has “been privately identifying and living as a woman” for the past year.
And even though Tommy has never addressed her gender identity publicly, she admitted that she doesn’t see this moment as “coming out” per se:
“It’s funny to think about coming out because I haven’t gone anywhere. I view today as a reintroduction to me as a woman, having made a transition medically. Coming out is always viewed as this grand reveal, but I was never not out. Today is about clarity: I am a trans woman. My pronouns are she/her. My name is Tommy.”
Related: JoJo Siwa & Her Girlfriend BOTH Credit Demi Lovato As Their ‘Gay Awakenings’!
Dorfman explained that while she has been living her truth on Instagram for several months by documenting her stellar style, she wanted to share her transition to the world as a way of taking control of her own story:
“I’ve been living in this other version of coming out where I don’t feel safe enough to talk about it, so I just do it. But I recognize that transitioning is beautiful. Why not let the world see what that looks like? So I kept, on Instagram, a diaristic time capsule instead — one that shows a body living in a more fluid space. … There’s the version I couldn’t really afford to do, which is to disappear for two years and come back with a new name, new face, and new body. But that’s not what I wanted.”
Take a look at some of her gorgeous snapshots (below):
The 29-year-old actress went on to note that she does not plan on changing her name due to her connection to it, sharing:
“For me, personally, it’s not viable. I’m not changing my name. I’m named after my mom’s brother who passed a month after I was born, and I feel very connected to that name, to an uncle who held me as he was dying. This is an evolution of Tommy. I’m becoming more Tommy. … I am actually myself. I love my name, I want to keep my name and give new life to my name. I’m really proud of the person that I was, too. I think that’s important to acknowledge. I’m proud of who I’ve been for the last however many years.”
Hell yes!
When it comes to her fame, Tommy expressed how it has been “impossible for me to separate my personal and professional transition, because my body and face are linked to my career.” And with that came some trepidation, which initially held her back from publicly talking about her transition:
“I’m most recognized for playing a bitchy gay poet on a soap opera, and I feared that by actively transitioning in my personal life, I would lose whatever career I’ve been told I’m supposed to have. But I’m no longer interested in playing ‘male’ characters. … Sometimes you just have to say, ‘No, this is just who I f**king am.’”
But looking into the future, the Atlanta native hopes to “infuse my trans body into film and television.” She added, touching on her first role as a woman in Lena Dunham’s flick Sharp Stick:
“Lena Dunham gave me my first role as a girl last year — it was so exciting and validating.”
Even more so, this has also pushed her to re-evaluate certain things within her personal life. She revealed:
“And personally, it’s wild to be 29 and going through puberty again. Some days I feel like I’m 14. As a result of that shift, the types of romantic partnerships I seek out are different. I was in a nine-year relationship in which I was thought of as a more male-bodied person, with a gay man. I love him so much, but we’ve been learning that as a trans woman, what I’m interested in is not necessarily reflected in a gay man. So we’ve had incredible conversations to redefine our relationship as friends. Transitioning has been liberating and clarifying.”
We couldn’t be happier for Tommy! You can ch-ch-check out her stunning cover shot (below):
Congrats, Tommy!!! If you want, you can also take a look at the entire profile from Time, HERE!
[Image via Tommy Dorfman/Instagram]
The post <i>13 Reasons Why</i> Star Tommy Dorfman Reintroduces Herself As A Trans Woman! appeared first on Perez Hilton.
