Featured Image Credit: Instagram/aclu_nationwide
Topics: Elliot Page, Transgender, LGBTQ, Celebrity, News
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Elliot Page, Transgender, LGBTQ, Celebrity, News
Elliot Page is moving people to tears with the advice he'd want to give to his younger self.
Page, formerly known as Ellen Page, revealed in 2020 that he was transgender and shortly after began his transition journey.
He's since released a memoir titled 'Pageboy' where he spoke of the 'shame' he once felt about his identity.
"Shame had been drilled into my bones since I was my tiniest self, and I struggled to rid my body of that old toxic and erosive marrow," Page wrote.
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Elsewhere in the book, the actor recalled the first time he kissed a girl.
He said: "I met Paula when I was twenty. Sitting on our friend’s couch, eating raw almonds with her knees to her chest, she introduced herself, 'I’m Paula.' The sound of her voice radiated warmth, a kindness.
"It wasn’t so much that her eyes lit up but that they found you. I could feel her looking. We went to Reflections. It was the first time I had been to a gay bar, and would be my last for a long time."
In light of all he's been through over the years, Page was recently asked what advice he would give to his younger self - and his reply has left people in tears.
In a video shared to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Instagram page, Page said: "My message to my younger self would be, just like, 'You know who you are, and please embrace that'."
"I understood my truth," the actor continued. "I felt it very strongly and it was all of these external forces and noises that pushed and pulled, and made me sort of lose track of who I was.
"I guess to my younger self I'd say that the discomfort and pain you're feeling - that is not yours. That is theirs. And to just keep going on the journey of embracing who you truly are.
"That what's going to lead you to happiness," Page concluded the poignant message.
The Umbrella Academy star has since been praised for what he said.
Someone wrote: "What a peaceful, loving response. Such a king and role model."
"Such wonderful intelligent words," added a second.
Another person said: "Thank you for living in your truth and liberating yourself. You know who you are more than anyone else in this world. Thank you for sharing your story it could save a life."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.