Home > Viral News > Influencers > Trisha Paytas
Apr. 13 2021, Updated 5:10 p.m. ET
Youtuber Trisha Paytas knows how to make a splash with their popular YouTube channel and their ability to be fully honest with their fans. The influencer is known for their larger-than-life personality, their candidness about their love life, and their over-the-top outfits and makeup.
But some of Trisha's content hasn't been well-received, and sometimes their claims have made their followers upset.
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Trisha previously opened up about their gender identity and how they want to be identified in the future, and it wasn't initially received well by their fans. Is Trisha Paytas transgender?
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Is Trisha Paytas transgender?
Trisha recognized that they might get flack for their video, which is entitled "I AM TRANSGENDER (FEMALE TO MALE)," so they opened up their video by facing the criticism head-on.
"I am doing a video that people might think I'm trying to be offensive or setting back a movement or something like that," they said. "I want to talk about this because it's actually something that I've felt for a long time."
They went on to discuss a video that they made years earlier, where they said they only wanted to be referred to as "T," as a way to de-gender their name. Trisha also noted that they've tended to overcompensate when it comes to dressing femininely because when they were in school, kids used to make fun of them for looking masculine.
"I identify with men better," they continued. "I identify more as a gay man." They clarified that they're interested in guys, but they also consider themself to be a guy too.
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"In my head, I feel like I'm a transgender female to male but also like a drag queen," Trisha said. They explained that their desire to get glammed up and wear over-the-top clothes, hair, and makeup was their way of dressing in drag.
Trisha went on to explain their rationalities as to why they identify as male. They said that they don't like to be the center of attention, and they've always been attracted to guys that aren't straight.
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They also said that they thought life would be easier for them if they had male genitalia, and they've always envied men for that.
"So do I think I'm transgender? Yes, one thousand percent. Do I identify with my natural-born gender? A thousand percent. So I think that's where I'm at and I feel really free and liberated," they said.
Shortly after posting the Oct. 7 video, Trisha began getting criticism from fans and the media about their interpretation of the trans community.
Report this tweet. Using gender identity as click bait is a privileged act of violence. I’m not gonna stand for it. I don’t care what it’s actually about. The headline and photo used cannot be serious. Trans people are murdered for quietly trying to live their life. Big NOPE😡 https://t.co/b7PB99vc5H
— VICKY VOX (@TheVickyVox) October 7, 2019
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Of course, their claims sparked outrage from many, including prominent drag queen Vicky Vox (who is the drag daughter of RuPaul's Drag Race alum Detox). She took to Twitter to give her opinion on Trisha's video.
Trisha also received heat for using a picture of themselves dressed up as High School Musical character Troy Bolton as the thumbnail for their transgender announcement video. That original video has since been set to private.
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Trisha recently announced they were non-binary and wish to use "they / them" pronouns.
Despite the massive criticism they received for their original transgender video, Trisha has maintained that they are transgender and has continued to question their gender identity. In a new video uploaded to their vlog channel, they say they now identify as non-binary.
"I'm non-binary, and I have to give credit to TikTok and Gen-Z," they said. "That seems like the perfect label for me."
They credited the TikTok algorithm and Gigi Gorgeous' recent coming-out video in helping them come to terms with their gender identity.
Trisha even addressed the controversial video from 2019, acknowledging that they meant no harm by it but just didn't have the vocabulary to discuss it.
"That video was never meant to be offensive or a troll," they said. "It came across as bad and wrong, and I didn't know 'non-binary' back then. I really just thought, 'I'm really a male.'"
