With more transgender models coming into the limelight abroad, is the beauty industry in India ready to follow suit?
Transgender model Lea T recently made history when she was announced as the face of haircare brand, Redken. The 32-year-old Brazilian who was originally born a male, Leandro Medeiros Cerezo, is the first to be given such a big role. Discovered in 2010 by Givenchy artistic director Riccardo Tisci, Lea has since walked the runway for a number of leading designers and has been featured in editorials of several fashion magazines. And she is not the only one. Earlier in July, model Andreja Pejic came out as transgender and later launched a campaign encouraging others to come out as well. Carmen Carrera who gained fame on the show RuPaul's Drag Race, underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2012, and has continued to bag modelling assignments since. Barneys' spring 2014 campaign also brought transgender models to the forefront. Are we ready to accept transgenders in India?
PEOPLE ARE NOT READY
Designer Wendell Rodricks believes our country still has a long way to go. "The industry here is not ready for such a radical step. We have larger acceptance from the public and the government too now that the country has recognised transgenders. But pan India, this will take sometime. People look at transgenders as objects of ridicule, farce and hostility, which is sad because under the facade are some very nice souls who just want to be accepted and loved without prejudice. Maybe in a few years, we may see a change. Even a country like Pakistan has a Begum who is wildly popular on television," he explains.
TALENT MATTERS
Designers should be ready to accept transgenders reveals model choreographer Marc Robinson. "Personally I don't have a problem with it. I think if the model looks good and walks right he or she should be accepted. Everyone has a right to earn and one needs to keep an open mind. Instead of getting into one's sexual identity, one needs to see how well the person walks, talks and carries the garments," says Marc.
Model Alesia Raut who has been walking the ramp for many years agrees. She says, "It will take a lot of time before Indians are ready to accept transgenders as models. There will always be someone who will raise an issue. I'd be more than happy to work alongside transgenders. I think as long as they justify their work, it's fine."
NEED SOME ACCEPTANCE
Clinical Psychologist Dr Kanan Khatau Chikhal explains transgenders usually feel very trapped in the bodies they are born with. So for them changing their body parts comes with a deep sense of freedom. "Initially it can be a shock for the family or even a cause of social embarassment. Acceptance tends to take some time. Indian society will take a while to treat transgenders as regular people."
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