"I grew up in Columbus, Ohio; I was really noticed there. But I realised that I had to take power back — that I wasn’t just something to be looked at. I had to make people understand that I was different and not just a regular man at that point.

"My transformation started when I was about 19. I tried to cultivate myself, and cultivate this beautiful self. For me, the look I often go for [now] is really beautiful makeup; I want to look like Olivia Pope most of the time.

"The thing about a trans person who is a woman is that everybody else tries to define me. Being able to be in control of my looks is one way I get to define myself for myself. It’s very interesting because my mother is very prim and proper, and she’s very natural — she doesn’t wear makeup. So to see both my mother and grandmother, I’ve seen different possibilities of womanhood.

"That’s why I think I’m not a slave to beauty. I am obsessed with beauty and beautiful things in all forms, but I’ve really let it be something only to enhance rather than need. The finishing product is beautiful because the starting point was beautiful."