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ComingOut

Joe Goes YouTuber Lily Jo Hanson Comes Out As Trans

The longtime content creator opened up about her gender identity in a new video!

Raffy Ermac

Digital Director, Out.com

Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, critic, and digital director of Out Magazine. The former editor-in-chief of PRIDE, he is also a die-hard Rihanna and Sailor Moon stan who loves to write about all things pop culture, entertainment, and identities. Follow him on Instagram (@raffyermac) and Twitter (@byraffy), and subscribe to his YouTube channel.

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Raffy Ermac

byraffy

March 04 2021 12:57 PM EST

May 26 2023 12:31 PM EST

YouTube star and comedian Lily Jo Hanson is opening up about her gender identity and publicly coming out as trans!

After a nearly three-year-long hiatus, the longtime content creator (who is well-known for creating the Joe Goes YouTube channel) posted a heartfelt video entitled "The Cost of Costumes" where she discussed the journey she's had over the years in discovering her truest and most authentic self.

"From my earliest memories, I knew I was female inside and my body didn’t match," the 38-year-old writer shared in her video.

"When I saw other women I burned with envy. I drew pictures of myself as a woman, I imagined it. I even prayed to God at night to make my body female when I woke up – it didn’t work. Should have tried Satan," she said in her trademark humor.

"I thought I could choose not to have it, but some aspects of identity are not choices," she continued, talking about how she would try to keep the truth about her gender identity a secret, especially since she grew up in a small, Minnesota town. "Repressing gender identity issues does not make them go away. Instead, they snowball."

In the rest of the 25-minute clip, Lily then goes on to discuss that while she will no longer be continuing the Joe Goes series, she is settling into a career as a writer and shares that while her journey over the past few years wasn't easy, it was worth it.