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Zaya Wade Offers Encouragement For Trans Kids: 'You're Not Alone!'
Wade also opened up about the importance of her family's support on her journey.
We’ve heard a lot from Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union over the years about what it means to support children in exploring or embracing their gender identity, and now Zaya Wade herself is opening up about how that support has helped her navigate being in the public eye.
The 15-year-old recently spoke with Dazed about her burgeoning modeling career as well as her activism, noting that her family has been “such a giant support system and have always been there for me” through it all.
Wade came out as trans publicly in 2020, opening herself up to increased scrutiny from strangers online at a young age. Because of this, she says she has already learned the importance of not only keeping that support system on hand, but setting boundaries with social media and filtering it so that the people who know and love her are the ones cutting through the noise.
“A lot of attention equals a lot more hate, a lot of transphobia, and [there is] a lot of pressure on me, but I’m also able to reach more people,” she said. “The positives of having such an inclusive platform completely outweigh all of the negativity online, which my support system has enabled me to filter out.
The idea of “protect[ing] your peace” is a major theme throughout Wade’s interview, and she also had a helpful message for young trans kids who might be able to utilize social media to seek out community they can’t find elsewhere just yet.
“You’re not alone!” she said. “I wish I knew that as a kid because I felt so isolated, thinking there was no one else like me… [When you’re] a child at school you’re like, ‘I’m trans, and I don’t see many trans people, so I feel isolated, I feel different from anyone.’ But that is not the only community. There are thousands of communities waiting [for you], and the trans community is forever growing.”
Zaya Wade was born May 29, 2007.
Wade's biological parents are Dwyane Wade and Siohvaughn Funches, though she has also been raised by stepmother Gabrielle Union, who married Dwyane in 2014.
Dwyane Wade publicly shared that Zaya identifies as trans in early 2020.
Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.
Rachel Kiley is presumably a writer and definitely not a terminator. She can usually be found crying over queerbaiting in the Pitch Perfect franchise or on Twitter, if not both.
