Defeating beauty bullying
Transgender YouTube star on the importance of self-love campaign
You might recognize Stef Sanjati from Canadian designer Hayley Elsaesser’s runway shows or perhaps you’re one of the 600,000 YouTube subscribers joining Sanjati on her journey from a confused13-year-old in a tiny Canadian town to the proud 22-year-old Torontobased transgender activist she is today. There’s also a good chance you spotted her in Rimmel London’s new global #I Will Not Be Deleted campaign taking a stand against beauty cyberbullying.
While Sanjati credits the internet with so much positivity in her life — she says she found her community there — it’s also where she’s had to deal with harassment for being transgender or because of the physical characteristics of her Waardenburg Syndrome, a genetic condition that causes her to have wider-set facial features, hearing loss, and pigmentation loss in her hair, skin and eyes. We spoke to Sanjati about beauty cyberbullying and radical selflove.
What does visibility mean to you?
“There [are a lot of forces] in the world trying to erase [transgender people] from history, or exclude us from conversations. On social media, people have voices and they can share their stories and help others understand.”
What’s the best way to deal with bullying?
“I’ve been bullied for everything under the sun, and it always comes back to an insecurity that [ bullies] have with themselves. [Lashing out] doesn’t solve anything because it won’t help that person reach a place of peace, which is really where they need to be to stop hurting other people.” How important is community to you?
“You have to take care of yourself and create a space where you feel safe. I always suggest young people seek out other people like themselves that they can relate to, or that have maybe been harassed for the same thing. If you’re a young person with any kind of ... disability, look for people that have that experience.”