Meet the 10-year-old transgender model who is redefining normal

Record ID: 1688807

  • Title: Meet the 10-year-old transgender model who is redefining normal
  • Date: 13th September 2022
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 11, 2022) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) 10-YEAR-OLD TRANSGENDER MODEL, NOELLA MCMAHER, SAYING: “It was fun to do something new since I usually do more high fashion power walk or high fashion like a walk down the runway, do our poses, come back out - maybe we'll swing at the end. But this time I got to tell a story about, like, about me being in - me being sleeping in the beginning, and then falling asleep. And then my nightmare turning, or my dream turning into a nightmare.”
  • Embargoed: 27th September 2022 20:00
  • Keywords: 10-year-old gender new york city new york fashion week noella runway transgender model
  • Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / UNKNOWN LOCATIONS
  • City: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / UNKNOWN LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Fashion,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA005453411092022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Ten-year-old transgender model Noella McMaher is redefining what's normal: “It's 2022, no one knows what normal is at this point.”
    The fashionista from Chicago, Illinois, is believed to be the youngest transgender model to ever walk the runway at New York fashion week in both February and September.
    “It's cool to have that title,” said Noella.
    “It shows that I actually am like showing other - showing other people and kids that being transgender isn't bad,” she added.
    In February, Noella walked in the Runway 7 show for the Trans Clothing Company. On Saturday (September 10), she opened and closed the show for Renacio.
    “It was fun to do something new since I usually do more high fashion power walk… this time I got to tell a story,” said the model.
    Noella’s non-gender parents, Dee and Ray McMaher, believe it’s their job to foster her dreams, which includes being an advocate for other trans kids.
    “The fact that she has this want to be an activist and be visible for other trans kids, we know is just so important in a world that especially right now in our current political climate, that has so many things that are working against her - kids like her,” explained Dee.
    Noella expressed to her parents around the age of two that she was a girl, and they have supported her journey since.
    Through her activism, which is prominently displayed on her Instagram page, she wants people to know trans kids are no different from other kids.
    “We were just born in the wrong body, pretty much. And we found - and then we just switched our genders.”
    While she’s unsure of what she wants to be when she grows up, her short-term plans include walking at Paris Fashion Week.
    (Production: Andrew Hofstetter, Alicia Powell)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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