Hunter Schafer said in a new GQ cover story that she has been strategic in trying to shift the public’s focus away from her gender identity as a transgender person. The “Euphoria” favorite does not want her identity to be the sole talking point about her and has at times tried to avoid saying the word “trans” during interviews in order to ensure her career is not solely defined by her gender identity.
“It has not just happened naturally by any means. If I let it happen, it would still be giving ‘transsexual actress’ before every article ever,” Schafer said.
“As soon as I say it, it gets blastoff,” she added about when the word “trans” comes up in her interviews. “It took a while to learn that and it also took a while to learn that I don’t want to be [reduced to] that, and I find it ultimately demeaning to me and what I want to do. Especially after high school, I was sick of talking about it. I worked so hard to get to where I am, past these really hard points in my transition, and now I just want to be a girl and finally move on.”
Schafer knows “it’s a privilege” to be able to shift focus beyond her gender identity, saying: “It’s been very intentional. I’ve gotten offered tons of trans roles, and I just don’t want to do it. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I know for a fact that I’m one of the most famous trans people in media right now, and I do feel a sense of responsibility, and maybe a little bit of guilt, for not being more of a spokesperson,” Schafer concluded. “But ultimately, I really do believe that not making it the centerpiece to what I’m doing will allow me to get further. And I think getting further and doing awesome shit, in the interest of ‘the movement,’ will be way more helpful than talking about it all the time.”
Schafer’s first acting role was Jules in “Euphoria,” the Emmy-winning HBO series that served as her breakthrough. She also starred in and co-wrote the special episode “Fuck Anyone Who’s Not a Sea Blob” with series creator Sam Levinson, who is currently writing new scripts for the delayed third season. Schafer made the jump to movie star last year with a supporting role in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” and now she’s headlining her first film in the lead role with Neon’s horror movie “Cuckoo.”
