Laith Ashley Shares His Own Experiences of Transphobia and Racism
Laith Ashley started medically transitioning when he was 25 years old.
Four years later, he posed for the legendary photographer Bruce Weber. Since then, his presence in the modeling world skyrocketed.
His dream job is acting in a regular series. He’s a model, actor, musician, and trans activist.
He landed the cover for Attitude Magazine’s October issue alongside olympic freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy. In the interview, he opened up about his transphobic and racist experiences.
“It took some time for me to get used to navigating the world as a male person of color.”
As he transitioned, he looked more and more like a man to society. If I didn’t know who Laith Ashley was, I would assume he’s a cis man. At first glance, I also assumed he was white and just really tan. Both of these aren’t true.
His brother warned that he would be harassed by the cops a lot, but he didn’t really believe him until it actually started happening.
“If I was wearing maybe shorts, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap, on my way to the gym, the police would start treating me differently and with more aggression…
