Australian trans model Gemma Cowling is a secret social media genius
Gemma Cowling is, in many ways, a typical 19-year-old girl from Adelaide, Australia. Except that this girl is already being called a “transgender trailblazer.”
Making her runway debut during Adelaide Fashion Festival on Tuesday, Gemma has spoken at length about challenging beauty standards, transitioning, tokenism and role models (her first name is an ode to model Gemma Ward, after all.)
But what she’s failed to mention is that she’s hilarious on social media. #modest
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The very first Australian-born trans model to be signed to an agency (fellow Aussie model Andreja Pejic was born in Bosnia), Gemma could be forgiven for being super uptight about her public persona.
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But she’s not — she’s too busy dishing out zingers all over the internet and using the underrated "pigeon face" filter on Snapchat. As she told Mashable Australia, "I think social media is pretty bomb ... It's definitely got its downsides and can easily become an exercise in covert narcissism but I love being able to start conversations and let's admit it, have the occasional brag."
When pressed about her preference for Snapchat or Instagram Stories, she said "There are pros and cons to both. Instagram stories hook me up with Snapchat-like content from people whose snaps I'd usually never see, but they lose major points for being a ripoff, so Snapchat wins."
Need hard evidence as to Gemma's social media prowess? Feast your eyes. The future of fashion is not only inclusive and stunning, it’s hashtag #relatable.
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"If there is pressure (to portray a certain version of myself online) than I haven't realised it yet! I'm a pretty open and shameless person so authenticity is a bit of a no-brainer for me," she says.
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Don't think the model's allergic to sincerity on social media though. She's not afraid to open up about her insecurities, and says the support she's received as a result has been "mind-boggling and very affirming."
Topics LGBTQ
Jerico Mandybur is the editor of Mashable Australia. Previously, she worked as a digital editor at SBS, Oyster Mag, MTV and ASOS. Tweet her at @jerico_m.
