It Takes a Trans Icon to Be the Queen of Controversy
Blaire White never thought she would end up making a living from YouTube. The 24-year-old Northern California native just needed a place where she could talk about her political views, which were becoming increasingly unpopular with her progressive, social-justice-warrior friends.
White was 20 years old and regretfully studying computer science at college. Frustrated by the lack of political diversity on campus and by the militant brand of feminism that was taking over her peer group, she decided that if she couldn’t debate with her friends, she’d talk to her computer. She made a short video criticizing feminism, uploaded it you YouTube, and thought nothing of it.
Cut to a few years later, and White has become a provocative and popular voice in the political conversation between self-made commentators like Dave Rubin of the Rubin Report, Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire, comedian Joe Rogan, and YouTuber Laci Green. White is young, fringe, and no-holds-barred, a strong millennial voice brave enough to address the culture war and question the narrative. And though there are many people who love her, there are just as many who hate her.
On her YouTube channel, White mostly sticks to politics. She’s criticized Black Lives Matter (the backlash was so intense the FBI got involved), feminism, transgender politics, fat-acceptance, and rape culture. She debates other YouTube stars who disagree with her views, often uploading the unedited two-hour debates for her fans to watch. But most recently, she started branching out from politics and doing personal videos. The debut? A vlog detailing the intense round of plastic surgeries she had to complete her transition to becoming a female. Did we not mention that White was born a dude? (Yeah, I know. We could hardly tell either.)
With a documentary being made about her life for WAG TV, her recent engagement to boyfriend Joey, and her growing number of followers, White is at the top of her game. Welcome to the wild, wonderful world of Blaire White.
How has YouTube changed your life?
YouTube has changed my life in more ways than I probably even realize. I started my channel two years ago, and in that time so many things have happened. I was a broke college student with four roommates that I never should have been living with, and I started YouTube on my little 4 ADP webcam. I had a light from Target as my professional lighting. It really just took off. Everything that has happened is very surprising. I never thought this would be my job.
What compelled you to do the first video?
My first video was a criticism of feminism.
I made the video because, at the time, I wasn’t in an environment that would accept my opinions. I couldn’t openly talk about that without backlash or losing friends. I mean, I’ve lost friends over my YouTube channel, but now I have a new set of friends and peers. But at that particular time I was a college student, and in addition to my peers disagreeing with me, my professors did, too. I really used YouTube as an outlet to discuss my politics without being made to feel like an outcast. It paid off. So, thank God.
You don’t really fit into the right or the left, but you say you lean right. At one time though, you were a far-left, progressive social-justice warrior. What changed?
[Laughs.] It was the year before I started YouTube that I began to come into my own thoughts and beliefs. Before that, I was on the complete opposite side of the political spectrum. It was being young and not having the willpower, desire, or ability to build my life from the ground up, which is what I have done now. I didn’t know how the world worked. I’m sure I will have more ideological or personal changes in my lifetime, but this is where I’m at now.
Where were you at in your transition when all this ideological change was happening?
Interestingly enough, the further along in my transition, the further I changed politically.
Why do you think that is?
Because being trans you have to do shit yourself. I realized that where I wanted to be and what I wanted to be was not going to be handed to me. I had to go after it myself. That informed a lot of my options outside my transition. Self-determination, accountability, and personal responsibility became really big factors in my success. When I was younger, I saw things I could not overcome as obstacles instead of challenges. I don’t see obstacles anymore.
You’ve had success. You’ve proven to yourself that you’re capable.
I completely shocked the fuck out of myself with the number of things I’ve done. I look at my life even two years ago, and I’m now living a completely different life. I’m engaged. I have a career. I have a movie coming out soon.
What’s the movie?
I’m currently being filmed for a movie about my life story with WAG TV. They do all the shows on the Discovery Channel. We’ve had cameras in our home for a few weeks now. It’s been kind of hard. [Laughs.]
One thing I like about you is that you can’t be put in a box. Why do you think so many people can’t handle that?
I think a lot about why I’m considered controversial. I feel as though I don’t say things that crazy, and my fans and everyday people on the street wouldn’t consider my views controversial. I’m just saying things that most of us think but won’t say out loud because of the fear of retaliation. I guess someone has to get the slings and arrows that come with that. I’ll take it.
You wrote a tweet that said, “Stop ending friendships over political differences. It’s an immature and shitty thing to do to someone just because you disagree with them.” And people got upset by this. I don’t see what was offensive about that statement.
I’m at the point now where I can predict the reaction to certain statements I make. But that one got virally dragged! Hundreds of thousands of people coming at me for that. It was one of the tamest things I’ve ever said!
Objectively, I don’t see what’s wrong with it.
I don’t either and I never will. I have thought hard about it. People have called me racist over that tweet. [Laughs.] How is that racist? Look, people have allowed religion to become their politics. People like me show that this is a reality. On my channel, it’s a pretty friendly place. But any time I’m posted somewhere else, it’s an extreme amount of hate. People like me put a spotlight on that vitriol just by existing and speaking our minds.
When is it going to end?
I don’t know! [Laughs.]
We are in a culture war.
Oh, yes. We are at the point now where people are harassed and booed out of restaurants for believing the “wrong” thing. It almost makes me want to back off more and more and more. I want to participate less. It gets exhausting. It’s such a soulless genre to be involved in. Pure politics turns you into a monster and I do not want to be a monster.
Have you had any public attacks?
I’ve been doxed, which means that your personal information has been made public online. I’ve had to deal with the FBI over this. It was very serious. I’ve had legitimate threats against my life. I’ve been in gay clubs and all of a sudden been surrounded by people who want to beat me up. On the flip side, the overwhelming majority of the reception I get is positive, whether it’s at the gym or on Hollywood Boulevard.
If it was pure hatred, I’d have to rethink some things.
How did the trans discussion become inherently tied to leftism? The trans conversation is new. We wouldn’t be sitting here talking like this ten years ago.
In some ways, it was easier to be trans ten years ago. No one knew what it was and you could just live your life after transitioning. Don’t get me wrong, I’m aware of the fact that a lot of my success is tied to me being trans. I’m not denying how it has helped me. But there’s also a misconception that being trans is political. That it’s tied to leftist politics, feminism, or any ideology. But it’s biological, neurological, and physiological. I felt trans when I was a kid at four or five years old. I think that because a lot of people on the left are the ones who end up speaking up for trans people, it becomes conflated. Trans people can be purple-haired San Francisco feminists or gun-slinging Southerners. Ninety percent of the people who speak up about trans issues are not trans. They end up controlling the conversation instead of letting trans people talk. I think that if we controlled the narrative, people who don’t understand us would start to.
I think this is also a product of social media. Everyone has their opinion and can share it. How do you feel about social media, seeing as how it’s a big part of your career?
I guess my relationship with social media has changed in the last two years since it became a job. Sometimes I love it. Sometimes I hate it. It really depends on what scandal I’m dealing with. [Laughs.]
There have been studies that show how detrimental social media can be to one’s self-esteem and self-worth, but those studies are done on people who log on during their lunch breaks, between classes, etc. They don’t do the studies on people who do social media for a living. I can’t complain. Social media has given me everything and it’s why I’m here right now with you.
Let’s talk about baby Blaire. Obviously, you were not born with boobs. How did you become the Blaire White sitting with me now?
Like I said, my earliest memories involved gender dysphoria. I felt like no one saw me the way I wanted to be seen. I didn’t fit into male activities. I could not live up to those gender standards. I had no idea what “trans” was, but I understood that there was something wrong. My dad would ask me why I talked, walked, and acted feminine. I’ve always been feminine. My voice never dropped! The signs were there really early. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I could get on hormones, get surgery, and make it happen. However, people are transitioning very young now. Transitioning is hard. It fucks with your mind and your body. The thought of going through that as a kid is pretty crazy to me.
When did the reality of becoming a woman actually happen?
As I got older, the feelings of gender kept increasing. I was experimenting with my look as a teenager, which was a mess. At that time, I’d met someone who ended up being my best friend for years, and I saw a lot of myself in him. We both realized, around 16 years old, that we needed to transition together. When we were about 19 or 20, we started our transition. We were roommates. I had just ended a relationship and moved back to California from Michigan. However, the friendship ended. She didn’t agree with my politics, which is sad, because we went through something very intense together. I knew I had to transition to be happy.
I started my transition, then my YouTube channel, and I finished my transition on YouTube.
Why did you want to put your surgery videos on your channel?
I decided to vlog my surgery for my own keepsake. I still watch it sometimes. I was on copious amounts of painkillers. I don’t remember too much. This was the first really personal video that I did, which opened the door to talk about my life a little more. Before that video, my content had been strictly political.
Can you describe the surgeries you underwent?
I had multiple at one time. I got my breasts done and a few different things on my face. I had rhinoplasty and a brow-bone shave.
What’s a brow-bone shave?
All biological males have a ridge on their forehead right above their brow line. You would never really notice it unless you knew it was there, but you can feel it. This ridge makes a difference when you scan a face. People subconsciously notice it when you’re figuring out which gender someone is. Basically, what they do is cut your skin off at your hairline, pull the skin down, shave the bone until it’s flat, then staple you back up. The recovery for that one–again, painkillers–but from what I remember, it was terrible. But now my ridge is gone. I’m flat as a pancake.
Why the hell did you do all those surgeries at once?
I know. I’m nuts. But my mindset was to get it all over with. I’m terrified of surgery and I never wanted to go through it again, so I just figured I should do it all at once. I’m glad I did it that way. I was able to get back to work not long after.
Speaking of work, which videos have been the most controversial and what was the backlash?
I did a video where I criticized the extreme elements of the Black Lives Matter movement. This was during the summer of 2016, and there was a lot of rioting around BLM. I prefaced my criticism by stating that BLM started with good intentions but had somehow gone haywire. After I published that video, I woke up the next day to a storm. I had been doxed. I had hundreds of thousands of people attacking me online, and eventually, the FBI got involved.
Can you get the police involved when someone doxes you?
It’s not taken seriously. If you make a living online, and you’re a social media influencer, having your address leaked online is extremely dangerous. It’s not leaked to seven people, it’s leaked to thousands. One of my fans found the woman who had doxed me. She admitted to doxing me. Then my fans took it upon themselves to start harassing her. They hacked into her mother’s bank account. They hacked into her school information. I do not condone this kind of behavior and I even made a statement saying that.
But also, like, don’t fuck with me, because my fans will protect me. [Laughs.]
Penthouse was actually slut-shamed out of the SlutWalk. Which is pretty anti-slut for a bunch of alleged pro-sluts. But I digress. What happened when you went?
I went to Amber Rose’s SlutWalk out of curiosity. I wanted to talk to the people who were participating and see why they were there. I met a lot of fans, barely any haters. I took Joey and my friend with me as bodyguards, but I didn’t even need it. I interviewed so many people at SlutWalk, and almost every single person had no idea why they were there. I am not against the SlutWalk; I just don’t think it has cohesive politics. There was an ideological component that was missing. One woman said to me, “I’m here because little boys are taught to rape little girls.” That’s a pretty vague statement. She couldn’t elaborate.
You have one video where you read emails from LGBT people in the Middle East who are living in hell. Do you have a lot of people reaching out to you?
I get messages from people all over the world, whether they are LGBT or not, but more LGBT. A lot are from Middle Eastern or African countries where you cannot be trans, let alone gay. It’s against the law. It means the world to me that people trust me with their stories and want to share with me. I have made videos highlighting their stories, which I think is important because so much of the conversation here ignores their plight. I think it’s common knowledge how gay rights suck in other countries, but I don’t think people realize how extreme it is: You can be killed or jailed. I’ve had people email me from African countries who tell me that there are government-funded magazines with hit lists of gay people, detailing their names and their personal information. It’s like a “Wanted” list for gay people. And half the time, these people are not even gay but happened to be standing too close to another man or whatever the case.
Once you hear these stories, it’s hard to forget them. America is not perfect, but we have it pretty good, and we have to remember these other people who are struggling in a way we’ll never understand. I never want to live my prissy life in Los Angeles oblivious to the brutal situations in other countries. One of my life goals is to create a foundation that helps get these people out of their countries and their bad situations.
I have no structure or plan, but I will figure it out. For now, I do what I can, but I want to do something bigger.
It’s truly brutal, what they’re facing.
People forget: Laws shape the culture. If you’re living in a country where it’s illegal to be gay, no one is going to have a neutral view when it comes to gay people. Gays are villainized. They are treated like pedophiles, though in some of these countries, it’s standard practice for a 40-year-old man to marry an 11-year-old girl, and this is supported by both families, yet being gay is illegal. That puts it into perspective. It’s fucked.
That seems so archaic.
People use the phrase “stuck in the past,” but no, literally, these countries are stuck in the past. These places are culturally fucked. And when discussing this, “culture” will be used as a shield. Oh, it’s their culture. Sorry. Some cultures are fucking shitty.
Let’s talk about your “Make American Great Again” hat video. I haven’t watched it yet.
I love when people say they haven’t watched it yet. It’s my craziest video! I can’t even do it justice. As a social experiment, I thought it would be interesting to see what happened if I walked around Hollywood, where I live, wearing a MAGA hat. Los Angeles is very liberal, and I wanted to see the kinds of reactions I would get. I was assaulted twice in the video. We happened to walk by a protest, which was not planned. It was an anti-Trump protest. I had no idea what the protest was for. I saw a cop and asked him what the people were protesting, and he didn’t know. We figured it out pretty quick.
The first assault I received was from a male protester in a pink pussy hat who came up and snatched the hat off my head as I was taking a selfie. I tried to chase after him and get it back. I fell, and he stomped on my hand and broke my acrylic nail. I was bleeding everywhere!
He stomped on your hand with his foot?
Oh yeah. It happened so fast.
Did you punch him?
No, there was a cop right there trying to separate us. We left that area and I was really upset and wanted to go home. I decided to film the outro of the video, “Hey guys, I’m heading home, this was crazy, etc.” And as I’m filming, this person runs up from behind Joey and throws a bottle of alcohol in my face. It was the cherry on top of a shitty sundae. I’m not even a Trump supporter. I’m very levelheaded about Trump. I appreciate when he does good things, and I criticize him when he does bad things. I judge him issue by issue, policy by policy.
I did the hat thing as an experiment because the red MAGA hat is so symbolic now. You can’t wear one in L.A.
I can’t believe the man stomped on your hand!
Yes, a man in a pink pussy hat. I had no idea it was going to be that intense. Even when I realized it was an anti-Trump protest, I never imagined I would be physically assaulted.
You were assaulted for your accessories.
It’s crazy. There’s another awful story about a girl who was wearing a red hat, people mistook it for a MAGA hat and beat her up. Lesson learned: Don’t wear a red hat in a liberal area.
