Lilah: A Voice For The Future Of Trans Youth in Australia
Image: Images: Lilah/supplied
Advocacy for the marginalized has always come as a no-brainer to Lilah*, building their platform upon a lifelong desire to help people.
The TikTok creator has established themselves as one of the premier voices for trans and marginalized youth in Australia, producing content that actively refutes the surging tide of hateful far-right rhetoric targeting LGBTQ+ people,
“I just wanted to talk about things,” says Lilah, discussing their journey as a creator with the Star Observer.
“It was an avenue to get my opinion out there because it was bothering me, and that if people watched, fantastic, if even one person sees this and feels something about it then that’s what matters.”
Education, Advocacy, and Resistance
Focusing on education, advocacy, and resistance, Lilah’s content has become an extensive resource for queer people, allies, and outsiders alike to get acquainted with the issues and misinformation surrounding the LGBTQ+ community.
“My initial thing, especially when it comes to trans rights, was to educate people, but also to show fellow trans people that we aren’t alone; that there are all these creators making an impact and not letting everything go quietly,” they said.
“But probably the main thing I wanted to do when I started making my content and talking about hate was to challenge it.”
Informed Knowledge With An Off-The-Cuff Attitude
Indeed, combining informed knowledge with an off-the-cuff attitude, Lilah frequently provides biting commentary to disprove popular anti-queer ideology and trans-exclusionary talking points.
“It makes me furious and I feel that there does need to be that challenge from people who do understand and have experience with these things, which is why I do it so often.”
Lilah feels that they never had a choice in advocating for the marginalized, drawing on their experiences growing up to inform the work they do today.
“I grew up in extreme poverty, and when you grow up in that environment you don’t really have a choice but to be aware of how society functions in terms of helping people who are struggling,” they recounted.
“It was because of this that I was always interested in helping people, because when I was a kid all I wanted was help, a better situation, and I wanted that for other people too.”
People Agree With It, People Resonate With It
Looking to the future, Lilah maintains lofty ideals for their content, eager to expand into long-form YouTube content to more thoroughly disprove anti-queer views and collate academic research in one place.
Beyond this, increasing their participation in on-the-ground work is a high priority for Lilah; seen as the next step in working toward the betterment of the LGBTQ+ community.
“I want to get involved in on-the-ground activism because I feel like while I do my online stuff and its impactful to an extent – people agree with it, people resonate with it and that makes me really glad – I can’t know how it translates without being in on the action myself.”
*Lilah chose not to disclose a last name.
