Elliot Page Got Candid About His Past Struggle With Gender Dysphoria After Previously Revealing That Being Forced To Wear A Dress On The “Juno” Press Tour Almost Killed Him

    “I never thought I could experience this, the joy I feel in my body. I am so grateful for what gender affirming care has allowed me.”

    Elliot Page is celebrating “trans joy” in a candid new Instagram post.

    Close-up of Elliot smiling in a suit and bow tie

    Elliot came out as transgender in December 2020. Sharing a heartfelt statement on his Twitter and Instagram pages, he said, “Hi friends. I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot. I feel lucky to be writing this. To be here. To have arrived at this place in my life.”

    He continued, “I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self.”

    Elliot waving and smiling on a talk show

    Elliot added, “I love that I am trans. And I love that I am queer. And the more I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more I dream, the more my heart grows and the more I thrive.”

    Close-up of Elliot smiling in a suit and tie

    Elliot’s statement was met with heaps of support, and ever since coming out, he has continued to be super open and transparent about his journey.

    Last year, for example, Elliot opened up about being forced to wear a dress at the press events of his 2007 movie Juno, in which he portrayed the titular character at just 20 years old.

    Close-up of Elliot in a suit and tie

    “When Juno was at the height of its popularity, during awards-season time, I was closeted, dressed in heels and the whole look,” he wrote in an essay for Esquire last June. “I wasn’t okay, and I didn’t know how to talk about that with anyone.”

    Close-up of Elliot

    He elaborated, “I said I wanted to wear a suit, and Fox Searchlight was basically like, 'No, you need to wear a dress.'”

    Close-up of Elliot in a suit and corsage

    He wrote, “They had me wear a dress, and...that was that. And then all the Juno press, all the photo shoots — Michael Cera was in slacks and sneakers.”

    “It’s easy for people to roll their eyes, but you know what? No. That was really extremely, extremely fucked up,” he said before later adding, “I wish people would understand that that shit literally did almost kill me.”

    Close-up of Elliot in a suit and corsage

    Now Elliot is opening up further about his past struggle with gender dysphoria, which is the feeling of unease and frustration people feel due to a mismatch between the sex they were assigned at birth and their gender identity.

    Elliot in a suit and bow tie

    Sharing a shirtless photo to Instagram in which he proudly displayed his chest scars, Elliot wrote, “Dysphoria used to be especially rife in the summer. No layers, just a T-shirt - or layers and oh so sweaty - constantly looking down, readjusting my oversized T.”

    He went on to say, “It feels so f’ing good soaking in the sun now,” before admitting that he “never thought” he’d be able to experience the joy that he now feels in his body.

    “I never thought I could experience this, the joy I feel in my body,” he wrote. “I am so grateful for what gender affirming care has allowed me and I look forward to sharing more of my journey soon. #transjoy.”

    Elliot’s candid post was immediately met with floods of supportive comments. “we love to see some trans joy :)),” one person wrote, while someone else added, “So grateful to witness this new and free expression of you!”

    Meanwhile, other Instagram users praised Elliot for continuing to use his platform to be “open and vulnerable” about his journey.

    “So happy for you and the light you are spreading. Everyone deserves joy and to live as their authentic self and to feel at home in their body,” one comment read.

    Close-up of Elliot smiling in a suit and bow tie

    Another read, “these words will help so many dude. Thank you for what you do with your platform- being open and vulnerable, keeping our loved ones going.”

    Close-up of Elliot smiling in a suit and bow tie