Kim Petras: Being Trans ‘Doesn’t Define’ Me
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Landing a Mac Viva Glam Campaign has always been the highest honor in the beauty world. And for “Slut Pop” idol Kim Petras, it’s only the latest accomplishment on her long to-do list. After becoming the first openly trans person to win a Grammy, the internet has become obsessed with Kim Petras’ perfectly curated identity and her commitment to serving. So fittingly, Kim Petras’ Viva Glam campaign perfectly embodies her love for over-the-top glamour and larger than life hair.
Long before she stumbled into pop-stardom, Kim Petras was a devout Viva Glam fangirl. After obsessing over RuPaul and Nicki Minaj’s iconic Viva Glam campaigns, she unknowingly manifested her own. In true full-circle fashion, Petras has gone from just another Barb in line at the Mac store to a full-blown Viva Glam ambassador. It’s safe to say—with over 20 million monthly Spotify listeners and a couple rite-of-passage controversies, Kim Petras is no longer just a stan.
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While Petras proudly wears the “pop star” title, “trans icon” is another credit she’s sometimes given. And even though that responsibility can be taxing, Petras mostly cares about being there for trans youth. With 100% of the proceeds of her Viva Glam lipsticks going to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization that provides resources for LGBTQ+ youth, Petras feels good knowing her campaign is giving back to the community. Because above all else, Petras hopes to lead by example. And if there are trans kids out there who are waiting in line for the Kim Petras Viva Glam collection—she’s done just that.
How does it feel to have your own Viva Glam campaign?
I will never get over it. Like I’m so excited. I can’t wait. I’ve told my friends but I don’t really like showing images to people just because I’m scared something will leak. You know, because people always try to leak my shit. But I showed it to my closest friends and it got very emotional reactions from them. Especially from my best friend in Germany, who I know from high school, because we used to spend all of our pocket money on lipsticks—that’s all we did, just like walk around and smoke cigarettes and wear makeup and spend our money at Mac. So you know, it feels like I’ve come such a long way.
What does being a Viva Glam ambassador mean to you?
The Mac Viva Glam campaigns are burned into my brain forever. The RuPaul one is forever on my mood-board and I think it’s one of the greatest campaigns ever, for anything. And I just remember so vividly when the Nicki Minaj Viva Glam campaign came out, because I’m a huge Barb—and I remember waiting outside the Mac store in Germany to buy the lipstick. And it just meant so much for me to be able to back something where all of it goes to a cause that’s dear to my heart and that affects LGBTQ+ people, as well as helping with AIDS and homelessness. I remember thinking it was a crazy concept that 100% of the costs of something I buy, especially something as fab as a lipstick, goes to a good cause. So I’m so happy and proud to be a part of this.
How do you feel being such a big figure in the trans community? Do you like being known as a trans icon?
Yes. I think in general, I’m very proud of being trans and I think it’s always really important that I’m honest about what that experience is like, just because there isn’t that much representation. It’s always just been something that’s been so dear to my heart, and of course my music which I’m most proud of. But I think at the end of the day, it’s a good thing that there is someone that you can kind of point at to your parents, if you’re a trans kid somewhere, and you can be like, “This person is living an okay life and is happy, can you let me be trans too and just accept that?” So I hope at the very least, that happens because of me. I just kind of do my thing and try not to think too much about what that means to different people, just because I’m proud of who I am and lucky to be here and happy to be living.
How important is it for you, in your career or just in your life in general, to advocate for trans people?
Well, Viva Glam supports the Trevor Project, which is a huge foundation that has helped a lot of homeless trans people and helps get people the care that they need and helps people out who are in trouble or whose family doesn’t accept them or things like that, which has always been so heartbreaking to me. For me, It’s always very important to have a lot of friends that are trans that I protect, and fans that are very dear to my heart that I check in with, and just make sure they’re good. And I mean, trans rights are very under attack at the moment in the US. So it’s a very scary thought and all of us kind of have to deal with a lot more hate these days then we used to. Trans existence is being used to make political statements and people are just so opinionated about everything, I think it’s important to just stand there and be like, “Hey, I’m trans, that doesn’t really define me, and I can be anything I want, no matter what I am, no matter what you see me as.”
What are you most excited about for your Viva Glam campaign?
All of the shades are extremely beautiful and extremely wearable. Of course they have the iconic red bullet which is hot in the campaign. I’m kind of buried in like hundreds of lipsticks and it’s raining lipsticks down on me, while I just subtly lay there with perfectly quaffed hair. And then I’m also wearing a Mac billion dollar bill as a dress. It’s like a big dollar bill with a pink clip. And the goal of Viva Glam this year is to get to the 1 billion mark of money raised, and Mac has already passed half a billion. So it’s time to get to that billion mark, and that’s kind of the whole point of the campaign. But I think in general, I always like to be a little ridiculous and have a little too much hair. Or have you know, perfectly lined lips and just be really glam and give you that kind of fun. I think it’s a very fun campaign and I think it’s really cool that it brings back four of the original shades because they’re tried and true.
How do you hope your Viva Glam campaign makes people feel?
In general, lipstick is supposed to make you feel good. And I think if you have a lipstick that you really love and all of it goes to help other people, you feel extra good about it, which is just something that I love. I love feeling good about my choices and what I put on my face. I hope it reminds people that it’s really important to help other people and to be kind and accepting rather than to judge other people so harshly. Everyone should be able to wear the lipstick they want to wear, whenever they want to. And LGBTQ+ people should know they can express themselves because they have a community that deeply cares about them. That’s what I really want people to feel, and I think it’s cool that it’s such an iconic and established thing.
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