Hunter Schafer
Hunter Schafer
Hunter Schrafer is an artist, designer, model and transgender youth rights activist from Raleigh, North Carolina. Hunter is widely also widely known for her role in HBO's Euphoria (2019).
Early Years & Education
Hunter Schafer was labeled male at birth, but transitioned to female her freshman year of high school. Her parents are Katy Schafer and Mac Schafer, a pastor at Hudson Memorial Presbyterian Church. [8]
"I’ve always had this persistent need for femininity and expressing that—like ever since I was a teeny, tiny toddler."
[8]- Hunter for WUNC.
During the ninth frade, Schafer was diagnosed with gender dysphoria due to the anxiety surrounding with her hormonal changes and emotional identification during puberty. [11]
During the ninth frade, Schafer was diagnosed with genetic dysphoria due to the anxiety surrounding her hormonal changes and emotional identification during puberty.
"I just feel like I don’t really need to be put in the male or female box… Taking myself out of the binary is something that’s appealing to me, and not having one of those labels.
Because gender has kind of been this crazy thing that I’ve had to—not defy—but move past and through because I’ve moved from male to female and now I’m swinging back to somewhere in between.
So kind of existing without that is appealing to me in a lot of ways."
[8]- Hunter for WUNC.
Hunter studied at University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Career
Hunter Schafer started her career as a fashion model in New York City for companies such as Marc Jacobs and Dior. In 2017, She is an American fashion model, actress, and LGBTQ rights activist. In 2019, she made her acting debut portraying Jules in the HBO series Euphoria. she was cited by Teen Vogue as one of 21 girls younger than 21 who were changing the world.[18]
Hunter played Jules in Euphoria on HBO.[18]
Activism
She also has made rally at North Carolina's House Bill 2, which forces transgender individuals to use bathrooms that don’t reflect their gender identity.
After the bill passed, Schafer joined a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and began sharing her experiences through art and writing. Though HB2 was technically repealed in March, 2017, Her career began when she was 18 and was signed to Elite Model Management. In just a few years, Schafer was walking the runways for Dior, Helmut Lang, and Miu Miu. Eventually, she broke into the mainstream when she was cast in HBO's hit series "Euphoria" opposite Zendaya,the compromise passed in its place perpetuates the discriminatory views that propelled the original law, and does nothing to protect trans populations from prejudice or abuse. [13]
"Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Justice is on our side, having deemed the law a violation of three civil rights statutes, including Title IX. The Obama administration also recently issued guidelines for schools to allow transgender students to use our correct restroom, and for staff and contractors to respect our name, gender, and pronouns. This national recognition that transgender youth exist was enormous. While we still face opposition, I’m confident that we’ll overcome the hateful legislation that North Carolina has imposed with HB2. We deserve equal treatment — that is "common sense" to me." [15]