Top 5 transgender French speakers every learner needs to follow

March 31st is International Transgender Day of Visibility. To celebrate, I am sharing with you the Top 5 French speaking transgender influencers in this video.
Follow them on Instagram and/or YouTube to learn more about the amazing work they do and how YOU can be a light in this world for people who really need it.

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It could be your child, your sibling, your friend, your parent or even yourself!

Any of these people could be transgender - and you wouldn’t even know it. When that happens, you miss out on deep connections with loved ones, enlightened contribution to society and even deep understanding of your own self.

But what does that have to do with learning French?

There are also transgender people in France and other French speaking countries. Some of these work tirelessly to solve this problem, sharing content in French to educate their audience about these issues on a daily basis.

And you know what this means, right? Yes! Your daily French bath!
(if you’re new here and/or you’ve never heard of the daily French bath, here is an article + video where I tell you all about it - it’s one of the main pillars of my French learning method.)

March 31st is International Transgender Day of Visibility.
This is the perfect occasion for you to spice up your daily French bath with amazing people that you probably have never heard of before.

I have not seen any list of French trans influencers anywhere, not even in French. To my knowledge this is the first such list available - which clearly shows the need for more transgender visibility. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

First a bit of background information:

Transgender people are people who do not identify with the gender they have been assigned at birth. Depending on where they live, and their personal situation, they face varying challenges due to their transgender status: social challenges, legal challenges, medical challenges & of course personal challenges.
What makes it worse is the fact that most people know almost nothing about these issues. So there is a lot of misunderstanding, ignorance and even hatred going on.
Unfortunately, many trans people suffer a lot and sometimes even die because of this, particularly teenagers. For these vulnerable people, even one person who cares about what they are going through, and understands and supports them can make all the difference.

Today is the perfect day to start becoming that person, one social media follow at a time.
By following the people on this list and consuming their content as part of your daily French bath, you will kill two birds with one stone: you’ll improve your French & your understanding of our diverse world, making you an even smarter, more educated human being. And if you share that content with your other French learning friends, you will spark very interesting conversations too.

This list is a top 5, meaning that the best is at the very end. Our #1 person on this list is just amazing, she makes content that’s both funny and educational for adults & children, in both French & English. So make sure you read until the end, because you don’t want to miss out on her.

The first people on this list are also the most challenging to follow, typically because the French language they use is rather complex. So these will be more for advanced learners, while the last people on the list will be more suited for intermediate or even beginners.

5. Lexie

Lexie is a French activist and radical feminist from Paris.

She makes very detailed posts about societal matters such as gender, gender roles, feminism, inclusivity and the challenges that trans people face. A lot of what she posts in writing is quite advanced so it might be difficult to read if your French isn’t great yet. She also sometimes shares short videos where she introduces influential trans people from around the world and the impact they’ve had, such as thai boxer Parinya Charoenphol.

She also makes short videos about cultures that have or had a different approach to gender, such as the Zuni, a native American culture. These are typically easier to understand than her written posts.

➡️ Follow her on instagram @Agressively_trans

4. Océan

Ocean is a comedian, film maker, author and transgender activist from Paris, France.

Ocean is a comedian, film maker, author and activist from Paris, France.

You will find many interviews with him on YouTube, here is one where he speaks about gender transition, and how it can “be cool”

You can also listen to his podcast La politique des putes and even donate to his charity.

Right now, many trans people in France, particularly immigrants who have fled from dire conditions in their country of origin are in a critical situation. Due to the Co-VID19 outbreak and confinement measures, they can’t work and often receive no help from the French welfare state at all. It’s even difficult for them to find food. To help them, Ocean has created the FAST: Fond d’action sociale trans. You can help them by donating money to this fund. Click here to learn more.

➡️Follow him on Instagram @ocean_officiel

3. Laura Badler

Laura Badler defines herself as a French vintage girl. On her Youtube Channel, she makes many videos about vintage fashion, make up and life as a trans woman. #transisbeautiful — Laura Badler defines herself as a **French vintage girl.** On her Youtube Channel, she makes many videos about **vintage fashion, make up and life as a trans woman. #transisbeautiful**

She defines herself as a French vintage girl. On her Youtube Channel, she makes many videos about vintage fashion, make up and life as a trans woman.

She also has over 50 videos featuring advice around transgender identities, for trans people, and also for everyone else, such as what not to say to a trans person or how to support a trans child. Sometimes you don’t mean bad but your questions or comments can be offensive. Thanks to this playlist, you’ll be able to avoid this.

➡️Subscribe to her YouTube channel

➡️Follow her on instagram (she posts many wonderful pictures of herself)

2. Mx Cordélia

Mx Cordélia is a queer & feminist author & video maker. They created the channel Princ(esse) LGBT where they discuss gender, gender identity and sexual orientation. In many videos they role play two characters having a discussion, one male-p… — Mx Cordélia is a queer & feminist author & video maker.
They created the channel Princ(esse) LGBT where they discuss gender, gender identity and sexual orientation. In many videos they role play two characters having a discussion, one male-presenting and one female-presenting.

They’re a queer & feminist author & video maker.
They created the channel Princ(esse) LGBT where they discuss gender, gender identity and sexual orientation. In many videos they role play two characters having a discussion, one male-presenting and one female-presenting. These videos are very entertaining to watch and you will learn so much at the same time.

On their Youtube channel, they also introduce many other queer & trans people, whom you’ll be able to follow as well.

Their novel Alana et l’enfant vampire is due for publication in May. This book is written with young French speakers in mind, which means that it should be possible for you to read it starting from an intermediate level.

➡️Subscribe to their YouTube channel, Princ(ess)e LGBT

➡️Follow Mx Cordelia on instagram (they regularly posts updates there)

➡️Order their novel at this link

1. Sophie Labelle

Sophie Labelle is a transgender cartoonist & author from Quebec. She creates comic books, colouring books, stickers, patches and even cross-stitch patterns about gender, typically with a humorous note.

Her work is bilingual. You can find many of her books, comics & colouring books in French and in English. That’s convenient if you’re still a beginner or lower intermediate French students.

Most of Sophie Labelle’s comics feature her main character Stephie, her family and her friends. Stephie is a young trans girl who goes to school and reflects on gender as part of a young person’s life. Stephie’s family and friends represent the entire spectrum of gender identities, ethnicies, and situations. Sophie Labelle’s comics are very inclusive and very funny, which is so rare. Her work is a great example of how one can be funny without being offensive to any demographic at the same time.

She has also created books for children, such as the coloring book shown in the video. This is great to help children understand the diversity of gender - and even diversity in general, so they become more tolerant & more educated adults. So, if you have children or even grandchildren who enjoy colouring or reading, Sophie Labelle’s books are an amazing gift for them, whether in French or in English.

➡️Visit her website (mostly in English)

➡️ Check out her books in French

➡️Follow her on Instagram (in English)

Please take a moment to follow all these amazing people and to share this video with your friends and followers.

By doing this, you will improve your French and you will make a valuable contribution to educating yourself and the people around you.

The world deserves to have more awareness of these issues. Each person who becomes educated about these topics has the potential to save lives. As I was saying, many trans people, especially young ones, are facing a lot of hardship and even one person who cares enough to listen to them and understand what they are going through can be the light they need.

So, follow these people, start consuming their content, and share this article with anyone you know who speaks French or is learning French. If this is all you can do to improve the world for people who desperately need it, it’s already awesome. If everyone did this, ignorance and hatred would decrease dramatically. Thank you so much for your contribution!

Sharing is caring!

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Your next steps

If you like this way of learning French, you will love to learn with me as a student or client. Please check out:

My 1-1 coaching program, The French Transformation, if you need to improve your French fast.
My group program, The French Fluency Accelerator, if you’d like to join a community of students from all over the world. We have weekly practice calls together and the best online video library to learn French.

Pro tip: you don’t need to choose!

All my 1-1 clients are invited to join the French Accelerator free of charge.

Feel free to book a call with me now to discuss options.

About the author

Angel Pretot is a French learning coach. He helps English speakers from all over the world learn French fast and become fluent. You can work with him one-on-one (online via skype or a similar software) or join a global community of French learners in his group program the French Fluency Accelerator.

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How to learn real life French language? By following real life French people. Here are 5 French transgender influencers you need to follow: they create amazing educational content about trans issues:challenges & discrimination faced by trans people, in France and around the world. This is the best way to improve your French and to become a more enlightened person all at once - and to have a blast while doing it!