Hunter Schafer shares why she decided to have gender-affirming surgery last year
Hunter Schafer has revealed she had gender-affirming surgery in December and explained why it was so important to her.
The Euphoria actress, 27, who came out as transgender at age 14, issued the update during a new interview with Elle Magazine published on Monday (19 October).
She told the publication: “I just had bottom surgery in December, which was amazing, and I love it so much.”
For those who are unfamiliar, gender-affirming surgery is an operation that changes a person’s genitals to better align with their gender identity.
Advert
Schafer explained: “Like I said, for a long time I’ve embraced the gender-expansive part of myself, and I really wanted to try to make that previous body work, because I thought there was something really cool and badass about it.”
But, according to the outlet, the actress described ‘hitting a wall again and again where this theoretical queer utopia didn’t match up with the world she encountered every day, and the way she personally wanted to show up in it’.
Schafer also described the ‘magical thing about queerness’ and explained that ‘on an ideological level, it’s about possibility and expansion and growth, and being on that journey and finding yourself’.
She told the publication: “I’m a woman. I’m a girl,” and to get there, she’s wrestled with queerness as an idea and philosophy ‘versus how it applies and works in real life, in the context of the world that we’re living in,’ adding: “I feel like there’s always a tension there.”
The star stressed that while medically transitioning was right for her, every trans person is different.
It comes after the actress, who’s starring alongside Michelle Yeoh in the new Amazon series Blade Runner 2099, spoke out about not wanting her identity to overshadow her work.
Schafer told GQ in 2024 that at times, she’s avoided saying the word ‘trans' in interviews, explaining: “It has not just happened naturally by any means. If I let it happen, it would still be giving ‘Transsexual Actress’ before every article ever.”
She added: “As soon as I say it, it gets blastoff. It took a while to learn that, and it also took a while to learn that I don’t want to be [reduced to] that, and I find it ultimately demeaning to me and what I want to do.
“Especially after high school, I was sick of talking about it. I worked so hard to get to where I am, past these really hard points in my transition, and now I just want to be a girl and finally move on.”
Schafer was thrust into the spotlight following her breakout role in the HBO drama series Euphoria, which ended in May.
She starred in all three seasons of the show as Jules, who found herself living with a rich sugar daddy in the final season.
Speaking of her character’s ending, Schafer told Elle: “It’s very complicated and nuanced. Jules is a character that I have known and loved since I was a teenager. It was very hard to say goodbye to her in some senses, but it is up to the writers and those creating the story backstage. My job as an actor is to show up and do my job and bring Jules to life.”
Topics: Euphoria, Entertainment, Celebrity,
Madison Burgess