The trans teen who took on PM Scott Morrison shares her story on 'The Project'

“Eventually Evie said to me ‘why can’t you accept me for who I am?"

Evie and Meagan Macdonald

Source: The Project, Channel 10

The young trans girl who last month took on Prime Minister Scott Morrison over his "gender whisperer" tweet has shared her transition story on The Project.

13-year-old Evie Macdonald previously took Morrison to task over the comments, saying: "There are thousands of kids in Australia that are gender diverse” - and they didn't "deserve to be disrespected like that through tweets from our Prime minister”.

For last night's program, host Carrie Bickmore visited Macdonald in her Melbourne home for a more in-depth discussion.

"I was loved and everything but I just wasn’t as happy as I could be,” Evie said during the segment.

“Being called ‘he’ all the time was confusing.”
Evie's mother, Meagan Macdonald, admitted that she'd initially encouraged Evie to participate in sports and other activities associated with being boy.

“Eventually Evie said to me ‘why can’t you accept me for who I am?’,” said Meagan.

“Then I realised it was me that needed to change and to be educated and figure out what was going on, because there was nothing wrong with her.”

Meagan said this realisation brought with it a lot of "confusion, anger and sadness."

“It was just overwhelming me over the years,” she said.

Evie has faced an uphill battle since deciding to live as her authentic self at 9-years-old, having to change schools after her teachers expressed an unwillingness to support her.

Share
Published 20 September 2018 3:26pm
By Samuel Leighton-Dore


Share this with family and friends


SBS News in your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS On Demand
SBS News
SBS Audio

Listen to our podcasts
Join host Yumi Stynes for Seen, a new SBS podcast about cultural creatives who have risen to excellence despite a role-model vacuum.
The day's top stories from SBS News.
Ease into the English language and Australian culture. We make learning English convenient, fun and practical.
Get the latest with our sbs podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch SBS On Demand
Over 11,000 hours

Over 11,000 hours

News, drama, documentaries, SBS Originals and more - free.