Tyler McKay | Assistant News Editor
Featured Image: Stef Sanjati begins her talk. | Courtesy of Tyler McKay
On Wednesday, November 13, Canadian YouTube star Stef Sanjati came to York to discuss her story of growing up as a transexual in addition to having Waardenburg syndrome.
Her talk covered topics ranging from her struggles before, during, and after high school and how she got into the “influencer industry.”
Sanjati has been posting videos on YouTube for about 11 years, and has been doing it as a full-time job for about four or five.
This event was hosted by the Centre for Sexual Violence Response, Support, and Education (the Centre) for Trans Awareness Week.
“We want to use this event as a tool to propagate love and to bring together people in our community,” said education and training specialist at York, Jessica Thyriar in her opening remarks.
Sanjati began talking about her experiences growing up and being aggressively bullied.
“It got to the point where I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror without hyperventilating because they made me truly believe that I was the most hideous thing on this planet,” said Sanjati regarding Waardenburg syndrome.
Additionally, Sanjati spoke on the importance of positive role models for young trans people.
Sanjati was without one during her early years, but was able to meet someone who could help her.
Sanjati said that when she spoke to this person, she “would hear her own thoughts” spoken out loud. She said this was incredibly important for her moving forward.
Now, Sanjati herself has become an inspiration to those questioning their sexuality.
“We were overjoyed to hear about her talk during Trans Week of Visibility. Stef is vital to the trans community, as a Canadian woman in the media, who champions intersectionality,” says external coordinator for the Trans, Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Asexual @ York organization Nkechinyem Oduh.
“Having a woman as visible as Stef speak to her experiences is a lifeline for many 2SLGBTQ+ young people.”
Second-year master’s student in cinema and media studies Katharine Mussellam has been watching Sanjati’s videos for years and was excited to hear that she was coming to campus.
“I’ve just enjoyed hearing her story over time so I thought it was interesting to see what she would be like in person and in the public speaker context,” says Mussellam.
“She talked about some things in ways that were different from the way she’s talked about them in videos and also things that she hasn’t talked about online.”
Though Sanjati went through many hardships, including substance abuse, she presented a positive outlook for the future. She has committed herself to helping those who are going through the self-destructive spirals that she did.
“My hope is that you will treat yourself with a bit more compassion and not beat yourself up; not give in to those bullying thoughts if you have them,” said Sanjati.
“There is more to you than your body. There is more to you than approval from boys or friends. There’s more to you than hitting a standard in a culture that won’t give you anything back.”
