When Jenna Tea, a drag queen and makeup artist in Salt Lake City, Utah, came out publicly as transgender in January, there was one person she wanted to tell in person as well – her great-grandmother Katherine.
After Tea told her great-grandmother, she recorded and posted the loving message Katherine, who didn't want to share her last name for privacy reasons, said to her in an Aug. 10 Instagram video post. The video and its message have since gone viral and have now been viewed over 1 million times.
"Well, it's your life, honey. You have to do what makes you happy. It's something that we have to adjust to and sometimes, it's hard for other people but they're not living your life, you are," Katherine began in her message. "It's kind of their problem to re-adjust and so, the best thing is to put it out there, deal with it and it is what it is."
"And I've always thought it. I always noticed that you had more of a softer side when you wanted dolls and not trucks and things," she continued. "There were signs but we never said anything to you because until you know, it's not fair to say anything to you either. Because I don't want you to be unhappy and struggle with this and let it destroy you because people are not accepting."
Tea, 21, replied in the clip that Katherine's message "meant the world to her." Tea later told "Good Morning America" she hadn't expected "the very sweet moment" between her and her beloved great-grandmother, primarily because Katherine is older and at 89, hails from a different generation when trans people weren't widely accepted in society.
"I never knew I could come out to her because I always thought, 'She's older and I don't know if I'll ever be able to share that part of me with her and have it be OK,'" Tea recalled thinking. "You don't expect that from someone who is her age."
But Katherine's response blew Tea away.
"I think she was the one who was the most accepting out of everyone I've ever talked to, to be honest. So it was really shocking," Tea said. "It just goes to show how wise she is and how beautiful she is on the inside and I just love that about her."
Tea said she felt it was important to share Katherine's message on social media to offer hope to others.
"I made that video and I was just crying the whole night, like while I was making it, I was just crying so much of happy tears, and I don't know, it made me feel like I had to share it because there's people out there who don't have that," Tea said. "I think it gives people hope and it even gives me hope."
Tea said Katherine has "always been super supportive" of her from when she was a child and as an adult now, even attends some of Tea's drag shows.
"When she goes to the shows, she is like the star, like, I don't even exist," Tea joked.
Drag queens share how the art form has changed their livesFor others struggling to find support, Tea said finding a "chosen family" and community is vital.
"Find people in your life – friends, co-workers, anybody – who means something to you. Find those people and really create a family within them," Tea said. "That has also helped me a lot even with a big support group. Without my chosen family, I wouldn't be where I'm at today either."
