Gina Wetzler/Redferns

Pride Month is all about inclusivity and acceptance, but that message is a double-edged sword for Kim Petras. 

In a post on her Instagram Story Monday, the Grammy-winning singer, who is transgender, wrote, “Little pride message for anyone who needs it. ‘Accept yourself’ was something doctors and psychologists would frequently tell me when I went to see them at 8, at 10, at 12, and at 16… as in, ‘You can still wear makeup and present as whatever, but why would you need to go so far’ … Why can’t you just accept yourself?”

“They couldn’t fathom that I had accepted myself since I can remember and accepted everything I knew I needed to do to be myself,” she continues.

Which is why, she says, “’Accept yourself’ can be a pretty shitty thing to say to someone. Some nerd online has said it to me every day of my life since I can remember, and their dads are probably obsessed with me.”

She concluded, “That being said, accept yourself and happy pride.”

As previously reported, Kim was recently named the face of MAC’s Viva Glam lipstick. All proceeds from the lipsticks’ sales go to MAC’s various charity initiatives, including supporting women and girls in need, saving the environment, protecting the LGBTQIA+ community and funding racial justice.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.