Dance Moms alumni, Zackery Torres, took to TikTok to share that they are “transitioning” on Sunday, May 31.
“My pronouns are they/she, which means that they/she are totally fine, and I’m just hopping on here to tell you that I’m going to be posting more on TikTok and I’m excited about it!,” Torres explains.
@zackery_torres LIFE UPDATE! #fyp #foryou #dancemoms #viral #update #clasof2021 ♬ Levitating – Dua Lipa
Torres, 22, first joined Dance Moms when she competed as the first male-born contestant on Abby Miller’s dance competition show, Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition.
After competing on the show, she went on Dance Moms and joined Miller’s rival dance studio, Candy Apples.
Torres first came out as non-binary, while studying at the University of Southern California. A few years after the show, they opened up about the effects Dance Moms had on their gender and identity.
“I started seeing all of the expectations that teachers — well-known dance teachers, and well-known choreographers — had for me as a male dancer growing up and at the time identifying as a boy,” Torres told The Daily Trojan. “‘Oh, you’re too feminine, you need to dance like a man.’ Just having teachers tell you that on national television, all this stuff, it kind of really got to me,” she explains.
@zackery_torresGender inclusivity is more than a trend… ##foryou ##fyp ##gender ##genz ##advocacy ##viral
The USC graduate got a bachelor’s in dance and is currently studying for their master’s in public relations and advertising.
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