Ash Perez, a YouTuber and Development Partner for BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, recently opened up about a significant chapter in his life by coming out as a transgender man. 

 

Who is Ash Perez?

 

Perez is well-known for his role as a co-creator of BuzzFeed Violet, BuzzFeed's first scripted character universe, and has a history of producing content that connects with young, multicultural audiences. One of his early successes, “You Do You”, launched in 2015, quickly became the top series on the iTunes TV store, and its popularity carried over into a successful second season.

As a member of the Try Guys community, Perez documented his journey of exploring masculinity in his series “New Guy Tries”. In the series, he shares his experiences as a transgender man, aiming to define masculinity on his terms. Alongside him, friends some gay, some straight, and cisgender also reflect on their concepts of masculinity, with the series providing a space to explore and clarify their perspectives. Through this series, Perez invites his audience into his journey of self-discovery while sparking broader conversations about identity and masculinity.

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Ryan Garcia, a cisgender male cast member, shared, “There was never really time to stop and reflect on where I belong in masculinity. It was just doing the things to fit in and be accepted. Being in this series with Ash was kind of a form of therapy where you stopped and actually reflected.”

 

His journey 

 

Ash Perez’s coming-out journey has been transformative, offering insights into masculinity for himself and the Try Guys community. Together, they’ve explored how to embrace the positive aspects of masculinity while challenging its conventional boundaries.

Perez’s journey was especially shaped by the loss of his father to the COVID-19 pandemic, just before he began his gender transition. Without a father figure to guide him, Perez faced the challenge of defining manhood on his terms. Reflecting on this, he shared, “It's almost impossible to figure out what manhood means without a father figure who has experience or perspective on what being a man entails.”

In the series, Perez delves into manhood and masculinity by participating in traditional masculine rites of passage with his male friends and coworkers. Through these experiences, Perez noticed that many of his friends struggled to fit into society’s narrow definitions of masculinity, feeling inadequate due to societal ideals often reduced to stereotypes like an affinity for sports, strength, financial success, and a meat-eating lifestyle.

“You can have conversations with yourself. You can journal. You can begin to examine things yourself, and then start to slowly branch out in a way that feels safe for you,” he said.

Perez encourages anyone seeking to feel comfortable with their masculinity to start by looking inward, embracing their unique qualities rather than conforming to rigid social standards.