A man who was born Black named Dr. Ronnie Gladden has revealed that he now identifies as a white woman and believes that “race is not real.”
Like many young girls who had the dream of looking like Snow White, Dr. Ronnie Gladden envisioned a “Pride & Prejudice” lifestyle and looked to emulate Elle Fanning’s fashion.
The childhood fantasies of little girls lying in the sun with blonde hair that lightened in the summer were no different for Gladden who grew up as a black boy in the west side of Cincinnati.
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Gladden is now an English professor, and belongs to a little-known community of people known as ‘transgracial’ – meaning they are both transgender and identify as transracial.
Gladden, who grew up in Cincinnati, has said their identity journey has been shaped by a “repressed White female identity” that they initially felt from an early age.
Gladden is now middle-aged and committed to promoting what they describe as a “transracial” identity, which rejects the notion that race is biological or fixed.
Despite being born a Black male, the English professor now identifies as a white woman and uses their platform to share the concept of transracialism, which contends that race is a social construct and a “choice”, as per a Daily Mail report.
Also, Gladden uses ‘they’ or ‘them’ pronouns and claim that societal constructs around race and gender should not limit identity. “I know race is not real,” they write in their book. “It’s only so because society says it is”, they write in their book.
Gladden recalled feeling a connection to white femininity from childhood, and said they longed to be like their white girl peers. ”As a preschooler, they longed to be like their white girl peers, recalling moments on the playground where they “wanted to animate in the same way that I saw my classmates—the way their hair would respond to the wind.”
In recent years, Gladden has increasingly embraced a public identity as a white woman. They describe their appearance as one that fully aligns with this inner identity but indicate that they began cosmetic procedures at 19, including a nose job and “some work on the lips”.
They also wear foundation in a lighter shade than their natural skin tone. “My skin is pretty brown in terms of complexion, but I see that as an expression of my mind”, Gladden told BBC Radio 4.
Gladden further revealed that realizing their white female identity was “surprising, perplexing, daunting, and extremely inconvenient.” This self-discovery journey, which included nearly two decades of therapy, was “psychologically weighty,” sending them into “the depths of a depression and a minor oblivion.”
Gladden believes childhood trauma, including an abusive father and the murder of their half-sister, also influenced their identity development.
Looking back, Gladden said they recall thinking that if they had been a white girl, they might have had more power to resist the violence. “I thought there was a power of beauty, a power of skin.”
Gladden’s book, White Girl Within further explains how their identity has evolved and notes that they have long felt a magnetic draw to the “white female aesthetic” and were influenced by figures like Full House’s Kimmy Gibler, rock star Joan Jett, and actress Anne Hathaway.
Their education included studying at the University of Cambridge’s International Summer Schools, and it has also been crucial to their self-acceptance.
During a TEDx talk, Gladden touched on transracial identities in popular culture and referenced portrayals like Whoopi Goldberg as a white male in The Associate and Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique in the Marvel franchise, stating that Mystique “represents an amalgamation of different races, ethnicities, and even species.”
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The man born Black who now says they are a white woman described their journey as “non-linear” and wrote, “My voice, my looks, my actions, my stride—and my time.” They add, “Ronnie, your life and form always eclipses me… I know I’m me because I see it.”
