.
Australian model that believes in the power of difference for a more humane and tolerant world.
GQ PORTUGAL · MUSAS GQ · 17TH MAY 2017 · 4 MIN READ
Andreja Pejic:
a woman in
her own right
You have said, in an interview, that one of your earliest memories is spinning around in your mother’s skirt, “trying to look like a ballerina”. Do you remember what your mother’s reaction was? Did you ever felt that those actions were “not appropriate” for a boy?
My mother let me get away with things when I was little because she loved me dearly. My brother, my grandmother, and some of our neighbours would definitely disagree, so I think I felt from an early age that the things I wanted to play with or the way I behaved was not appropriate for a boy. Yet, I think when you are very young people tend to believe you will grow out of it and they do not attach much importance to those facts.


When and how did you start to realise that you were not interested on doing the same things that your male friends did?
Well, actually, I only had female friends when I was little. The boys ate worms and rolled around in dirt and I just did not see myself doing those things.
"I wanted to play with Barbie, dress up like a gipsy woman, and act out soap operas like Kassandra with the girls. Yet, I knew I could not let my older brother or his friends see me in a skirt. They would kill me. So, I had to hide from them.
"Of course, I felt different. When I was a teenager, it was very hard, but, eventually, you end up accepting it and you start appreciating a unique experience you have had in life. My life has not been easy, but it has already been full of many rich experiences.
What are your strongest memories about your childhood and your youth? Were you a happy child or did you already felt that there was something missing?
I think that, as a child, I was very happy. We were very poor and we did not have many material possessions, but we had a lot of love in our household. When we moved to Australia, and when puberty and school started, then things became more complicated. I remember having to force myself to learn how to walk, talk, play, eat, spit, kick like a boy so that I would not be teased. I was not very good playing macho so I think that resulted in me becoming very secluded and antisocial. I spent more time alone in the library than on the playground.


We know that many people around the world suffer just for being different. Did you experience that? Or do you think people never looked at you as being “different”?
I definitely suffered from it. Nevertheless, I believe I have always found a way of coping with it.


And what about you, Andreja, did you feel different? Did you always knew that your body was not who you really were?
In fact, more than what most people have in a whole lifetime. Since I was very young, I chose to live my life to the fullest because it is my life and I only get to do it once. There are so many people who spend most of their lives living as society expects them to live. I never wished to be controlled like that.
About
Publications
Zed - 2020
GQ PORTUGAL · MUSAS GQ · 17TH MAY 2017 · 4 MIN READ
Andreja Pejic: a woman in her own right
Australian model that believes in the power of difference for a more humane and tolerant world.


You have said, in an interview, that one of your earliest memories is spinning around in your mother’s skirt, “trying to look like a ballerina”. Do you remember what your mother’s reaction was? Did you ever felt that those actions were “not appropriate” for a boy?
My mother let me get away with things when I was little because she loved me dearly. My brother, my grandmother, and some of our neighbours would definitely disagree, so I think I felt from an early age that the things I wanted to play with or the way I behaved was not appropriate for a boy. Yet, I think when you are very young people tend to believe you will grow out of it and they do not attach much importance to those facts.


When and how did you start to realise that you were not interested on doing the same things that your male friends did?
Well, actually, I only had female friends when I was little. The boys ate worms and rolled around in dirt and I just did not see myself doing those things.


"I wanted to play with Barbie, dress up like a gipsy woman, and act out soap operas like Kassandra with the girls. Yet, I knew I could not let my older brother or his friends see me in a skirt. They would kill me. So, I had to hide from them.


What are your strongest memories about your childhood and your youth? Were you a happy child or did you already felt that there was something missing?
I think that, as a child, I was very happy. We were very poor and we did not have many material possessions, but we had a lot of love in our household. When we moved to Australia, and when puberty and school started, then things became more complicated. I remember having to force myself to learn how to walk, talk, play, eat, spit, kick like a boy so that I would not be teased. I was not very good playing macho so I think that resulted in me becoming very secluded and antisocial. I spent more time alone in the library than on the playground.


We know that many people around the world suffer just for being different. Did you experience that? Or do you think people never looked at you as being “different”?
I definitely suffered from it. Nevertheless, I believe I have always found a way of coping with it.


And what about you, Andreja, did you feel different? Did you always knew that your body was not who you really were?


"Of course, I felt different. When I was a teenager, it was very hard, but, eventually, you end up accepting it and you start appreciating a unique experience you have had in life. My life has not been easy, but it has already been full of many rich experiences.


In fact, more than what most people have in a whole lifetime. Since I was very young, I chose to live my life to the fullest because it is my life and I only get to do it once. There are so many people who spend most of their lives living as society expects them to live. I never wished to be controlled like that.
Zed - 2020