How Maxine Heron turned childhood bullying into a platform for change

Maxine Heron knows first-hand the impact visibility and community can have. Now a communications officer for the charity Not A Phase, as well as a model and speaker, she says transitioning as a teenager and coming out online as a trans woman in 2018 changed her life completely. “At school I was bullied terribly every single day,” she says. “Most nights I went to bed wishing I wouldn’t wake up the next morning because of how other people made me feel.” Today, Maxine uses her platform to encourage others to believe in themselves, even when confidence feels impossible. “You can fake confidence while you work on building it,” she says. “Having a strong support network is so important — you need people you resonate with so you don’t feel isolated or alone.” Maxine, who appeared on Glamour’s landmark front cover featuring nine trans women, described the project as “a really amazing moment of visibility” that helped spark a global conversation.

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