‘My school bully now has a crush on me’

Non-binary model and TikTok influencer Tyreece has revealed how some people who once bullied them in school are now noticing them for entirely different reasons.

“I came out not once, but twice”, Tyreece told PinkNews. “Once for my gender, and another for my sexuality.”

Before Tyreece came out, they used to get bullied “like hell.” But now, some former bullies are sending them nudes.

“After I came out, I had all the bullies coming to me and being like, they respect me.”

When Tyreece was introduced to queer nightlife a couple of years ago, it was a watershed moment for their self-expression.

“I’m a dancer, I’m a performer, I’m an artist and I love nightlife through and through”, they added.

“But during the day, I thought I had to be this male-presenting, retail worker kind of gig. I realised that I didn’t need to push the fully realised Tyreece, which is the nightlife Tyreece, and keep them in the dark. That Tyreece can be 24/7 Tyreece.”

Uncovering their non-binary identity was “amazing” because, for the first time in their life, they realised they didn’t need to fit into the binary.

Getting into sex work was another important element in allowing them to fully realise their identity, and they understood that retail work wasn’t for them.

“I can’t be folding jeans for no one”, they laughed. “At first, it was just like ‘Oh, I can make money off my body.’ Then I saw it as a business opportunity.”

Their partner, who Tyreece describes as a beautiful human, is fully supportive.

“He accepts me for what I [am]. He was the one who encouraged me to do the sex work because he was like: ‘Do what makes you happy’. And you know what makes me happy? Mon-tea!”