With her, pretty much everything happens below the belt. The discussion that set it in motion. Partly the shitstorm she reaps. But above all, her very personal self-discovery. Who is this Ruby Rose?
She is a model for the cosmetics label Maybelline Jade. She is also a successful actress, namely the star of the series “Orange is the new black”. And she is also a DJ. So far, Ruby Rose is easy to describe. And easy to understand. Things get a little more complicated, however, when you ask yourself who the private person “Ruby” is. What is in her heart? And above all, what’s in her pants? That’s the question everyone is most interested in. This is nothing new for Ruby. “Even as a child and teenager, I was often asked what I was: A pretty boy or a cheeky-looking girl.” Self-inflicted, you could say. After all, the very young Ruby did everything she could to avoid being pigeonholed as either “blue” or “pink”. “I tied my breasts and slept on my stomach because I thought that would stop my breasts from growing.” Mother Nature seems to have granted this wish. In the adult Ruby, the mixture of sensual lips, angular facial features with soft facial expressions, the androgynous figure and the pixie cut create a perfect confusion of man and woman. Visually, you don’t know whether you’re looking at the young DiCaprio or the masculine version of Angelina Jolie. What does that mean for Ruby? A direct hit! Because this game of confusion is exactly what she has achieved. She doesn’t want to choose. She wants to be both: Man and woman. And she wants to be what she thinks is right for her every day. Ruby is gender-neutral. And – unlike the rest of the world – is at peace with it. Even the desire for gender reassignment surgery is smoke and mirrors. “I now know that no surgery will help me, only my attitude.” Sounds like everything is falling into place. But just because the Australian has resolved the conflict for herself doesn’t mean it’s over. On the contrary: it is currently in full swing. Headlines and public discussions are running rampant. And by no means always in the best English way. The 29-year-old has become the pillory of a public gender debate. The bone of contention was her coming-out video. Ruby transforms herself from a blonde with make-up on to a tattooed power lesbian, whose strap-on dildo hangs in front of the camera just as provocatively as the message behind the clip. The message is: “It’s really hard to get through a sexual identity crisis. Finally understand that and meet us with tolerance!” A lance break for everyone who feels the same way as Ruby. And she has earned a title for exactly that: the American magazine “Marie Claire” named Ruby one of the 50 most influential women in America. A good start. And if this continues, it may not be long before Ruby is recognized and awarded for what she really is: a great and multi-talented artist!