If you’re on social media then chances are you’re familiar with Gigi Gorgeous.

The 26-year-old beauty guru who has entertained and educated millions around the world for over a decade on YouTube has become a bonafide queer icon as she has publicly documented her transition, while forging a successful career for herself as a model and activist.

To mark the release of her brand new autobiography 'He Said, She Said: Lessons, Stories, and Mistakes from My Transgender Journey', we are celebrating the incredible legacy that Gorgeous - real name Giselle Lazzarato - has already created.

Brutally honest, hilarious and ever-so-beautiful, Gigi has not only shared her own personal transformation but transformed the world of YouTube by using her own privilege, brand and success for good.Where she could have settled for paid ads and beauty routines, she has become a role model for queer people around the world simply by living her authentic life and not being afraid to speak up for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community that she belongs to.

Aware of her privilege, she has utilised her global platform and success to share the realities of a life lived with an evolving identity. From surgeries and IVF to break-ups and sexuality, Gigi has bravely put her most intimate moments out for the world to see in order to provide comfort and representation to the queer community, particularly the trans community.

Her presence on YouTube has helped to showcase the harsh realities that trans lives face in places like Dubai, where she was detained in 2016 for being transgender. Beyond her own YouTube channel, Gigi’s transition was the centre of a documentary film released in 2017.

'This Is Everything' wasn’t only a documentation of her surgeries or the financial burden put onto trans people either. She helped countless queer people worldwide by showing the difficulty that many families face during transitions, providing hope as a source of encouragement and determination even at uncomfortable periods of her own personal journey.

Since originally making the film, her status as a queer icon has only strengthened as she has dispelled assumptions about trans people’s sexual orientations and romantic relationships with a further coming out.

In 2016, Gigi - who previously identified as bisexual - publicly came out as a lesbian. With public understanding of gender and sexuality often confused, whether for intentional aggravation or political purpose, Gigi’s dedication to being a public figure is more selfless and brave than one may expect.

As she nonchalantly defies the heteronormative expectations of society with every ‘STORYTIME’ video or beauty routine, Gigi Gorgeous’ queering of the virtual is changing our reality for the better.