Ruby Rose Saved Money For Sex Change Surgery Since Age 5, Here’s Why She Reconsidered

Ruby Rose, the break-out star from Orange is the New Black, said she started saving for gender reassignment surgery at the age of 5, but eventually decided against it. She figured out how to feel comfortable in her own body and has helped others to understand and do the same.

Rose sat down for an interview with Access Hollywood, which quickly got into the actress’ gender identity and urge to transition to a boy at a young age.

“I had this jar that I would collect dollars. In fact, we were so poor it would’ve been cents. So we had, like, 19 cents to go towards this surgery that I really didn’t know a lot about… I was like, ‘That’s what I’m going to do,’ and so I started saving from probably the age of 5.”

Her attitude changed with time, eventually realizing she just didn’t want to conform to social norms.

“I started to change the way that I dressed and walked, and realized that I didn’t want to transition. I just wanted to be more comfortable in my own skin.”

Gender issues have become a hot topic with the media still buzzing about Caitlyn Jenner’s transformation. Unlike Jenner, Ruby Rose figured out that she could have the freedom she wanted without surgery.

“It wasn’t until much later in life that I realized I could do both and be androgynous and not have to necessarily be womanly based on what I thought society expected of me. Nor did I sort of need to transition into a man to be able to have this freedom that I feel today.”

Ruby Rose showcased some of her struggle in a short film Break Free, which quickly went viral. The actress received a lot of positive support after the project, and many people who identified with Rose weren’t even sure what their status was.

In the Access Hollywood interview, Ruby claims the correct term is gender fluidity.

According to the Huffington Post, Rose followed the video with a post on Facebook blasting bullying and misunderstanding within the LGBTQ community.

The Australian actress has been engaged to clothing designer Phoebe Dahl since 2014 but is honest about her various celebrity crushes. One obsession, in particular, is Taylor Swift, although Rose says it’s a “girl crush,” but not romantic.

“I want her to be my best friend. I think I’ve said this so much that she probably has a restraining order on me…. It is a girl crush, but that feels weird coming from a lesbian.”

See below for a video of the interview with Ruby Rose.

[Image Credit: Getty Images]