7-year-old Cooper. | Photo: @thesupercoops / Instagram
7-year-old Cooper loves getting ‘fancy’ in makeup and dancing around his house to Miley Cyrus.
And he won’t let anyone tell him differently.
Cooper lives unapologetically ‘beyond the binary’ in Florida, United States. His 24-year-old lesbian sister Nikki posts fabulous photos to Instagram for him and even helped him start his own YouTube channel last year.
Together, they’re here to show the world how ‘fierce’ gender fluidity is.
Cooper shows off his makeup skills. | Photo: @thesupercoops / Instagram
Cooper wants to break the stigma with boys wearing makeup.
When asked what he loves about it, he told Gay Star News: ‘I like that makeup lets me be creative and it’s fun.’
He continued: ‘I started [my YouTube channel] last summer. I watched a lot of makeup tutorials and wanted to make my own to show that little boys can like makeup too.’
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He has big dreams for the future, wanting to be a drag queen and a fashion designer when he’s older.
In fact, he loves RuPaul’s Drag Race so much, he’s got his sight set on the top prize of the show.
He said: ‘I do watch RuPaul’s Drag Race and I like it because I like seeing their outfits and makeup. The queen I want to win this season is Aquaria but my favorite ever is Shangela.
‘When I’m older I definitely want to be on it and win,’ he said.
‘I might be gay when I grow up’
When asked how he defines his sexuality, he replied: ‘I don’t have a sexuality because I’m seven but I might be gay when I grow up.’
He uses male pronouns but is also comfortable when people use female or gender neutral pronouns to address him.
Photo: @thesupercoops / Instagram
So when did he start expressing his gender fluidity?
Cooper says he’s always played around with the gender binary. He said: ‘My mom brought me to Target and I would point to the dresses.’
He also remembered: ‘I tied blankets around my head to pretend I was Elsa from Frozen. I always liked girl toys and clothes.
‘I used to only wear dress-up, but then I got real clothes,’ he said. Cooper’s sister Nikki remembers him wanting to express this gender fluidity from the age of one.
‘The other kids that are in the school point a lot at me’
While Cooper’s immediate family is ‘super very’ supportive of him, some at his school have not.
He says his class in particular is friendly, but ‘the other kids that are in the school point a lot at me.’
Cooper in his school uniform. | Photo: @thesupercoops / Instagram
Cooper also said a lot of people at school come up to him and ask if he’s a boy or a girl.
In response, he says: ‘I’m a boy who likes girl things and that’s just my style.’ He also revealed his best friend always sticks up for him when people ask if he’s a boy or a girl.
He continued: ‘It makes me feel mad when they ask because they’re just not educated and don’t know that’s it’s okay to like girl things. Their parents and teachers should teach them that it’s okay and not to make fun of people because they’re different.’
Cooper also thinks his teacher shouldn’t separate boys and girls in class: ‘It makes me really mad.’
His kindergarten teacher actually came to march at Capital Pride with him.
Cooper at Capital Pride. | Photo: @thesupercoops / Instagram
He’s no stranger to attending Pride events. He saw Miley Cyrus at the March for Equality last year and absolutely loved it.
Cooper walks in parades with his mom’s PFLAG group and says they always make him happy.
‘I like to go to Pride stuff because I can be myself and nobody looks at me in bad ways,’ he said. ‘They cheer for me at Pride parades.’
The love of a family
On his relationship with his sister Nikki, Cooper said: ‘She’s like my second mom and best friend.’
He continued: ‘I love that she’s my sister. We’re the rainbow kids in the family.’
His mom and dad are just as supportive of him too. In fact, his mother is the PFLAG president of her local chapter.
Cooper and his mother. | Photo: @thesupercoops / Instagram
Cooper said: ‘She makes sure I’m safe she won’t let anyone make me feel sad. My dad just doesn’t care what I wear.’
He added: ‘I also love to play with my dogs, Lucy and Miley.’
