Transgender actress plans 'ironic selfies' on NC tour
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Shakina Nayfack is not shy about the fact that she was born a boy, grew up as a gay teen; and that she never felt like herself until she became a woman.
Now, the transgender actress, outraged over House Bill 2, is coming to North Carolina with plans to follow the law.
Nayfack is an actress in New York City. She calls her one-woman show, an autobiographical rock musical about coming into her own as a transgender woman. With all the headlines over HB2, Nayfack is bringing the show here.
"When I first heard about HB2 I was just enraged," Nayfack told ABC11.
Nayfack spoke to ABC11 from her New York apartment -- not just about the show, but her anger over HB2.
"This law forces us trans people to make a spectacle of ourselves," Nayfack said. "And I'm just trying to point out the ridiculous nature of that bill by going down to North Carolina."
Nayfack underwent sex-reassignment surgery in 2014, but her birth certificate still says 'male.' House Bill 2 requires her to use the men's restroom in public places.
"As a woman I subject myself in that situation to threats of violence, sexual violence, assault," Nayfack said.
She says she's not worried about her safety here. And to point out what she calls the "absurdity" of the law -- she will follow it.
Read all ABC11 stories about HB2 here
She's got plans to post selfies in men's rooms from Raleigh to Asheville.
"I will be a law-abiding citizen and I will go into men's restrooms and I will absolutely take many ironic selfies," Nayfack said.
The main defense offered by supporters of HB2 is that the law is a "common-sense" measure aimed at keeping women and girls safe from men legally entering the ladies room.
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"Umm, since when have strange men interested in molesting women and girls ever obeyed the law?" Nayfack responded.
Meantime, anti-HB2 demonstrators are busy organizing weekend protests outside the governor's western residence in Asheville. It begged the question for Nayfack, what would you tell Governor McCrory if given the opportunity?
"I would say, Governor," Nayfack said, "what are you so afraid of?"
Nayfack said she's bringing the show to Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and several other North Carolina cities for the tour slated to run from June 9-22.
She's raised two-thirds of the cost to pay for the shows through an online fundraiser. She plans to donate the money from ticket sales to local LGBT groups.
And, about those restroom selfies, she's even got plans to take photos inside the men's room at the state legislature.
