interview

Name:
Dextra Mandrake

Agency:
Supa Model Management (London)

Age:
19

Height:
6’0.5″

Place of Origin:
North London, England

Ethnic Origin:
Welsh Romani (according to 23andMe, lol)

Birthsign:
Gemini

Instagram:
@dextra_mandrake

How discovered:
I was scouted shortly after the first lockdown ended in 2020 when I had just turned 18. I was still presenting and living as a boy at the time and I tried out a number of agencies, as you do. In August, I signed with Select Model London. It was a dream match and they’ve been so supportive of my transition – I know I am very fortunate. I’m now on the women’s board but I’ll also be on Select’s nonbinary board which I’m chuffed about. I’m happy to model men’s/women’s/genderless clothes, I don’t really mind as long as people respect my pronouns and womanhood.

Best modeling experience so far?
The second time I walked for Valentino was the most surreal experience for me so far. I had just recently come out and started feminizing hormones. It was such an honour and privilege to model for them as a woman when I had done so for them as a ‘boy’ previously. I’m very thankful that Valentino saw the woman in me and had me as a part of the collection even though my body wasn’t in alignment with my gender at the time, since I was still very early in transition. Namely, I am very grateful to Joe McKenna as he’s always had my back, even in the times when I was doubting myself and feeling gender dysphoric. It’s both a blessing and a curse to have my entire transition documented through the modeling jobs I’ve gotten along the way – particularly for my bookers. They’re constantly having to update my book as I’m changing all the time but luckily that’s begun to plateau and will continue to do so the longer I’m on hormones.

Currently you’re obsessed with/about:
Christ, that’s a hard question! Mainly because I’m manically obsessed with a lot of things at the same time as per my ADHD and autism. Let me try and give you the low down:

– I’m a philosophy student and love political, ethical, and aesthetic philosophy. Some of my favorite living philosophers are Slavoj Zizek, Noam Chomsky, Angela Davis, David Chalmers, Judith Butler, and Peter Singer. I hope someone reading this checks them out, philosophy is as relevant today as it has ever been.

– I use music to distract from the sensory overload of London. I’m quite an avid raver and would consider myself a part of London’s underground queer scene – I went to my first rave after my first London Trans Pride (2021) and I’ve honestly never looked back; I find such community and bodily release from what could be described as a magical hypermedia ritual.

What is something you’ve always wanted to do/try?
I’ve always wanted to direct my own political documentary series/film. I really enjoy curating perspectives to push a marginalized narrative and think it would be a fitting application of my philosophical background. I also want to start publishing my poetry and start writing for magazines. I want to apply my background and educate people on neurodiversity and transgender experiences, as well as comment on disenfranchised experiences that don’t affect me personally.

How do you want to make an impact in the world?
I want to inspire trans and neurodivergent people to live, be themselves, embrace, and accept their queerness despite the rejection and oppression we systematically experience. I want to spread more awareness about neurodiversity. The autistic spectrum and the symptoms of autism are so wide and diverse – when you’ve met one autistic person you’ve only experienced one instance of autism, not autism as a whole. It often expresses itself differently in those who are not white or cis-gendered males. I encourage people to be more aware of the possibly neurodivergent people they will encounter in their everyday lives. So much positive change could happen if people just took a bit of time to learn about us.

If you want to learn more here are some YouTubers:
– For trans-related content, I recommend ContraPoints (Natalie Wynn), Kat Blaque, Jammidodger (Jamie Raines), and Luxander.
– For autism and neurodiversity content I recommend Purple Ella, How to ADHD, Special Books by Special Kids, and Paige Layle.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Don’t be scared to disagree with a question if you don’t think it should be asked in the first place; to attend such a question is to predicate that it is empirically and/or rationally meaningful to investigate in the first place.