Rave poses for a photograph in Unit City, Kyiv, Ukraine, August 3, 2024. “Acting is my big dream, but I want to write books, create a webcomic, maybe even make music — I just love creative things,” they said. Photo by Artem Baidala.
SEARCH FOR THEIR TRUE SELF
For Rave, changes happened when they were nine years old, when their body began to transform. They saw themselves in the mirror and felt that something was wrong.
“At the time, I didn't realize that I didn't like my body; I just thought I wanted to be seen in a less stereotypical way. I guess that's where it came from, that I thought I was a lesbian,” Rave shared.
When the Rave thought they liked girls, they wanted to dress differently and came across the term “tomboy” on the Internet. Their parents didn't allow them to cut their hair, so they sometimes twisted it under a cap searching for their hairstyle.
Rave came across the meaning of the word “trans guy” online as well. They realized that they did not want to be a woman. However, the pronoun “he” did not seem natural to them either. Rave's self-determination continued as they learned about nonbinarity and changed their pronouns to “they/he”. Later, they discovered the concept of “agender”, and the pronouns “they/he” went away and changed to “they/it”.
“My pronouns changed as I changed — from ‘they/he’ to ‘they/it.’ It just felt more right,” they said.
THE NAME
They like their name in the passport, Zoriana. They love stars and space, and their whole room is covered in stars. Rave wants to change it to a more neutral “Zoriano” to keep the meaning and the name. They had been in the fandom for one webcomic, and two characters from there were comfortable and particularly appealed to it. Rave took the surname of one of these characters because it felt even more right. And when the name Rave came up, it was by design: they wanted to find a name for themselves.
“First, I asked people the word that first came to their minds, and then I found the same word in a different version,” they said.
Rave drew the character “I”, and it helped them understand how they wanted to see themselves in life.
“When it changed its name, it actually changed in me until I found my own — Rave. When it changed its appearance (dramatically), I think every time I started to realize something new about myself,” they shared.
When Rave accepted themselves and started dressing the way they wanted, people on the street started approaching them and complimenting them on their appearance. Once, when Rave was wearing a dress, a person in the subway asked them their pronouns. It was the first time someone thought about it and didn't immediately jump to conclusions.
“One day, I had five people come up to me to tell me how good-looking I looked. One even gave me a Snickers. Usually, only kind people approach me. Those who didn't like it usually looked at me sideways or laughed behind my back,” they said.
“Usually, only kind people approach me. The ones who don’t like it just glance or laugh behind my back,” Rave said.
FUTURE PLANS
Rave is a creative person and plans to connect its life with art. Their primary interest is acting, but they aspire to develop in many other mediums.
“I still want to be an actor, yes. But there are a lot of things I really want to do in life; I want to write a book, maybe even several. And maybe someday I can start a webcomic too. I just love a lot of creative things, music, photography, and stuff like that. So my big thing is acting, but if anything, I hope I can do some other stuff of it,” Rave said.
Interview conducted with Rave on July 16, 2024.
