‘Human Ken Doll’ Roddy Alves has come out as transgender, saying she always knew she was Barbie.
Previously known as Rodrigo, the Celebrity Big Brother star now goes by the name Roddy and says it feels ‘amazing’ to finally tell the world she’s a girl.
Roddy, 36, will complete her transition next year with gender realignment surgery; she is currently using hormone injections which have given her feminine hips and D-cup breasts.
The 36-year-old, who is from Brazil but lives in London, said her quest for acceptance as a woman began when she was a young boy as she used to dress in her mum’s clothes.
She was bullied at school for being feminine as her body produced more oestrogen than the average male, which led her to develop breasts as a child.
Roddy told the Mirror:
I was bullied at school because I was very feminine. Boys would play football and girls volleyball. I’d always be with the girls.
I was physically abused – I had my face pushed into the urinal and was thrown down the stairs. At the age of 13 two boys at school sexually abused me. I was very feminine and weak. I couldn’t defend myself. It was very traumatic.
Roddy believes the bullying spurred her on to make a success of her life, leading her to move to the UK at the age of 20 and getting a university degree.
From there, she became an air steward before becoming a TV personality both in the UK and in Europe, appearing on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018.
She admitted it took a lot of courage to finally admit she was transgender, and only decided to transition last year during a photoshoot in New York after being asked to dress in women’s clothes for the shoot.
The 36-year-old began wearing the lingerie at home and said it made her feel ‘beautiful’, adding: ‘It was an awakening. It finally all became clear to me.’
From there, she travelled back to the UK and immediately made an appointment with her GP, who referred her to a psychologist and psychiatrist. Within a month, she was diagnosed with gender dysmorphic disorder and given the option to start the appropriate medication to transition.
Since then, Roddy says she has been living as a woman in secret for the past three months, saying she ‘love[s] it and everything that comes with it.’
She explained:
It feels amazing to finally tell the world I’m a girl. I’m known as Ken but inside I’ve always felt like Barbie. I finally feel like the real me. Glamorous, beautiful and feminine.
For years I tried to live my life as a man. I had a fake six pack put in, I had fake muscles in my arms but I was lying to myself. I’m a woman and have always had a feminine brain. Now my body matches my mind.
I have tried my best to behave like a man but deep inside I was never happy. I would see a beautiful woman and feel jealous because I wanted to be like them. I think like a woman, I act like a woman because I have always been one deep inside.
Her next steps include having silicone breast implants put in so she’ll be able to ‘wear dresses that show [her] cleavage and look sexy’. After that, she’s having face feminisation surgery involving a forehead reshape, an eye lift, a lip lift and a middle face lift.
She will also have her Adam’s apple removed before her jawline is shaved and her chin is modified. Then, she will undergo a penile inversion and have her testicles removed. ‘That will be the final step,’ she explained.
Roddy said:
I have been trolled and called a freak and a weirdo, so of course I am nervous about how people will react. A few years ago I could never have done this but it feels easier now.
People are more aware of what being transgender means. I just hope people can accept me as a woman and don’t judge or ridicule me.
Since beginning her transition, Roddy says she’s noticed a huge difference in how people perceive her, saying she gets a lot of attention. ‘Men look at me because they desire me,’ she explained.
Whereas before, people looked at her because she ‘looked very androgynous and weird for a man’, she hopes they are now looking because they think she is a ‘beautiful woman’.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues, and want to speak to someone in confidence contact Mindline Trans+ on 0300 330 5468. The line is open Mondays and Fridays, 8pm to midnight and is run by trans volunteers.
A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).