Mickailia “Ila” Adu, singer Sade's only child, came out as a transgender man in an Instagram post, according to Towel Road.
In a post on his private Instagram account, Ila posted a picture of himself captioned "today is the first day of the rest of my life. 4/10/16." The caption included a sun and needle emoji, and some hashtags indicating Ila is starting on hormone therapy. The hashtags included #ftm, #transman, #proud and #yaaassss.
Previously, 20-year-old Ila identified as a lesbian woman, but now has come out as transgender. According to Towel Road, it's not clear whether Ila will change his name.
Ila's announcement coincided with National Coming Out Day, a day meant to encourage people to open up about their identity to family, friends and the world. To encourage young people all over to come out, singer Troye Sivan compiled a few tips in a video for Rolling Stone. Top among the tips were to make sure you've accepted your identity yourself before you tell others, and to make sure you're in a safe environment. If those things are in place, Troye said, coming out is a huge relief that allows you to truly be yourself. What's better than that?
From Ila's hashtags, it seems like he's pretty happy to be out. Ila also included #selfmademan, #finally and #shotday on his coming out picture. Shot day likely refers to the hormone injections some (not all) transgender people need as part of their transition. For people transitioning from female to male, many often take testosterone shots to make some secondary sex characteristics like body hair, facial hair and the voice become more masculine.
Ila has every right to be #proud. Coming out and transitioning is a big deal, and it's great to see that he felt safe and supported enough to come out to the world.
Related: 7 Things You Should Know If You’re Considering Hormones For Your Transition
