In 2011, Elliott Sailors was a female model signed to the Ford agency. But by October of 2012, she decided to cut off her hair, wrap her breasts and try her hand at male modeling. She shared her story on HuffPost Live.
"It started out as something I thought would be really cool and a great idea," she explained to host Ricky Camilleri, "and kind of a revitalization, not just of my career but inside of fashion and what's possible."
While her husband was on board with her decision, Sailors' mother was not. "My mom has made it clear that she doesn't agree with it, that it's not something that she feels she's in alignment with, in terms of her beliefs."
"I was raised Mormon, and there are those inside the religion that hold to that your gender is eternal, meaning how you're born is how you're supposed to be," she continued. "And I think that's where that perspective comes from for her.
Despite her mother's reaction, her father was okay with her choice. Sailors tried to convince her mother by appealing to her religion.
"There's also certain roles about modesty in the Mormon religion--like not wearing even sleeveless shirts, shorts going all the way to the knee," she said, explaining that as a female model she would break that rule often.
"When I was having this conversation with her, when I was on the phone, I was like 'Mom, I'm actually wearing [my husband's] shorts, so they're down to my knee, and I'm wearing a T-shirt that's covering my shoulders.' I said, 'so what I'm actually wearing right now covers more than what I was wearing yesterday when I was wearing a tank top and cut-offs.'"