“It became a popular item when I wore this graduation dress.”
Korben was the subject of a popular video for his graduation dress-up, and he’s now sat down with Heart to discuss the effect, celebrating Pride, and the importance of being his true self.
Korben White made articles in 2022 when he attended his homecoming wearing a stunning crimson sequins dress in a style inspired by Billy Porter.
Korben’s mother, Nina, shared the photos on X ( previously Twitter ), and Michelle Visage even responded and referred to him as a “star” in a reply.
Korben and his mother Nina sat down with Heart to talk about the remarkable time, the significance of Pride all year long, and how crucial it is to be an alliance to mark Pride 2024.
Here, you can read Korben’s whole meeting with his mother, and read their strong words.
Hello, I’m Korben, and two years ago, I wore a red ball dress to homecoming that went viral on Twitter. I merely always wanted to have a clothing, feel like a bit of a Princess, and we were inspired by Billy Porter’s type of coat and dress. I believe I had a very romantic part, but I actually wanted to show that I’m male in some ways. But of course, sequins and beautiful things! And this dress is just so gorgeous.
N: You weren’t gonna go for red at first, were you? You had a dark suit in A Little Mermaid, and everyone commented how wonderful you looked in dark as a result. You had been inspired by that. Therefore, it was decided to put you in a crimson ball dress.
K: Which is odd, because typically a blond would fight with a blond! But I think it works.
N: It did job and it looked beautiful! Simply looking at you and thinking how wonderful you looked, I only remember experience. It was just like, I’m really looking at Korben. I’m really looking at Korben, being Korben. Everything about sex, little about sexuality, merely being Korben.
K: I tried the dress on for the first time and it was a total shock to me. It was like, yes. Well, this is not only who I am, but like who I want to be. I think Dolly Parton said, ‘Get out who you are and then do it on function’. And I think that was the time I realized that finding myself was important because I know this is who I need to be.
It was a party of discovering who I am.
K: I think I’ve had a very good life because I’ve always known who I am, and I’ve had the support I need to thrive and develop in embracing my true personal, but I sort of wanted to say that this is who I am. And I’m allowed to be myself and I’m allowed to become accepted.
N: I think from my point of view, it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks because I wanted you to go there being Korben, the full Korben. You told me when I was 12 that I wanted to wear a ball dress, and that’s when we decided to go to prom, “let’s make it happen!” and we made it happen. I believe you discovered this to be a truly personal display of who you are.
N: I think probably within school, in your uniform, maybe you’re trapped within that and it’s the second time you’re able to really go TA- DA this is me, and you did that and it was beautiful, and the fact that you got such a lovely reaction from everybody.
K: Yeah, that’s the point, knowing that I left and everyone was welcoming and friendly of it really meant the world.
N: And seeing people take you for who you are and to know that he’s going to be great, he’s going to go out into this world, people will accept him, was truly heartfelt for me as also, as did your mother, which is really heartfelt. I remember your Mind Professor said: ‘We knew you were gonna do something impressive, Korben, but not this amazing!’
N: I knew when I published the tweet that Michelle Visage would be the one who would celebrate you showing off your true self with me as a mother would be her. You evidently have always looked up to you and you’ve watched Drag Race since you were very young. And of course, I also tweeted Billy Porter because he was my creativity. Do you remember me saying: ‘My phone’s going mad, I don’t know why, I’m getting all these notifications!’ And I said, someone must have retweeted this. Finally I looked and I said to you, Michelle Visage’s retweeted this and sent a message! It just went crazy didn’t it? Within an afternoon we’d had something like 17, 000 wants.
K: Yeah we were getting but little love and support which was amazing, but in my eye I was like’ I’ve only worn a costume? What have I basically done?’ but then it was remembering, really this is such an essential message. It’s about loving and supporting your children, and for kids like you and family members, I was honored to have the opportunity to talk about it and say, “You can be your true self.”
N: I believe it gave us the opportunity to discuss how people need to accept people for who they are and how parents support their children living their best life and being their true selves rather than talk about the dress or even how you wear the dress. If you let your child get their authentic home, you will only get the best from them, as I’ve said before and I repeat it today. I think you and your nephew will always get the best from them, because I’ve usually allowed you to get your true self, discover your way, pursue your goals, identify with who you are, and show my support for that. I’ve always pushed you in any way and said ‘this is what you’ve got to complete,’ it’s just that you’ve been like: ‘Mum you I have that, can I view this would, I wear this?’ Yeah! If that’s what you want to do, you do it!
Everyone deserves to think like that, and I feel so loved and supported.
N: It’s allowed us to send a really important message about acceptance that is so important because there’s so many young people, like you, that don’t get that support. We wanted to let them know that there is a network for them, didn’t we? And demonstrate to them that they are loved, that they can be loved, and that they are.
K: Definitely. Because I am aware of how fortunate I am, I don’t take my support network for granted. I’m so thankful that not only do I have a loving grandmother but I’ve also got really friendly sibling, parents, father, grandparents, aunts, relatives. So I’m ever so grateful for that. It’s also about remembering that getting through this was much simpler for me. We’ve progressed a lot for queer people’s rights – we’re still not there, there’s still a massive fight to go through – but we’ve progressed so much. Although it’s about remembering the older generations of queer people, I say the older generations, it was a completely different kettle of fish 20 years ago. The fact that people had to actually fight or hide in order to stay safe, and that those who didn’t come out until later in life…
N: It’s shocking to think that 40, 50 years ago, certain things were still illegal in this country. You know, and 20 years, even 10 years ago, you would would have had so much more negativity if you’d have worn that dress for prom. So it does show how far we’ve come. As your mother, I’m happy that you are becoming much more accepting as a child. However, that doesn’t negate the fact that we still need events like Pride to highlight that there is still prejudice and stereotyping, and that’s why it’s so important for us to do this.
N: I believe that all parents must respect their children and nurture them from a young age. And as you pointed out, working as a mother doesn’t even feel like a job. Being your mother is not a job; it is just being your mother, and it’s knowing who you are, being aware of who you are, taking care of that, and supporting the rest of the family in doing that.
K: I guess it’s maybe trying to help people understand that your gender identity, your sexuality, and just how you want to express yourself, they can all be different. You have made sure that you don’t stereotype with ‘Oh, he’s feminine, he must be gay!’ Well, I am! But it’s knowing that we’re all human and we’re expressing ourselves authentically.
N: I don’t know about you, but I think people are too quick to put people in boxes or to put themselves in ones because they believe they should be, and we have never made you do that. We’ve never said: ‘ What are you? What do you consider yourself to be? Who do you think you are?’ We’ve just waited for you and let you find your own path, and we’ve always been that way, which is really important. It’s about being present and ready for that, as well as not forbidding the subject too much, I believe, and about letting people do it in their own time. I just believe that there are some people who either lack that or are too afraid, and it’s about them finding their network where they can be who they are and find the people who are the right fit for them.
K: There’s always going to be negativity and hate in the world, that’s always gonna happen. I think most negative comments my way have been more about the colour of my hair than my sexuality! No matter who you are, there’s always going to be little negative things. Maybe there are some people who aren’t your number one fan, and that’s okay. It’s accepting that and saying, okay, you can live your life, but I’m gonna surround myself with the people I love. That’s the thing with the tweet, of course there were some negative comments, but they didn’t matter because the love from other people just outshone that. It was, like you said, seeing other people celebrate their family, their children, and that is the point of it.
N: You know, you’re not Korben because of your sexuality or your gender, you’re Korben. I’m not interested in who you love, but I want you to be Korben and be your best self. That should go for every single person, regardless of their age, just be you. It doesn’t matter about who you love, just love, just be kind, just do what makes you feel right and good and authentic. The rest will simply fall into place. That’s the way I feel about it.
K: You were such a good friend because you were there to listen. I was like: ‘Oh, I feel like I don’t know who I am. I feel like I don’t feel like I’m a straight male. I feel like I’m just something different,’ and I wasn’t quite sure. You always said, it doesn’t matter now. Just be who you want to be, be you, just be you. That’s all that matters.
N: This this is really important. It’s not just about coming out once a year and waving a rainbow flag, Pride is 365 days of the year, 24/7. Being an ally every day rather than just on a day to party and come out is important. I think that, for me, is really important. It’s about allowing people to have a voice everywhere, not just in the month of June or during Pride celebrations. It’s about being there constantly and saying: ‘I’m with you, I accept you, and you’ve got a safe place with me’.
K: Yeah. Everyone deserves to feel that way, and I don’t take that for granted because it is so amazing and I feel so safe that I can talk to you. That is what everyone deserves.
N: I will always support you through everything. Everything. Whatever happens going forward of your life, you’ll make me proud every single day, because you’re an amazing person.
K: So are you.
N: And it’s about you, not your gender, not your sexual, but it’s about you.