Dude looks like a lady: Jason Diaz’s path to online success is being authentic

With over two million TikTok followers and 650k on Instagram, Jason Diaz has probably shown up in your algorithm. With his long hair, feminine features, and sculpted physique, he defies expectations of gender norms – and revels in it.

While the upbeat bisexual influencer posts affirmations, he also includes reactions by men to meeting him online. He is undeniably attractive, and the confusion men sometimes feel when he appears on their screen can be both amusing and disheartening.

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As his presence has grown, he’s an easily recognizable person. When we attended the Queerties Awards show together earlier this year, a young bartender shyly confided that she watched his content and thanked him for giving her a regular pick-me-up. One of the red carpet photographers abandoned their spot to come over for a quick hello.

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“He’s just the nicest person,” one PR rep told me at the event. “He’s authentic, and I respect that. He’s exactly who he shows online.”

And according to Diaz, that’s the whole point of social media.

I sat down with Diaz for a few questions about how he became an influencer, his following, and his responsibilities. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

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A post shared by Jason Diaz (@thejasondiaz)

LGBTQ NATION: How did you get started in social media? What’s your story of becoming an influencer?

JASON DIAZ: So it was 2020. We’re in lockdown. At the same time the pandemic started, my childhood dog passed away. He was like my rock; I don’t have any family in LA, and I was all alone. So it was like the scariest thing, and I lost my dog. I was like, I need to focus on something because if I just sit here, I will lose my mind, you know. I thought, okay, let me hop on this TikTok app that everyone was starting to talk about at the time.

I just kept uploading. I kind of just made it like a religious thing to keep myself going and stay sane. Around six months in, traction just started coming; I almost felt like people were holding me up from entering that dark place that I thought I was going to fall into. I received so much love, so I kept myself busy with that. I just started gaining the trust of a lot of people. And then, you know, after a year or so, I realized this could be a thing. I have people’s attention. I started taking it seriously.

What was your original content?

I start posting about getting bullied in high school, mental health, and how, as you grow older, you start puzzling pieces of why things happen the way they did in the past and how it makes you a stronger person. When you’re young, you take it so personally, but when you find yourself, you start puzzling things together. So I found an audience of people who related to that: the person who grows up and becomes something and doesn’t let the bullying hold them back from believing in themselves. That became a bigger message of owning yourself, growing into who you are, and discovering why everything happened.

Toxic masculinity is a big one for me because that’s what I was always constantly met with, with the bullying, so I just wanted to start dismantling that. It’s always been an important conversation because I’ve lived it. I didn’t know that more people needed to see what that was about, so I fell into that as my main niche.

I see you every day.

Every day, something to make someone smile or sprinkle on joy.

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A post shared by Jason Diaz (@thejasondiaz)

That does seem to be a theme for you. Why?

I’ve always been a very positive, happy person. As a kid, I didn’t realize how unique and special that was. But the older I got, the more I became the friend who always wanted to bring some joy and make people smile and feel better. Now, I get to do that for the masses. Putting out good energy helps people. It’s mutual because I thrive off of that energy as well. It makes me feel like I’m doing something good for the world. I’m helping one way or another.

You’re the opposite of the bully.

I feel like that’s the biggest reward in the end.

Are you in contact with any of the fans regularly?

Yes, I know the day-one followers by name. We still talk a lot. I’ve watched their growth in their life journey. Also, some of them have become content creators and overnight sensations. That’s crazy to watch.

I wish more people talked about it. I think everyone wants to be an influencer or have a platform. The conversation of what goes into it before you put yourself out there is very important. If you don’t know who you are before you give yourself to the world, people will publicly convince you otherwise. That can be the toxic part of social media.

Most people don’t realize how much hate influencers get; it’s the flip side of fandom.

Hate is a real thing on social media more than the actual human world, right? Because you get to put it out there and hide behind a screen, you don’t even have to have a full profile, right? You can get away with it.

@thejasondiaz

♬ original sound – thejasondiaz

You brought up toxic masculinity before. I watch a lot of your videos where people seem to react with, “Oh, my God, you’re a guy and not a girl!” You’ve got long hair and pretty facial features. Does that feed into the comments you get?

Oh, big time. There are a lot of people who see my image and resort to “gay” as the grading. We don’t use the word androgyny. Never that. I do my absolute best to own my image. When I first moved to LA, one of my first shoots, the photographer constantly told me, “I didn’t know you’re so androgynous.” I dug into it. I didn’t know there was a word for that. But now, I own it.

I think it’s a big shocker for the side that is very homophobic. They’re always surprised when they see I have a huge female following. All the men are constantly trying to bring their toxic masculinity to me. It makes no sense to them. Why are there so many women who don’t see me as this feminine guy? Instead, they see a guy who is so comfortable in his body and his masculinity.

@thejasondiaz

We out here too 🤓 #birthday #latinxcreatives #lgbt

♬ original sound – thejasondiaz

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think most men expect you to be gay – especially the guys with the toxic masculinity problem.

I get a kick out of it. One of the most common comments is, “I’ve never seen a man so masculine yet so feminine.” That, to me, is always funny because if people can remove this meter that they put on it and acknowledge that I’m just a soul, that is liberating. I think it would make them understand a little more.

If I lift weights at the gym and the meter isn’t on, I’m masculine. I fall into a split, and it’ll come on. Now I’m feminine. It’s not, “Oh, he’s just having a fun moment with himself?” Why is it labeled? He was masculine. Now he’s gay.

You’re being true to yourself. Some folks on social media are more worried about becoming an influencer than just enjoying themselves.

The worst formula people get confused by is thinking there’s a rulebook of how social media should be followed. In the past, I tried to do the trends. In the end, it was things that I knew I didn’t want to do. But I would still do it because it was popular, and those videos never did well. I always knew when I made them that it wasn’t me, but maybe it would get me views. The minute I started showing what I wanted, those videos took off for me. Social media rewards you when you are just giving your authentic self. Authenticity always comes full circle.

Those are the people you respect most in real life, too.

Yeah. I’m very happy those trending moments never took off for me. I don’t know how my platform would have been, but it wouldn’t have been who I am.

@thejasondiaz

♬ original sound – thejasondiaz

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