Nonbinary Sex Trafficking Survivor Ossiana Tepfenhart Fights For Human Rights | Interview
The author, model, and activist brings queer joy and the fight for social justice to the forefront of queer history
Ossiana Tepfenhart is a writer based out of the NYC tri-state. They got their largest followings from their blog on Medium.com, as well as their work on YourTango, The Bolde, and Supermoney. Though they will write about anything from relationships to money management, there's a special place in their heart for human rights.
When they aren't writing, they're modeling, talking to music artists, and doing food critiques.
Join us below to get to know Ossiana, how their actions are leaving a lasting positive impact, where they fall on the Barbie spectrum, and why their background of trauma motivates their current crusade for human rights.
Interview
Where do you fall on the queer spectrum?
I’m pansexual and nonbinary. I know a lot of people have a lot of different definitions for trans people who aren’t binary, so I’ll explain this.
I actually do get gender dysphoria and try to avoid being overly feminine unless I am modeling. My ideal body type would be Barbie with the boobs shaved off—and almost nothing under the belt. Think prettyboi.
What do we need to understand about your story as a person?
I’m a sex trafficking survivor with a long history of being sexually abused. I’ve been turning a negative into a positive by talking about my own journey, educating others on healthy sexuality, and warning others of signs of abuse.
Take us back to the day you first found out you could succeed in your career. Where were you? What were you doing? Who were you with? Why was that time so important?
So, that’s actually a loaded question. I’ve had a lot of those moments and a lot of careers.
Modeling-wise, I actually did it as a way to prove to my classmates that I was good-looking and worthy of love. I was two years out of sex trafficking and had made profiles on OneModelPlace and Model Mayhem. I was dating a goth model/local personality in the scene.
When I was hanging out with him, I actually got a message from a professional photographer who saw my casual photos. He ended up being a bigshot of sorts. He shot with Beyonce Knowles. He liked my look and said I had a future in modeling. He shot me for free and I actively pursued it since.
Writing-wise? I started to get tired of modeling after a couple of years. It’s a lot to deal with for little pay and I was hitting the glass ceiling. I started to offer writing on Fiverr: 1000 words for $5, on the topic of the buyer’s choice. There, I met Joshua Kwentoh, who helped guide me on SEO and copywriting for years.
After a while, I started to realize I was making a decent amount of money writing with him and others. People really liked my writing, so I kept at it and started to build a resume based on those skills. The rest was history.
If you’re talking about writing as just Ossiana, then it was after a drug overdose. My friend passed me meth instead of coke, and I had a very bad reaction. I was pissing blood for about a week, bedridden while married to my husband.
I felt like I should do something while I nursed myself back to health. I got on Medium’s partner program using an old account I made for a former boss, and went viral within a week. My story earned $20,000. That’s when it really sank in. People like my writing!
What would you tell yourself at the beginning of your career vs where you are now?
I’d tell myself to start publishing on Medium earlier and to start working on an email list ASAP. If I spent all that time promoting myself instead of other people, I’d be far richer than I am today. On a similar note, I’d tell myself not to give up opportunities to please others. I had a nasty habit of people-pleasing and “dulling my shine” to make others less insecure. It never worked.
Oh, and I’d tell past me to watch my taxes and hire an accountant. And I’d tell past me to buy, not rent. Those are more financial advice tips than anything, though. No one told me how difficult money management could become!
What do you empower others to do that they can’t do alone?
I like to think I empower my readers to speak up about their own experiences. I want them to know they’re not alone. And if they don’t relate? I like to think I empower them to learn more about things that help them.
What do your colleagues empower you to do that you couldn’t do alone?
My colleagues empower me to believe in myself.
How have you learned to see your differences as worthiness?
Yeah. When I was younger, I was always treated like a dirty secret—an unlovable sex toy who was just to be used and abused. I started to realize that the people who treated me that way were the broken ones. Me? I’m awesome and my “weird” gives me an insight into humanity few others have.
What is a word you love?
Smalt. It’s a shade of blue. I find the name funny.
What is a word you hate?
Republican. It’s like nails on a chalkboard.
What is a sound you love?
My cats purring or meowing.
What is a sound you hate?
I hate the sound of babies crying. It causes extreme misophonia to me. This also could be why I have the maternal instincts of a baked potato.
What book, movie, or music would you take with you to a deserted island?
If I could just bring my Spotify EDM playlists with me, I think I’d be fine. More realistically, I’d probably want a survival guide so that I have a shot at not dying. Then again, I’m allergic to daylight, so being on an island probably means I’d not live long.
How would you like to be remembered?
I wanna be a lot like Hunter S. Thompson, mixed with Ernest Hemingway, mixed in with a bunch of cool people who fight Nazis. So like…maybe being known as the hard-partying raver who writes really good stuff and stands up against Nazis?
What’s next for you?
Excellent question! I’m actually teaming up with Alex S. Johnson, a fellow queer author, to have a book series as well as a documentary. Alex tapped me for multiple anthologies, including tributes to major bands and authors like Black Sabbath, David Bowie, and William S. Burroughs.
Alex also tapped me for a new version of The Rainbow Travel Guide, which will be for 2025. My first iteration was for 2023 and it was for LGBT and minorities. It acted like a Green Book for people who are marginalized.
In it, we’re offering legal advice, maps showing women’s rights, trans bathroom rights, abortion rights, advice on how to deal with ICE, advice on what to do if you’re being harassed by law enforcement, and guides on the most LGBT/minority-friendly cities in the nation.
I’m currently working on my first fiction book, E Minor. It will be released and if things go well, maybe turned into a movie or series.
How can we stay up to date with everything else you’re doing?
Follow me on Substack: ossiana.substack.com, on Medium @Ossiana.tepfenhart, or on Instagram @ossina.makes.content. I’m also on BlueSky.
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