Mattie Witman: HauteButch Masculine Couture Muse
Earlier this year, the HauteButch team was thrilled to be a part of Mattie Witman's journey as she became Miss Teen OKC. We cheered along with her as she accepted her crown in tuxedo and bow tie, and we've continued to keep up with her because honestly, we just can't help ourselves. We are #TeamMattie all the way!
We recently touched base with Mattie so that we could give you all a quick update on her. Read on to find out what Mattie is up to, and what's ahead for her in the coming months.
We recently touched base with Mattie so that we could give you all a quick update on her. Read on to find out what Mattie is up to, and what's ahead for her in the coming months.
- What have you been up to since winning the Miss Teen Oklahoma City Pageant? I have really just been trying to figure out how to “college”. My freshman year at the University of Oklahoma has been pretty exciting thus far. Plus, I’ve been traveling a lot lately with the OU Debate team. We’ve been to New York City, Las Vegas, New Jersey, Kansas City, etc. It’s been great. Other than that, there hasn’t been a ton. I’ve done a few public events, however. I just spoke at Oklahoma City University Law School’s Pride week two weeks ago.
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Can you give us some insight into the competition experience? What was the most memorable part of the pageant for you, aside from your big win? The competition experience was both terrifying and exciting at the same time. Throughout the smorgasbord of emotions I was feeling, all in all, it was fairly competitive. Walking into the dressing room was the most terrifying thing I have encountered probably. Girls of all ages were everywhere. They were changing into their flashy pink and purple dresses, spraying so much hairspray, and literally painting on glitter. Moms were running around and freaking out at their kids to not touch their face after they had applied copious amounts of blush. I mean this in a very positive way. Everyone was beautiful and very prepared. It was fun to watch the younger divisions because you could tell how excited they were because they got to dress up and be princesses and such. Very cute.
And then there was me. Haha. The most memorable experience was walking out of the stage area after I had won. I had my three best friends, Aislynn, Claire, and Ian outside along with my family and they were very excited—we weren’t really expecting such a great turn out. But then as we were celebrating and taking pictures, a gay couple came up to me and told me that they were only there originally to watch their niece but they had loved my answers and my presentation at the pageant and that I was going to do very great things for the community and in that moment, I just really had “the feels” if you will, and it made me feel like what I was doing was going to have some sort of impact even if it was very small. - What's ahead for you in the upcoming months? Honestly, I have no idea. I’m probably just gonna keep debating and being me! Hopefully I will find some other places to spread the message and just keep doing what I can! I believe that coming from a privileged position that I have, it is my personal responsibility to speak out against oppression and the frequent discrimination that our community faces.
- Share your #HauteButchTruth - what does the butch lifestyle mean to you? The lifestyle for me has always been to just be yourself and say screw you to everyone who disagrees with that. But of course, it has mostly to do with being proud of who you are because even if people don’t agree, it’s not their decision to make. :) And after facing some horrible comments from this endeavor, it’s honestly only made me more confident in telling people that I really do not care what they think.
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Any inspiration, ideas, or style tips to share with our community? Keep being you. When people have the freedom to express who they are, I personally feel like they have achieved the highest level of pure awesomeness. And if you’re not there yet, that’s okay—don’t worry, plenty of people, including myself are certainly not there yet. Also, as far as style goes, always match your belt and your shoes. Seriously, I live on a campus with plenty of frat boys who just have not learned this rule—it’s important. Also, smile. You’re beautiful/handsome/hot AF, whatever you prefer. And it really isn’t what you wear but how you change the world, that makes you perfect…also what you wear. But you’ve got HauteButch to take care of that. ;)
Also, follow me on the cyber things! :)
Instagram: @mattiedb8sTwitter: @mattiedb8sSnapchat: @mlwdebate007