Ruby Rose is clearly profoundly mentally ill, with major gender-identity issues:
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Rose came out as a lesbian at the age of 12. Because of her sexuality, she suffered verbal taunts and physical abuse from her schoolmates, which led to a suicide attempt. She was also sexually abused as a child by a relative, and has bipolar disorder and clinical depression.
With regard to childhood gender nonconformity, Rose said she wanted to be a boy while growing up and that she was saving up money to physically transition from female to male. She said, "It was in my mind as something I wanted to do and then I just... didn't. I guess I grew out of it. I even used to sleep on my front because I didn't want to get boobs ever, which I think worked actually." She stated that modelling led her to discover androgyny, and allowed her to model with different gender expressions. She recalled, "I remember being at a yum cha restaurant with my dad and the owner coming up and saying, 'Excuse me, we're trying to work out if you're a handsome boy or a beautiful girl.' It was a compliment and I was shocked, and when I thought about it I actually wanted to be a handsome boy."
Rose is genderfluid, saying, "I am very gender fluid and feel more like I wake up every day sort of gender neutral." This announcement came approximately a week after she released Break Free, in which she visually transforms from a very feminine woman to a heavily tattooed man. Rose stated, however, that she prefers to continue using feminine pronouns. While if she had to choose a sex, she commented that she would choose to be male, she does not feel like she should have been born with different body parts. Seeing the desire her transgender friends had for transitioning, she asked herself if her need to transition matched theirs, and concluded that she is satisfied being gender neutral. "I think at this stage I will stay a woman but ... who knows. I'm so comfortable right now I feel wonderful about it, but I also fluctuate a lot," she added.