Mercury Stardust
Mercury Stardust | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 8, 1987 |
| Other names | "Trans Handy Ma'am" |
| Occupation(s) | Home repair educator, TikToker, activist, burlesque performer |
| Years active | 2021–present |
TikTok information | |
| Page | |
| Followers | 2.6 million |
| Likes | 79.4 million |
Last updated: April 3, 2025 | |
| Website | mercurystardust |
Mercury Stardust (born December 8, 1987)[1] is an American author, TikToker, transgender activist, burlesque performer, and home repair educator.[2] Known on TikTok as the "Trans Handy Ma'am", she provides advice on DIY home repair.[2]
Life
Stardust grew up on a farm in northern Wisconsin, where she learned maintenance skills from her father, a truck driver and farmworker.[3][4] In college, she studied theater and became a cabaret performer.[3] Stardust took an internship as a maintenance technician at the age of 19, while traveling and performing in gay bars on weekends.[5] In 2015, Stardust founded the Wisconsin Burlesque Association.[6]
Stardust chose her name in 2014.[3] She came out as a trans woman in 2019.[4] Her spouse, Ari, is non-binary.[3]
Career
Stardust began posting on TikTok in March 2021.[2] Initially using the platform to promote her weekly burlesque show in Madison, she shifted her focus after going viral in April 2021 for a video explaining how to use a ratchet strap.[4] Her content largely focuses on home repair and DIY solutions to common household problems, earning her the nickname "Trans Handy Ma'am".[2] She reached one million followers by July 2021[5] and 1.5 million by February 2022, at which point online content creation became her full time job.[5] As of September 2023, Stardust had over two million followers.[7] She received the 2021 Trans* Activist of the Year award from the OutReach LGBTQ Community Center.[8]
In March 2022, Stardust hosted the first TikTok-a-Thon for Trans Healthcare, coinciding with International Transgender Day of Visibility, during which she raised more than $120,000 for Plume, an organization which funds gender-affirming care.[9][10] During the event's second iteration in March 2023, she co-hosted a 30-hour livestream on both TikTok and Twitch to raise money for Point of Pride, another organization which funds gender-affirming care for transgender individuals.[11][12] Guests for the event included V Spehar.[9] The livestream raised over $100,000 in its first hour and $1 million in its first six hours.[9] In total the event raised over $2 million.[12][13] In March 2024, the event's third iteration aimed to raised $4 million for Point of Pride, with appearances from guests including Ve'ondre Mitchell and Dylan Mulvaney.[14][15] However, within the first ten hours of the event, Stardust's and co-host Jory (Alluring Skull)'s TikTok accounts were banned nine times due to mass reporting from trolls, resulting in multiple interruptions.[15]
Since November 2022, Stardust has hosted the podcast Handy Ma'am Hotline, where she discusses home maintenance.[16] In April 2023, Stardust announced that she had authored a book, Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair, set to be published on August 29, 2023 by Penguin Random House.[2] Within a few days of its presale, the book became a #1 bestseller in Amazon's Home Repair category.[2] In August 2023, the book became a New York Times Best Seller. Stardust went on a 52-city book tour in the United States in fall 2023.[17]
References
- ^ "Happy Birthday Mercury!", Handy Ma'am Hotline (podcast), Acast, 2022-12-08, retrieved 2023-04-11
- ^ a b c d e f Hayward, Ryan (2023-04-10). "Mercury Stardust, TikTok's 'Trans Handy-Ma'am,' Is Releasing A Book On Home Repair". House Digest. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ^ a b c d Stardust, Mercury (2021-07-15). "'I'm a Trans Handy Ma'am—I Share DIY Tips On TikTok'". Newsweek. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ^ a b c Valle, Jay (2022-01-11). "'Trans Handy Ma'am' goes viral on TikTok after sharing home improvement tips". NBC News. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ^ a b c Syed, Armani (2022-02-09). "Viral TikTok maintenance expert 'Trans Handy Ma'am' shares the biggest home improvement mistakes people make". Insider. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ^ "Wisconsin Burlesque Association". MadStage. Archived from the original on 2022-08-12. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
- ^ Negley, Erin (2023-09-29). "Mercury Stardust, the Trans Handy Ma'am, brings her renter-friendly home repair tips to Lancaster". LancasterOnline. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
- ^ "OUTREACH AWARDS". lgbtoutreach. Archived from the original on 2023-09-27. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ^ a b c Jaeckels, Beck (2023-03-31). "TikTokers are hosting a 30-hour livestream to raise money for trans healthcare — they hit $1 million in just 6 hours". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ^ Baska, Maggie (2022-03-25). "TikTok's 'trans handy ma'am' is fighting for equality while solving your DIY woes". PinkNews. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ^ Tolentino, Daysia (2023-03-31). "TikTokers raise over $1M for trans healthcare, gender-affirming surgeries". NBC News. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ^ a b Riedel, Samantha (2023-03-31). "These Trans Creators Have Raised Over $2 Million for Trans Healthcare on TikTok Live". Them. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ^ "From Fundraising to Impact: How Point of Pride will utilize TikTok-a-Thon funding". Point of Pride. 2023-04-17. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
- ^ Lopez, Quispe (2024-03-29). "Last Year, This TikTok Duo Raised $2 Million for Trans Healthcare. This Year, They're Doubling It". Them. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
- ^ a b Mills, Emily (2024-04-02). "Mercury Stardust's annual fundraiser for trans health care hit with troll attack and TikTok ban". Our Lives. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
- ^ "Handy Ma'am Hotline". Acast. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ^ Piche, Gail (2023-11-28). "The Trans Handy Ma'am: the home repair TikToker championing renters". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-01.