A male pop fan who idolised Britney Spears has undergone a sex change operation to make himself look more like the star. Transsexual Kara Hays has now spent over £60,000 on gender re-alignment surgery and breast implants.
The 26-year-old, who was born a man and used to be known as Kody, now has long-flowing blonde hair in imitation of the 90s pop singer. Ms. Hays said after deciding to have a sex change choosing which woman he wanted to look like was a natural choice
.'When you feel like you’re a girl living in a boy’s body and you try to change you want that validation that you look like a girl. I viewed her as a very strong woman, everybody wanted to date her. 'I focused on Britney and Christina Aguilera for my inspiration: they were the stars that were around when I was younger, they are who you looked up to.
'Nowadays people have Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. 'I was just thinking, I want to be a girl now, who do I emulate?'
And it is not merely just in looks that the 26-year-old takes after her idol, as she even claims to have had a mental breakdown around the same time as Britney - shaving off her head to join her beloved heroine.
Kara said:
'I was in a really bad mood one day and just went into the salon and told them to take my extensions out. 'I thought if Britney has the strength to do it then I do too. 'People told me it was such a bold statement, I felt so liberated. 'I’ve never felt good enough and I tried to do anything to make myself ugly, this was one of those things.'
The 26-year-old says her new appearance, which has turned her into a lookalike of the pop singer who shot to fame with her debut album '...Baby One More Time' in 1999, has finally brought her happiness following years of anguish.
After shocking classmates by turning up at a Halloween dance, aged just 12, dressed in a red vinyl body suit in homage to Britney's costume in her 'Oops I did it again' video - he caused uproar in the Bible-belt town in Ohio, US, where he grew up. But at the age of 15, his parents allowed him to see a doctor and he was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 1999 and began taking female hormones. Over the next few years, he sprouted breasts, began to freely dress as a woman and changed his name to Kara.
In 2002, Kara then underwent a gruelling 14 hour gender reassignment surgery and breast implant surgery, and has so far spent around £60,000 dying her hair blonde and modelling herself on her idea of perfection.
The aspiring actress said: 'Once I changed, I went through school perfectly normally, I had to adhere to the rules and dress code like everyone else.
'I felt like I was put under a microscope though. I felt like I couldn’t have any form of scandalous situation because I was already a scandal in itself.
'It was almost like I went through puberty twice.'
Kara began experimenting with drink and drugs once she had graduated high school, and moved to Los Angeles in an attempt to pursue a career in acting.
She began being mistaken as Britney and was even referred to as the mega star by members of the paparazzi, something she claims was 'incredibly validating'.
Kara later moved to New York to attend the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts for a year, graduating last year before starting on a degree in public relations.
