Last May, Demi Lovato became one of the first pop stars to openly identify as non-binary and adopt they/them pronouns. Coming from hyper-feminized Disney Channel roots, the decision was often criticized — one radio host even rage quit over it — or made the butt of low-hanging jokes, mocking or undermining the fluidity of Lovato's gender identity.
But they continue to bring important discussions into the mainstream with their candour: in a new episode of the Spout podcast, Lovato explained to host Tamara Dhia that she's actually adopted she/her pronouns again in addition to a preference for they/them.
"For me, I'm such a fluid person when it comes to my gender, my sexuality, my music," the pop star said.
They continued:
Especially last year, my energy was balanced in my masculine and feminine energy. When I was faced with the choice of walking into a bathroom and it said "women" and "men," I didn't feel like there was a bathroom for me. I didn't feel necessarily like a woman. I didn't feel like a man. I just felt like a human. And that's what they/them is about for me. It's just about feeling human at your core.
"Recently, I've been feeling more feminine," Lovato added, "and so I've adopted she/her again." She went on to say that nobody's perfect and everyone gets pronouns wrong at some point, but it's "all about respect."
When coming out as non-binary last year, the singer-songwriter expressed that they/them pronouns were the best representation of the fluidity of their gender expression. Lovato incisively noted that they/them felt the most authentic to who they were at that particular moment in time — because where we identify in the spectrum of gender identity is an ongoing self-discovery process that is inevitably subject to change over time.
Listen to the full podcast episode below.
But they continue to bring important discussions into the mainstream with their candour: in a new episode of the Spout podcast, Lovato explained to host Tamara Dhia that she's actually adopted she/her pronouns again in addition to a preference for they/them.
"For me, I'm such a fluid person when it comes to my gender, my sexuality, my music," the pop star said.
They continued:
Especially last year, my energy was balanced in my masculine and feminine energy. When I was faced with the choice of walking into a bathroom and it said "women" and "men," I didn't feel like there was a bathroom for me. I didn't feel necessarily like a woman. I didn't feel like a man. I just felt like a human. And that's what they/them is about for me. It's just about feeling human at your core.
"Recently, I've been feeling more feminine," Lovato added, "and so I've adopted she/her again." She went on to say that nobody's perfect and everyone gets pronouns wrong at some point, but it's "all about respect."
When coming out as non-binary last year, the singer-songwriter expressed that they/them pronouns were the best representation of the fluidity of their gender expression. Lovato incisively noted that they/them felt the most authentic to who they were at that particular moment in time — because where we identify in the spectrum of gender identity is an ongoing self-discovery process that is inevitably subject to change over time.
Listen to the full podcast episode below.
