Sam Smith, Ruby Rose, Demi Lovato, Eminem’s daughter Whitney Scott Mathers, and other celebrities who identify as gender neutral or non-binary.
Celebrities are culture and idea influencers. Not only do many ideas spread through them, but through the ease of identifying with them, the public finds the courage to express and live their hardest truths. In recent years, asides from the open declaration of alternate sexual orientations, gender neutrality has been a much-expressed phenomenon among celebrities. Denouncing the male or feminine gender, choosing gender neutrality and identifying as non-binary is a phenomenon we are becoming quite familiar with.
The way of the world keeps changing. Think about an application on your Android or iOS device, how there are constant updates at regular intervals that either improve the functionality or change the user interface and overall performance. Life and human existence operate similarly. Ideas, patterns, cultures, and basic ways of thinking keep evolving, ultimately changing our overall reality.
Of all the aspects of human existence that have witnessed changes over time, sexuality is arguably the most affected. Sexual orientations, sexual identity, and sexual behaviours have seen more alterations than one can keep up with. More important is the need to get educated about these new ideas. It will take some time, however, but the world is catching up.
On Saturday, Eminem’s adopted child – formerly known as a girl named Whitney, came out as a non-binary (they/he/she), changing their name to Stevie. She was officially adopted by the superstar rapper in 2005. In this piece, we take a look at famous people who openly identify as non-binary. Whitney’s mother is Eminem’s ex, Kim Scott.
Demi Lovato
In May 2021, singer and actor Demi Lovato came out as non-binary in an Instagram post.
“Today is a day I’m so happy to share more of my life with you all,” they wrote. “I am proud to let you know that I identify as non-binary & will officially be changing my pronouns to they/them moving forward.”
Lovato continued, saying, “This has come after a lot of healing & self-reflective work. I’m still learning & coming into myself, & I don’t claim to be an expert or a spokesperson. Sharing this with you now opens another level of vulnerability for me.” Before this announcement, they had come out to their parents as pansexual, declaring they felt “so fluid now”.
Janelle Monáe
In the same month as Lovato, singer Janelle Monáe implied they now identify as non-binary. Monáe retweeted a gif of a non-binary character from the animated Cartoon Network show, “Steven Universe,” adding the caption “Are you a boy or girl?’ I’m an experience.”
In Monáe’s retweet, the singer added the hashtag “#IAmNonbinary”. They, however, didn’t specify if they wanted to be addressed as they/them or she. Monáe had also identified as pansexual back in 2018.
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Sam Smith
Smith declared in a 2017 Sunday Times interview that, “I feel just as much woman as I am man.” While speaking on Jameela Jamil’s Instagram show, “I Weigh Interviews” in March 2021, Sam added, “I’m not male or female. I think I float somewhere in between.”
Sam explained that they realized they were non-binary when they got to know about the words “non-binary” and “genderqueer.” Smith eventually announced the change of pronouns.
“After a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out,” they wrote. “I’m so excited and privileged to be surrounded by people that support me in this decision, but I’ve been very nervous about announcing this because I care too much about what people think but f— it!,” Smith said, imploring people to see them as they see themselves.
Amandla Stenberg
Through a Tumblr post in 2016, Amandla came out as non-binary. In said post, the actor, who also identifies as gay, wrote that she doesn’t feel like a woman all the time. Initially, Amandla declared the desire to use the pronouns they/them. However, in 2018, she told the Washington Post that she realized she “didn’t need those pronouns to feel comfortable… And it felt almost detrimental to those who really did need them.”
Ruby Rose
Australian model and “Batwoman” star Ruby Rose posted a five-minute video on YouTube in 2014. The video was described as “a short film about gender roles, Trans, and what it is like to have an identity that deviates from the status quo.”
In an interview with The Guardian, Rose said that she spent her childhood “convinced” she was male, despite being assigned female at birth: “I used to pray to God that I wouldn’t get breasts,” she said. “I feel like I’m a boy, but I don’t feel like I should’ve been born with different parts of my body or anything like that, I feel like it’s just all in how I dress and how I talk and how I look and feel, and that makes me happy.” She concluded by stating, “I really sit in a more neutral place, which I’m grateful for as well.”
Though she uses feminine pronouns, she has insisted she is neither male nor female.
Asia Kate Dillon
Hollywood actor Asia Kate Dillon who starred alongside Keanu Reeves in the latest instalment of the John Wick franchise, asked for their “John Wick” character to be non-binary. In an interview with Insider, Asia revealed how they advocated to bring a bit of their own identity to their role as the Adjudicator in the film.
“I just said to Chad Stahelski (the director) and Keanu Reeves, ‘you have a real opportunity here’,” Dillon said. “I’m a non-binary person. This character could be non-binary.” The idea was embraced by the production team, and it was employed.
“It was a real thrill for me to get to bring that to the table and have it be warmly received,” Dillion added.
The actor is also known for their role in the series “Orange is The New Black” and “Billions”, where they also play a non-binary character.
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Tommy Dorfman
Tommy Dorfman is widely known as the openly gay character Ryan Shaver on Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why”. Dorfman spoke about having dealt with insecurity as a gay person in Hollywood. In 2020, Dorfman wrote an essay for Teen Vogue about the complexities of wearing gendered clothing as a non-binary person.
“Physically, biologically I am male, and I’ve never wanted to change that,” Dorfman wrote. “Yet inside, I am considerably more female. My spirit is more female, this even my therapist could intuit.”
Indya Moore
Moore’s story is a bit more interesting as they were assigned male at birth. They currently play the character of Angel, a trans woman on FX’s “Pose,” a series about NYC’s legendary underground ballroom culture that began in the 1980s.
“I’m non-binary, but I don’t really talk about it that much. I don’t feel like people really are there yet for understanding it, which I don’t mind, but I also acknowledge the way people see me as a woman,” Moore said in a conversation with costar MJ Rodriguez for L’Officiel Magazine.
In a Twitter post, they announced their preferred pronouns to be they/them. “I’m non binary, femme, Agender feels fitting too. My pronouns: they/them/theirs. I correct people often. At times they ignore me & I tolerate it to avoid conflict/irritation, but it’s upsetting to feel like I’m ‘too much’ in a world that takes so much from trans people constantly,” the tweet read.
Jonathan Van Ness
Van Ness gained popularity through his role in the 2018 Netflix show “Queer Eye”. He has used the opportunity to share his journey of self-discovery and speak openly about his views. In a recent interview with Out Magazine, Van Ness explained that the older he gets, the more he identifies as non-binary.
“I’m gender nonconforming. Like, some days I feel like a man, but then other days I feel like a woman,” Van Ness said. “I think that a lot of times gender is used to separate and divide. It’s this social construct that I don’t really feel like I fit into the way I used to,” he added.
Whitney Scott Mathers (Stevie)
According to a TikTok video posted on her account, Eminem’s adopted daughter, formerly known as Whitney, came out as genderfluid and is now going by the name Stevie.
“Watch me become more comfortable with myself <3,” Stevie wrote on the video. A series of photos of her accompanied the post through the years. The images show the progression of her look and her pronouns, beginning with Whitney she/ her, continuing to Whitney they/she and Stevie they/she and ending with Stevie, all pronouns. She used the hashtag #genderfluid on the video.
In the comments posted on the video, one user asked why she chose the name Stevie, and she explained that she spent a long time trying to pick a name she felt comfortable with, and the first name she felt satisfied with is Stevie.
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There are several other celebrities who identify as non-binary, and there will be more. Also, as earlier mentioned, public figures are influencers of culture, as a result, a lot of people draw courage from them to own their personal journeys. It is interesting to see how the world keeps evolving, and how the human race adjusts to it all.
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