Demi Lovato Comes Out As Nonbinary — Why This Step In Their LGBTQ Journey Matters
They're still figuring it out... And that's OK!
DFree / Shutterstock Demi Lovato has come out as nonbinary and announced that they would “officially be changing my pronouns to they/them moving forward.”
The singer referenced the “healing and self-reflective work” that was involved in their coming out journey and said the past year and a half has been an important chapter in their progress.
“I’m doing this for those out there that haven’t been able to share who they truly are with their loved ones. Please keep living in your truths and know I am sending so much love your way.”
Demi Lovato will use they/them pronouns going forward.
Lovato says their choice of pronouns “best represents the fluidity I feel in my gender expression.”
Their coming out is an important representation of the fluidity of gender as we have watched Lovato transition through various stages of their gender and sexuality expression on their journey to living more authentically.
The singer has become increasingly open about their place in the LGBTQ community being labeled as bisexual for years before coming out as pansexual earlier this year.
Now, their revelation about their gender identity demonstrates a meaningful transition through LGBTQ identifiers.
Demi Lovato was first said to be bisexual since 2015.
Lovato never officially revealed they were bisexual, this was more of a conclusion drawn from their statements on their sexuality.
In 2015, their song “Cool For The Summer” was labeled a bisexual anthem and Lovato hinted that they were interested in “experimentation” with same-sex partners.
In 2017, they talked about coming out to their parents and “ending up possibly with a woman," but again didn’t explicitly label themselves as bisexual — but some assumed their discussion of sexuality within gender binaries was a confirmation of this.
Lovato’s coming out was at a time where there was much less discussion around pansexuality and the fluidity of gender. They did, however, state that they were “still figuring it out,” reflecting the reality that coming out is as much of a spectrum as gender and sexuality are.
They came out as pansexual earlier this year.
In March 2021, Lovato explicitly labeled their sexuality for the first time when Joe Rogan asked if they were pansexual.
“I'm so fluid now, and a part of the reason why I am so fluid is because I was super closeted off," they said.
Lovato also discussed how their Christian upbringing caused them to repress any attraction outside heteronormativity.
I felt a lot of shame because growing up in Texas as a Christian, that's very frowned upon," Lovato added. "Any attraction I had to a female at a young age, I shut it down before I even let myself process what I was feeling."
Lovato said they became more fluid in their identity this year.
Earlier in March 2021, Lovato had mentioned that they were sure of their identity but were waiting for the right time to claim it.
"I'm using this time to really study and educate myself on my journey and what I'm preparing to do," they said.
In this statement, and in their interview with Rogan, Lovato circled back to the word “queer” and expressed a liking towards it as an identifier.
"When I started getting older, I started realizing how queer I really am,” they said. The word encompasses any gender or sexual identity that isn’t rigidly heterosexual or cisgender.
Though it was interpreted as an indication of their sexuality, we now know Lovato may have been nodding to their gender identity also.
The singer displayed a desire to become increasingly fluid in their sexuality which has culminated in a gender expression that defies binaries.
While it is important to distinguish that gender and sexuality are two separate entities and not all pansexual people are nonbinary and vice versa, it makes sense that Lovato’s choice to educate themselves on fluid sexual expression perhaps gave them more freedom with their gender identity.
Demi Lovato is a much-needed source of nonbinary representation.
While Lovato insisted that they don’t “claim to be an expert or a spokesperson” on gender identity, their coming out is a symbolic one.
Lovato has been refreshingly open about their identity at various points in their life, often while this identity was still in formation.
Theirs is a story for those who are “still figuring it out” and a lesson for those who put labels on others before someone labels themselves.
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment. Keep up with her on Twitter for more.