Demi Lovato was showered by love and support after sharing a post about being misgendered.
Demetria Devonne Lovato, 28, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Lovato has sold over 24 million records in the United States and has also received numerous awards, including an MTV Video Music Award, 14 Teen Choice Awards, five People’s Choice Awards, two Latin American Music Awards, a Guinness World Record, and was included on the Time 100 annual list in 2017.
In May, Demi took to Instagram to make an announcement in conjunction with their new podcast, 4D with Demi Lovato. The singer revealed that they identify as non-binary and will now be using the pronouns they/them.
“Over the past year and a half I’ve been doing some healing and self-reflective work and through this work, I’ve had the revelation that I identify as non-binary, with that said, I’ll officially be changing my pronouns to they/them,” Demi said. “I feel that this best represents the fluidity I feel in my gender expression and allows me to feel most authentic and true to the person I both know I am and still am discovering.”
“I was ignoring my truth…in order to please stylists, or team members, or even fans that wanted me to be the sexy, feminine pop star in the leotard and look a certain way, you know?”
“I thought that was what I was supposed to be and now I just realize that it’s so much more important to live your truth than to ever suppress yourself because that’s the type of stuff that happens when you do,” they added.
Demi revealed they identified as nonbinary, attributing their near-fatal 2018 drug overdose to years of repressing who they really were.
Non-binary or genderqueer is an umbrella term for gender identities that are neither male nor female, identities that are outside the gender binary.
Demi penned a heartfelt message to fans who may have accidentally used the wrong pronouns since they came out as non-binary.
“I felt the need to post this because I often find that the change in pronouns can be confusing for some, and difficult to remember for others,” Demi captioned the post. “It’s all about your intention. It’s important to me that you try, but if you make a mistake, it’s okay 😊🙏🏼💞 #nonbinaryawarenessweek”
“If you misgender me — that’s okay. I accidentally misgender myself sometimes!” Demi wrote. “It’s a huge transition to change the pronouns I’ve used for myself my entire life. And it’s difficult to remember sometimes!”
“As long as you keep trying to respect my truth, and as long as I remember my truth, the shift will come naturally.”
“I’m just grateful for your effort in trying to remember what means so much to my healing process,” Demi added. “Remember that I love you, and to keep going.”
Demi says they understand that transitioning into using they/them pronouns is a learning curve for those who care about them and they even find themselves using the wrong pronouns to identify, too.
Besides, letting people know that mistakes will happen, Demi also told fans to keep being conscious about using the right pronouns, and it’ll become second nature.
The singer commemorated International Nonbinary People’s Day on July 14, by giving followers a heartfelt lesson on pronouns and the importance of respecting people’s true expression.
Demi reposted a carousel of slides from activist Matt Bernstein defining the term nonbinary, clarifying that it is not an artistic nor a trend and that just because someone identifies as nonbinary doesn’t mean they use “they/them” pronouns.
New research released on Monday by the Trevor Project found that over one in four (26 percent) of LGBTQ youth identified as nonbinary. An additional 20 percent said they are not sure or are questioning whether they identify as nonbinary.