Demi Lovato Comes Out As Non-Binary: 'This Best Represents The Fluidity I Feel'

Updated September 7, 2021

Although Demi Lovato hasn't necessarily been a closed book in the past, recent years have seen the singer come to terms with some significant personal struggles and remain remarkably candid about them.

This has been the case in the aftermath of a life-threatening overdose in 2018 as well as when it came to Lovato's history with an eating disorder that they identified as a contributing factor in that incident.

After all, the unfortunate truth is both addiction and eating disorders have a long history of stigma behind them and as difficult as it may be, being open and honest with one's own struggles in both areas can do a world of good in securing help for them.

But with a more recent announcement, Lovato made it clear that these demons had a source the singer hadn't considered until the past year and a half. And in the interest of helping the healing along, Lovato is opening up to the public again.

Back in March, Lovato let fans in on their realization that they're pansexual.

This came to light during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, in which People reported the singer as saying, "I'm so fluid now, and a part of the reason why I am so fluid is because I was super closeted off."

However, Lovato recently shared on their podcast 4D that this wasn't the only way they were coming to terms with how they had suppressed who they really are in the past.

And so to end that "closeting off," Lovato announced that they identify as non-binary.

As they said, "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 be officially changing my pronouns to they/them."

Although they said they're still in the process of learning about themselves, this identfication seemed to be the one they were most comfortable with.

In their words, "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 am still discovering."

Lovato also said it would "mean the world" to them if fans started identifying them that way as well.

At the same time, they stressed that the effort to do so was the important part of this request and that they understand if people find it hard to remember to do that at first.

According to People, they said, "I think it's important because I want to use these pronouns that feel right to me. I also just don't want people to be so afraid of messing up that they don't try to use them."

For those who missed the podcast, Lovato uploaded a clip detailing this announcement to Twitter that can be seen here.

As People reported, they also came to the realization that suppressing this reality about themselves and trying to conform to female gender norms was likely a contributing factor in their relapse.

As they put it, "I feel like the reason why that happened was because I was ignoring my truth."

They continued, "I was suppressing who I really am in order to please stylists or team members or this or that, or even fans that wanted me to be the sexy, feminine pop star in the [...] leotard and look a certain way, you know?"

It's worth noting that the use of singular they/them pronouns date back at least as far as 1375.

Wikimedia Commons | John Trumbull

According to the Oxford English Dictionary blog, you would be more likely to attract strange looks by using the singular "you" than the singular "they" in 1660, as this was considered a plural pronoun and using it in place of "thou" or "thee" was supposed to be the mark of an idiot.

Obviously, you're not likely to find someone who would react this way anymore and since they/them pronouns work by similar conventions as "You" does, it's not quite as much of an adjustment as some may think.

h/t: People

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