Demi Lovato on they/them pronouns: ‘I accidentally misgender myself sometimes’
"If you misgender me, that's OK".
Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: HBO
Demi Lovato has opened up about being misgendered as a non-binary person who goes by they/them pronouns – revealing even they misgender themselves sometimes.
The star discussed the issue in a Twitter post this week marking Non-binary Awareness Week, which falls around International Non-Binary People’s Day (14 July).
Lovato came out publicly as non-binary on 19 May 2019, changing their pronouns on social media to they/them.
“I’m just grateful for your effort in trying to remember”
“If you misgender me, that’s okay,” Lovato wrote. “I accidentally misgender myself sometimes! 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.”
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. It’s all about your intention. It’s important to me that you try, but if you make a mistake, it’s okay 😊🙏🏼💞 pic.twitter.com/nd37qvMGqk
— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) July 13, 2021
Demi added: “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. It’s all about your intention. It’s important to me that you try, but if you make a mistake, it’s okay.”
The ‘Skyscraper’ singer said in their coming out post in May: “This has come after a lot of healing [and] self-reflective work. I’m still learning [and] 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.”
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