Sam Smith on gender identity: ‘I feel just as much woman as I am man’
By Ross Semple
Sam Smith has revealed he doesn’t “feel” like a cisgender man.
The ‘Too Good at Goodbyes’ singer sat down with The Sunday Times to discuss gender identity and spoke of his love for dressing in drag.
Smith reveals that he loves heels and raids an Australian drag shop called House of Priscila whenever he’s in Sydney: “Oh my god, I just buy everything – heels, dresses. We have a great time.”
The former Attitude cover star then touched upon his teenage years, revealing that he was influenced by Boy George and Marilyn when he was growing up.
“People don’t know this, but when I was 17, I remember becoming obsessed with Boy George and Marilyn. There was one moment in my life when I didn’t own a piece of male clothing, really.”
“I would wear full make up every day at school – eyelashes, leggings with Dr Martens and huge fur coats, for two and a half years.”
Then, when asked if he feels like a cisgender man, Smith said: “No.”
After pointing to two tattoos on his fingers, he continued: “I mean, I’ve got these tattoos on my fingers. I don’t know what the title would be, but I feel just as much woman as I am man.”
Smith then states that he was bullied as a teenager for dressing in female clothing, saying: “I got teased a lot for it. But there were also people respecting me for walking around like that in my school.”
However, the bullying seemed to continue even after he moved to London and began working at a bar. The singer reveals he was assaulted near St Paul’s shortly after finishing work.
He explains: “I’d finished work and put on my clothes, and someone punched me in the chest, obviously just because of the way I looked. But that never bothered me, because I had this barricade up.”
The star recently claimed he felt a “bit behind” in his relationships shortly after he was spotted kissing 13 Reasons Why star Brandon Flynn. The singer also made an appearance at the Attitude Awards, presenting Laverne Cox with her Inspiration Award.
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