Living their truth. Sam Smith requested to be referred to with gender-neutral pronouns “they” and “them” in a candid Instagram post on Friday, September 13.
“I’ve decided I am changing my pronouns to THEY/THEM ❤ after a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out,” Smith, 27, wrote to their 13 million Instagram followers.
The “How Do You Sleep?” singer acknowledged that they understand people may accidentally misgender them. However, Smith hopes their preferred pronouns will be respected.
“I’m so excited and privileged to be surrounded by people that support me in this decision, but I’ve been very nervous about announcing this because I care too much about what people think but f–k it! I understand there will be many mistakes and misgendering but all I ask is you please, please try. I hope you can see me like I see myself now,” Smith continued.
They added that they are still learning about being nonbinary and don’t feel qualified to teach about the topic. However, Smith left the usernames for LGBTQ organizations and transgender activists for people to learn more.
The list included transgender actress Laverne Cox, Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness and LGBTQ organizations GLAAD and Stonewall.
Smith hinted at the pronoun transition when they thanked Hits Radio presenter James Barr for referring to them as “they” on Twitter on Tuesday, September 10.
“You’re one of the first people to use these pronouns with me. Thank you. That feels really beautiful,” Smith tweeted.
Smith has been open about their gender identity since October 2017 when they described themselves as “just as much woman as I am man” in an interview with The Sunday Times.
However, the Grammy winner officially came out as nonbinary in March while appearing on Jameela Jamil’s I Weigh series on Instagram TV.
“You do not identify in a gender. You are a mixture of all these different things. You are your own special creation,” Smith explained their gender identity at the time. “That is how I take it. I am not male or female. I think I float somewhere in between — somewhat on the spectrum.”
Smith also noted they had considered a sex change in the past.
“I’ve sometimes sat there and questioned, ‘Do I want a sex change?’” Smith said. “It’s something I still think about, but I don’t think it is [something I want to do].”
