Janelle Monáe just came out as gender nonbinary through a tweet.
The hashtag #IAmNonBinary has been flooding Twitter over the weekend, with many sharing their personal experiences of being gender nonbinary.
The actor and singer, who opened up about her sexuality in 2018 and identifies as queer and a “free-ass-motherfucker,” quote-tweeted one of the trend’s tweets on Friday.
“There is absolutely nothing better than living outside the gender binary. #IAmNonbinary,” Twitter user @camrynieroway wrote, along with a GIF of a cartoon.
The cartoon says, “‘Are you a boy or a girl?’ I’m an experience.”
Monáe quote-tweeted it and simply said, “#IAmNonBinary.”
#IAmNonbinary 🪐 https://t.co/9TN13XAAra
— Janelle Monáe👽🚆🤖🚀🪐 (@JanelleMonae) January 10, 2020
Fans flooded Monáe’s tweet with support.
“Beautiful to see people with big&young audiences voicing things like this so these confused, scared, unsure adolescents, children, and even adults can have role models to look up to!!” Twitter user @pro_paige_ wrote.
https://twitter.com/pro_paige_/status/1216063520715964416?s=20
Twitter user @koenthegaysian, who describes themselves as a “Janelle Monáe stan,” opened up about why Monáe coming out as nonbinary is so important to them.
“As someone who has been a die hard fan of yours since freshman year of high school, and someone who came out as non-binary senior year, this is such an amazing thing to see. My biggest idol and role model also coming out as NB is amazing and makes me feel seen,” they wrote.
https://twitter.com/koenthegaysian/status/1216091576503427072?s=20
Another wrote that Monáe was an inspiration to “Black, queer people.”
An icon 💁🏾 and an inspiration to other black queer people like me… you always give me the motivation to say “I can do this!” Thank tou🙏🏾
— Princx-Quinn (@maddoxkenji_17) January 11, 2020
am i crying about one of my favorite artists ever being nonbinary? absolutely 😭❤❤❤❤❤
— Jay 💜🐰🌌 (@jaythefae) January 11, 2020
“You will help lift up many with this declaration. Your truth will empower, encourage, and send strength to many feeling vulnerable and unseen,” writer Aaron Vallely tweeted.
You will help lift up many with this declaration. Your truth will empower, encourage, and send strength to many feeling vulnerable and unseen. I hope those who needed to read this feel less lonely and more powerful. I salute you for your courage.
— Aaron Vallely (@Vallmeister) January 11, 2020
While there was some confusion over Monáe’s preferred pronouns, it’s important to note that she has not announced them yet, and many nonbinary people use “she/her” and “he/him” pronouns. Others use multiple pronouns or pronouns other than “she/her,” “they/their,” and “he/him.”
READ MORE:
- Everything you never understood about being nonbinary
- ‘Pansexual’ searches dominate Merriam-Webster after Janelle Monae interview
- Janelle Monae opens up about her sexuality—and Twitter is here for it
- This mom has the perfect nickname for her nonbinary kid
H/T BuzzFeed
