In March, Sam Smith gave an interview to a podcast and he ended up breaking a lot of news. He talked in some detail about how uncomfortable he was and is with his body, especially when he was a boy, and how he never felt like he was really a male person. He came out as nonbinary in that interview – and he’s still fine with male pronouns, btw – and I think the message was pretty well-received. He’s always had a deeply feminine side, and I don’t think people were shocked at all that Sam is nonbinary. Well, Sam is one of the covers for the June issue of British GQ’s “Hero Issue.” He talked about being nonbinary and what heroism means to him.
Heroism is longitudinal. “A hero doesn’t happen overnight. It happens over time.”
His discomfort with ‘being a man’: “Ever since I was a little boy, ever since I was a little human, I didn’t feel comfortable being a man really. I never really did. Some days I’ve got my manly side and some days I’ve got my womanly side, but it’s when I’m in the middle of that switch that I get really, really depressed and sad. Because I don’t know who I am or where I am or what I’m doing, and I feel very misunderstood by myself. I realized that’s because I don’t fit into either.”
His mom is supportive: “I was with my mum…and she said something so beautiful. ‘I’m so relieved that you and me and your whole family have a way to explain this, because it’s also been eating me up your whole life.’ Because my mum could see it and that it was a torture going on in my mind. But I’m also very scared, because I’ve lived my life as a minority and now it makes me scared because I’m trying to explain it to people around me and they don’t understand. It feels like a new conversation, but I’m now learning it isn’t a new conversation and it’s been around for so long.”
His hero is Frida Kahlo. “She is a queer human being, a very important queer human being, who blurs the lines of gender, which is something that means a lot to me.”
I feel like we’re going to keep having these conversations until everything gets normalized, much like transgender issues several years ago. Say what you will about Caitlyn Jenner (and yes, she’s an a–hole), but her public journey helped a lot of cis people understand transgender people. That’s where celebrities help – it’s nice to have a public, celebrity face like Sam or Asia Kate Dillon to put a face on the nonbinary issue.
Photos/video courtesy of WENN and British GQ.
I find Sam Smith obnoxious for a number of reasons.
I can’t believe he’s a year younger than me. I thought he was in his thirties.
Does non binary refers to, when a person does not want to conform to the society’s expectations of a “male/female” ?
This is how I read it anyway. Which is kind of cool and good.
Perhaps its a generational thing. (i’m 47)
I don’t get him. I don’t get his appeal. I don’t get his talking points. I don’t find him interesting.
I am all for self-expression and finding out who you are, but he is just comes across so whiny about it- to me.
I just, don’t see why anyone cares about him.
ariel — im in my 30s and im just all lost about it. i just shrug my shoulders. Im not in the business of policing what someones wants to call or see themselves as or gender wise.
in this day and age if you ever disagree about ANYTHING you are blackballed and hounded by the internets LOL so I defer comment really.
Same! And the story about him getting liposuction at age 12 seems so bizarre and privileged to me. Why would any parent be ok with that? Why would a doctor perform lipo on a child?
He has a beautiful singing voice…that’s his appeal.
He reminds me of Michael Bolton. Everything starts at 100. Scream scream scream. I also was annoyed when he claimed he was the first out man to win an Oscar. Not true.
I don’t know much about him, but I do like his music so I’ll say good for him for being able to express his true identity. I hope in time these sorts of things become normalised by society and the lives of people on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum improve.
STFU
I just love him for living his truth in the public eye. Good for him.