Paris Jackson: ‘I don’t feel like there is a label for my sexuality that fits’

Paris Jackson wears no mask as she attends protest

I tend to check in on Paris Jackson every so often just to see what she’s up to. This week, she’s up to an amicable breakup with her boyfriend of two years, Gabriel Glenn. Sources tell TMZ that the relationship “just ran its course” and “neither holds any anger or ill will.” Which is nice, a mature breakup. Incidentally, last night was the finale of her Facebook Watch show, Unfiltered: Paris Jackson and Gabriel Glenn. Sounds like they were only staying together for the Facebook show! Before we learned of her breakup, Paris chatted with People Magazine about the show and she spent most of the interview talking about her sexuality:

Whether she considers herself bisexual: “I wouldn’t consider myself bisexual because I’ve dated more than just men and women,” Jackson said in a previous episode. “It has nothing to do with what’s in your pants. It has nothing to do with what your XY chromosome makeup is, it’s literally just what are you like as a person.”

She’s not hurt by mislabeling: Now, she explains that while it isn’t “hurtful” for people to mislabel her, it still “doesn’t feel right.” “I don’t feel like there is a label for my sexuality that fits. Labels in general, not just for sexuality but for everything, I think, are just ways for humans to make sense of the world, to be able to compartmentalize … We’re getting past the need for labels. It’s beautiful.”

How she deals with her depression & anxiety: “Everyone has different ways of coping with depression and anxiety. I encourage anyone going through it to research as much as they can to find what fits them best. For me, I just try to practice meditation and DBT (dialectical behavior therapy), I try to surround myself with people, places and things that feed my soul and make me happy.”

Why she joined a Black Lives Matter protest: “The message I hope people get is to just do your part. Don’t be an a–hole. Do what you can to make this world a better place. There’s no such thing as ‘enough activism for the day.’ We all need to get to work and get our hands dirty. No one is going to do it for us.”

[From People]

A while back, Miley Cyrus spoke about her pansexuality and she described it similarly to Paris’s “I’m mislabeled as bisexual” thing. From what I understand, pansexuality is the same thing as what Paris is describing, although she does not use that word. Because NO LABELS! I get that. I just think that for a lot of younger people, the “stop putting labels on people” thing has a hard time existing with their celebration of their own sexual/gender/racial identity. I’m glad those celebrations and conversations exist, and I’m glad that people are talking about sexual identity, gender identity and racial identity more than ever before. But they’re labels!

Paris Jackson holds a peace sign while out in Los Angeles

Paris Jackson spreads peace as she goes shopping at Walgreens

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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27 Responses to “Paris Jackson: ‘I don’t feel like there is a label for my sexuality that fits’”

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  1. Yamayo says:

    I find that this obsession with labels ends up reinforcing gender stereotypes.
    I guess it probably makes me gender critical….
    I find it so hard to deal with this type of conversation.

    • Slowsnow says:

      Maybe that’s what she’s saying? Why must we be something in particular and not just sexual people? I know straight people who have fallen for one person of the same sex. Some in this situation get very confused about their identity and the reason is certainly the fact that we need to label. If we weren’t so hung up on labels we’d just accept fluctuations. Of course when one of my kids identified as gay, I was not going to tell him that it’s better to keep an open mind you know? But if one day he comes home and says that he is dating a woman or a trans person, I won’t be destabilised and don’t want him to be either. I did ask him if he was sure that he was gay and not bi though. Just to keep an open mind – he is very exploratory.

    • detritus says:

      The only time I hear the words ‘gender critical’ are from people who refuse the femininity of trans women.

      Please tell me I’ve got that wrong about you.

  2. Tootsie McJingle says:

    David Rose said it best: “I like the wine, not the label.”

  3. Thaisajs says:

    Having a really hard time caring about her.

    • Me says:

      You care enough to comment on a post about her. 🤷🏻‍♀️

      • Meg says:

        I too wondered why shes being written about. why is she talked about and has things leaked to TMZ? Oh thats right she wants to be famous- but thats a hollow goal. Like so many other nepotism kids in her position they require tons of excessive attention as it was normalized by their parent(s) but its not real. She may be a good kid who knows but why court attention like this?

  4. Lindy says:

    I get not wanting to be labeled, but from a purely practical standpoint, we need labels if only to be able to advocate for legislation. How do we push for pay equity laws if we can’t use labels to identify those who are likely to be underpaid? Doesn’t mean you have to use a label in your personal relationships but they’re helpful for codifying where we need to make progress as a society.

  5. Leigh_S says:

    “I wouldn’t consider myself bisexual because I’ve dated more than just men and women,”

    Personally, I’m truly curious what that statement means!

  6. Kane says:

    Bi sexual is not the same as pansexual because there are more than two genders. Gender is a spectrum, not a binary. Bisexuality usually refers to being attracted to the two men and women. Pansexuality can include those who are not male or female. Intersex people, gender fluid people, some trans people are not identified as male or female. For the curious please google the gender unicorn, it is a great explainer or gender vs sexuality.

    • KL says:

      “Bisexuality usually refers to being attracted to the two men and women.”

      Actual bisexual people have never accepted that definition, and for the most part it has been forced upon them in order to give them “preferences” they don’t claim.

      • Stephanie says:

        YES!
        People identifying outside of the usual classification women/men have always existed. They have been dating people identifying as bisexual (or even straight) since then. I feel like the strict distinction between bisexual and pansexual ignores this reality and the genuine sexual preferences of many folks who have been identifying as bisexual without excluding any gender or sexual identity on the spectrum. But I’d love to hear the opinion of a non-binary or trans person on that!

  7. KL says:

    Ah yes, the “not associating myself with a label, which comes with stigma and possible loss of privilege, is MORE radical” take.

    There’s nothing wrong with saying “I don’t have a word for who I am or what I feel; I might never have one.” It’s the superiority complex which is…………. silly.

    • Otaku fairy says:

      It really didn’t sound to me like she was trying to imply that she’s more radical than or thinks she’s superior to us bisexuals. She just doesn’t think the label really fits her, which is fine.

    • A Nice Rosé says:

      As a “I don’t identify with anything” person let me provide you with more context. My lack of identity isn’t because I don’t want to lose privilege, it’s because I don’t have acceptance in any circles. I don’t belong with the heteros, that’s clear enough. But the mainstream LGBTQ community has always been pretty hostile to fluid folx too. When I was younger it was hard. I wanted desperately to be able to pick a side that would have me, but I knew I’d have to deny huge portions of my heart to do so. Now I’m older and happily living on the outskirts of identity. I have a great little community of misfits and Paris Jackson can come hang with us any time.

      • Otaku fairy says:

        Thank you for sharing your experience, A Nice Rose. It’s true, the hostility can come from both gay and straight people, and it’s not just the right you have to worry about. People more free with the dehumanizing slurs for sure. You don’t always know when addressing the biphobia will lead to allies screaming about how openly sexually fluid people are to blame for violent hate crimes. Or if older feminists in a community will be more offended by that abuse being criticized than they are about the violent thing the older ally said, and use positions of power to silence the criticism. Some of us get nervous when anyone who isn’t exclusively straight or gay says anything about that experience at all, both for the person and for others in the same situation watching the response. The whole LGBTQA community is worthy of basic respect, not just the male and cis members.

  8. Leigh_S says:

    Thanks for all that feedback! It gives me lots of new ways to think about the concepts. Appreciated greatly!

  9. Meg says:

    why is she written about? Being michael jacksons daughter? this show mentioned in this article is the first thing ive heard of her doing to justify any attention at all. and why did she get it and get attention? Her father.
    in this way shes like kelly osborne, why should any of us care what she thinks? Why does she get a platform? Her father. she just wants attention because she feels she entitled to it? Ive heard her speak, she did not earn any of her attention.

    These pictures of her look like a scene in a movie, was she actually at a protest or just posing for pictures to get credit for protesting?

  10. Zen says:

    Janis Joplin called. She wants her clothes back.

  11. Lilitel says:

    Can’t take her seriously since she declared herself “a proud black woman”.

    • CherryL says:

      Same. And there is an insane amount of people who actually believe Michael is her biological father including her. That’s just ridiculous.

  12. CherryL says:

    Pretty sure it’s called pansexual.