American singer, Janelle Monae, recently revealed that she identifies as nonbinary.
The 36-year-old songstress got candid on the April 20 episode of Red Table Talk, hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Norris. She said,
“I’m nonbinary, so I just don’t see myself as a woman, solely. I feel all of my energy. I feel like God is so much bigger than the ‘he’ or the ‘she.’ If I am from God, I am everything. I am everything, but I will always, always stand with women. I will always stand with Black women. But I just see everything beyond the binary.”
When co-host Willow Smith asked Monae about speaking her truth, she said:
“Somebody said, ‘If you don’t work out the things that you need to work out first before you share with the world, then you’ll be working it out with the world.’ That’s what I didn’t want to do. So I thought I needed to have all my answers correct, I don’t want to say the wrong thing.”
Monae added that she judges the energy of people over their s*x or gender, which allows her to fall in love with people without restrictions.
Janelle Monae is nonbinary: What does nonbinary mean?
As per Healthline, the word "nonbinary" refers to someone whose gender identity cannot be classified as entirely female or male. Some non-binary people see themselves as both men and women, while others see themselves as neither men nor women.
Nonbinary may also be used as an umbrella term for the wide range of gender identities that do not fit into the man-woman binary. History shows that the nonbinary identity has existed without name and recognition for many millennia.
During an interview with Variety in January 2020, Janelle Monae talked about living with a nonbinary perspective. She said that she has always tried to get rid of labels in her personal and professional life.
"I do feel like I am an experience, I am on self-discovery, and I just want to continue to show love to everyone who continues to live outside of the binary.”
In 2018, the 36-year-old Grammy nominee revealed that she was pansexual in Rolling Stone's cover story. She revealed that she had originally identified as bisexual but later read about pansexuality.
"And [I] was like, ‘Oh, these are things that I identify with too.’ I’m open to learning more about who I am.”
As per Variety, pansexuality refers to developing attraction towards people regardless of their gender or s*x.
On the professional front, Janelle Monae will appear next in Rian Johnson’s murder mystery, Knives Out 2.