Why am I jumping up and down screaming, “Yay!”? Because people are becoming more aware of gender identity and diversity in gender is becoming more visible. Now, I’m going to keep jumping for joy but while my head’s up here in the clouds where equality is on the horizon, I hear the bird songs and they’re not all happy. Awareness brings knowledge and acceptance, but it also brings misunderstanding and disagreements. The diversity in gender pronouns being used can now be seen through celebrities. While some of these celebrities bring a positive message, others example negative responses to preferred pronouns. Celebrities heavily influence our lives from their viewpoints and actions to their words, and so on. Two celebrities have recently been opposite examples of either positive or negative outlooks on pronouns, though not directly with each other. You might recognize their names: Sam Smith and Boy George.
I can hardly believe that the man who captured my heart in Culture Club and continued to inspire me with his indifference to gender norms when it came to fashion is now speaking against a stem of gender identity. That’s right, Boy George (George O’Dowd) doesn’t seem to support the use and spread of preferred pronouns. This is shown through his Twitter feed where he’s said, “leave your pronouns at the door” and mocked the use of pronouns by saying to call him, “Napoleon” as one might sarcastically say, “I identify as an attack helicopter.” If his fans see reason in his lack of support and agree with what he says, this mockery could spread and cause misunderstanding. Not only that, some, like myself, considered him an example of defying gender as he crosses norms in fashion and, as he said himself, “used the ladies toilet” seemingly with no regret. His words now prevent him from being a role model to those who identify with preferred pronouns other than ‘he/him’ and ‘she/her.’ Fortunately, there are other celebrities who encourage the display of identity preferred pronouns offer.
Sam Smith stole our hearts with songs like “Too Good at Goodbyes” and “Stay With Me” with their soulful voice and lyrics. Then, as if they hadn’t already they secured the hearts of all their LGBT+ fans, they did it again with the anthem “Him” that addresses being gay in a religous setting. As of 2019, fans and the LGBT+ community have a new reason to look up to them. Sam came out as non-binary and said they prefer the pronouns ‘they/them.’ There has been a little discouragement from fans and Sam says they’re dealing with being misgendered, they have been for a while and anticipate it to continue. Their acknowledgment of the pain of being misgendered is validating to others who might experience it. Sam shows it happens and it’s okay to talk about. Their pain shows why people should make an effort not to misgender. And by coming out, they give courage to those who might be too afraid to do so. Honestly, as someone who identifies as genderqueer and uses ‘they/them’ pronouns, I can personally say having someone with such a large platform share these pronouns is incredibly validating.
Hopefully we come to a time where we don’t need to seek validation or comfort in others, but having the community is always nice. When there’s LGBT+ representation in celebrities, it’s especially nice because their potential acceptance, words of inclusion and reasoning can spread through their platform. There are also those, like Boy George, who may disagree with aspects of identity and damage the potential positive outlook. That’s the risk or benefit of how much celebrities affect us. Let’s make sure we support those who promote positivity.