Sam Smith comes out as non-binary, genderqueer: ‘I’m not male or female’
Sam Smith came out as non-binary and genderqueer during an interview with Jameela Jamil. (jameelajamilofficial/Instagram)
Sam Smith has publicly identified as non-binary, genderqueer for the first time.
The “Stay With Me” singer appeared on the first episode of The Good Place star Jameela Jamil’s Instagram Live show I Weigh Interviews, connected to the actor’s body-positive movement, published on the social media platform on Friday (March 15).
In the 30-minute-long candid interview, Smith discussed his relationships with his body and a newfound understanding of his gender identity.
Jameela Jamil said it was a “privilege” to have interviewed Sam Smith, who came out as non-binary and genderqueer during the conversation. (jameelajamilofficial/Instagram)
Introducing the issue of his gender identity, Smith said he has never previously spoken about the issue and he’s still not completely sure about it, but he felt that stories of people who came out as genderqueer and non-binary resonated with him.
“I’ve always had a little bit of a war going within my body and my mind” Smith said, “I do think like a woman sometimes, in my head. Sometimes I’ve questioned ‘Do I want a sex change?’ and it’s something I still think about, like: ‘Do I want to?'”
He added: “But I don’t think it is. When I saw the words ‘non-binary’ and ‘genderqueer’ and I read into it and I heard this people speaking, I was like ‘F**k, that’s me.'”
Sam smith defines being non-binary, genderqueer
Jamil asked Smith to define what that means to him.
He replied: “Non-binary genderqueer is that you do not identify in a gender. You are a mixture of different things, you are your own special creation. That’s how I take it. I’m not male or female, I think I flow somewhere in between. It’s all on the spectrum.”
Smith said he applies the same fluid understanding to sexuality.
“I’ve been with too many straight men to know that not everyone who says they are straight are fully straight,” he said.
“You fall in love with people, not genitals,” he added.
“Maybe I’m not a man, maybe I’m not a woman, maybe I’m just me and maybe that’s ok.”
— Sam Smith
Smith said that breaking out of the gender binary helped him develop a better relationship with his body image.
“That spinballed everything actually, because that’s me, looking at myself [thinking], maybe I’m not a man, maybe I’m not a woman, maybe I’m just me and maybe that’s ok.”
Sam Smith previously discussed feeling ‘as much woman as I am man’
In the interview with Jamil, Smith said he had liposuction on his chest at 12 years old as his oestrogen levels—the primary female sex hormone—were too high.
“I think at the time I was very happy about it. It didn’t really change anything,” Smith said.
He added: “I think I put the weight back on in like two weeks, cause I hadn’t figured out my relationship with food. But being 12 years old and having liposuction on your chest is quite a big deal.”
Smith has previously said he felt “just as much woman as I am man” in a 2017 interview with The Sunday Times.
The Oscar-winning singer songwriter revealed that he loved dressing in female clothes as a teen after becoming “obsessed” with Boy George and Marilyn—and still owns several pair of high heels.
