Sam Smith credits Lady Gaga as the reason they came out as non-binary: ‘She gave me permission to be proud of my queerness’
Sam smith (L) has credited Lady Gaga as one of the reasons they came out as non-binary. (Screen capture via YouTube/Getty)
Sam Smith has once again proved that Lady Gaga is the guardian angel of the LGBT+ community.
In the Tuesday (October 27) episode of Vogue‘s Beauty Secrets web-series, the singer revealed that one of the reasons they came out as non-binary was because they felt Gaga’s music was a “form of protection” from bullies.
“I was 15 when The Fame came out and I was obsessed with Lady Gaga,” Smith mused.
“For me, she gave me complete permission to be myself and to be proud of my queerness. It was a form of expression, but it was also weirdly a form of protection.
“It was a way of almost saying to the homophobes and the bullies, ‘Stay away from me’, because I’m confident and I’m powerful in my queerness.”
During the makeup tutorial, Smith reflected on how important beauty is for their gender expression. “When I hit 14, 15, I started to question my gender and started to really want to express myself in ways I felt like I said to as a form of survival,” they said.
“Makeup for me was the way to do that.”
They explained how they felt “so left out” when their female pals would hit makeup stores: “I was like, this shop isn’t for me, makeup isn’t for me.”
But their friend helped them realise that “makeup is for me, and it doesn’t matter what gender you are, it’s a form of expression and it feels nice. It’s the poster of your life, every single day when you meet people”.
“To have that time and take that time each day to touch your face and put things on your face I think it’s really special,” they added.
After coming out, they said, their passion for makeup was reignited.
It’s not just Lady Gaga that helped Sam Smith realise they’re non-binary.
Earlier this month, Sam Smith said that their body dysmorphia also helped them work through their gender identity.
“For me, what triggered everything was the work I was doing with my body issues,” the “Promises” hitmaker said.
“I always had body dysmorphia. As I started to address that, I started to address my gender and realised that I was holding myself to these ideals of how a man should look.”
“As I looked into it, I did therapy, I realised there was more to it.
“I have girl’s thighs and I have girl breasts too. It started to awaken this conversation that had always been in the back of my mind.”
