Demi Lovato reveals she felt ‘conditioned’ to re-adopt she/her pronouns

Back in May 2021, “What Other People Say” singer Demi Lovato came out as non-binary on Twitter. 

"Over the past year-and-a-half, I've been doing some healing and self-reflective work. And through this work, I've had the revelation that I identify as non-binary …” 

“I'll officially be changing my pronouns to they/them moving forward," the singer said in a short video clip posted to the social media site, explaining that the gender neutral pronouns were the best representations of "the fluidity I feel in my gender expression."

Then in 2022, the “Fire Starter” singer revealed they had changed their pronouns from they/them to include she/her, and even changed their official Instagram pronouns to reflect that change. Now in a new interview with GQ Spain, Lovato is revealing that there was immense pressure to revert back to she/them, and it was “exhausting” to always explain what a gender non-binary means.

“I constantly had to educate people and explain why I identified with those pronouns. It was absolutely exhausting,” the “Cool For The Summer” singer told the outlet. “I just got tired. But for that very reason I know that it is important to continue spreading the word.”

“I face this every day. For example, in public toilets. Having to access the women's bathroom, even though I don't completely identify with it."

"Or it also happens when filling out forms, such as government documents or any other where you have to specify your gender. You only have two options, male and female, and I feel like none of that makes sense to me," the singer told the Spanish outlet (her words have been re-translated back into English).

"I see myself conditioned to choose a woman because there are no more. I think this has to change. Hopefully with time there will be more options."

These explanations are similar to the reasons she gave back in August 2022 for including sher/her back as her pronouns. Speaking on the Spout podcast, Demi Lovato told host Tamara Dhia that she's using she/her pronouns again because she's such a "fluid person."

As for why she came out as non-binary the year previously, Lovato said it was a matter of energy. "I felt like, especially last year, my energy was balanced in my masculine and feminine energy," she said. 

"I didn't feel necessarily like a woman. I didn't feel like a man. I just felt like a human," the pop star said. "And that's what they/them is about for me. It's just about like feeling human at your core." 

These days, Lovato says she's been "feeling more feminine," and that's why she's adopted she/her pronouns once more. But at the end of the day, it's all about learning and growing. "I think what's important is, like, nobody's perfect. Everyone messes up pronouns at some point, and especially when people are learning, it's just all about respect," Lovato explained. 

Lovato isn’t the only non-binary star in Hollywood. Fellow musicians Sam Smith and Halsey have said they use they/them pronouns.