Why Demi Lovato ‘Adopted She/Her’ Pronouns Again

Demi Lovato has been open about her gender identity since coming out as non-binary in 2021. Now, the singer goes by both she/her and they/them pronouns, and explained the change as part of her ongoing journey of self-discovery.

Demi Lovato changed their pronouns in 2021

Lovato first announced her non-binary identity in May 2021 on her podcast, 4D With Demi Lovato. To go along with the new identity, Lovato began using they/them pronouns.

“I feel that this best represents the fluidity I feel in my gender expression, and allows me to feel most authentic and true to the person I both know I am and am still discovering,” Lovato said at the time.

While not all non-binary people use they/them pronouns, Lovato felt it best aligned with her self-perception at the time.

In April 2022, Lovato changed the pronouns on her Instagram bio to include both they/them and she/her.

Lovato ‘adopted she/her’ pronouns in 2022

In August 2022, Lovato stopped by the Sprout podcast to discuss music and much more. When discussing the decision to start using she/her pronouns again, she explained that it was a recent change in how she viewed her gender.

“Recently, I’ve been feeling more feminine, so I’ve adopted she/her again,” Lovato said.

She went on to break down why she made the change to exclusively use they/them in 2021. “I felt like, especially last year, my energy was balanced in my masculine and feminine energy,” she shared. “When I was faced with a choice of walking into a bathroom and it said ‘women’ and ‘men,’ I didn’t feel like there was a bathroom for me.”

Using they/them pronouns, then, was a way for Lovato to feel more secure in herself and her body. “I didn’t feel like a woman, I didn’t feel like a man. I just felt like a human,” she said. “That’s what they/them is about for me — feeling human at your core.”

While gender identity and gender expression are often closely related, masculinity and femininity are not requirements to use he/him or she/her pronouns.

Even though Lovato now uses both she/her and they/them, she doesn’t fault people for getting it wrong sometimes. “I think what’s important is nobody’s perfect,” she said. “Everybody messes up pronouns at some point, especially when people are learning. It’s just about respect.”

Lovato is only one of many celebrities who identify as non-binary

Lovato has spoken repeatedly about her gender identity, but she’s hardly the first celebrity to fall under the non-binary umbrella.

Among the list of Hollywood’s most prominent non-binary celebs: Jonathan Van Ness, Janelle Monáe, Sam Smith, Amandla Stenberg, Ashnikko, Asia Kate Dillon, and Ruby Rose.