It is hard not to feel bad for cis-gendered heterosexual people sometimes. As more and more sexual minorities come into the limelight and tell their stories, it becomes more apparent just how entrenched the idea is that cis-gendered, heterosexuality is the ‘standard’ and anything else is a deviant. It is apparent just how deep this misconception goes when you consider that we lump sexuality and gender into one big package, and choose not to investigate further when we have ticked either of those boxes. Well singer Sam Smith has thrown yet another curve ball for everyone out there who thought they had him all figured out; he just came out as non-gender binary.

Why does he need to ‘come out’ again, I hear you ask? After all he already ‘came out’ as a gay man a few years ago. Well, that’s the whole point. Sam Smith might be gay, in the sense that he is attracted to men, but that doesn’t mean that he sees himself as a ‘gay man’. In an interview with the Sunday Times  Smith revealed he has never seen himself as being entirely on either end of the gender spectrum and has experimented with women’s clothing since he was a child, going for as long as three years dressed as a woman.

He isn’t the first celebrity to come out as gender non-binary, and he certainly won’t be the last. But it is good to see such high profile celebrities break down the differences between gender and sexuality and remind us that sexuality is way more complex than we have allowed ourselves comprehend.

Editor