According to reports, British singer, Sam Smith, has requested to be referred to as "they" not "he", six months after confirming a non-binary identity.
Per The Sun, the 27-year-old asked family and friends to make the change, as they thanked Hits Radio presenter James Barr on Twitter for referring to the performer as "they".
"Just interviewed @samsmith and they sounded so happy and free and more themselves than ever. it’s made me feel like the world is a good place again," Barr tweeted Smith.
"You’re one of the first people to use these pronouns with me. Thank you. That feels really beautiful," the singer replied.
A source told the tabloid, "This is a decision Sam has thought long and hard about, including doing a lot of reading on up it."
"He knows that it will take some people longer than others to fully get it," they continued. "First the request is going out to mates and then it will be passed on to the music industry too. It’s an exciting and groundbreaking time."
Smith has previously spoken of "the war" of finding their identity. In an interview with GQ they elaborated;
"Ever since I was a little boy, ever since I was a little human, I didn’t feel comfortable being a man really. I never really did.
Some days I’ve got my manly side and some days I’ve got my womanly side, but it’s when I’m in the middle of that switch that I get really, really depressed and sad. Because I don’t know who I am or where I am or what I’m doing, and I feel very misunderstood by myself. I realised that’s because I don’t fit into either.
"I was with my mum last night and she said something so beautiful: ‘I’m so relieved that you and me and your whole family have a way to explain this, because it’s also been eating me up your whole life.’
Because my mum could see it and that it was a torture going on in my mind."
