Janelle Monáe has opened up about her non-binary identity in a new interview after announcing that she uses she/her and they/them pronouns.
Last year, the 37-year-old singer/actor - who previously came out as pansexual in 2018 on the cover of Rolling Stone - revealed publicly that she is non-binary on an episode of Red Table Talk.
Now, the Glass Onion star appeared on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show on January 13, where candidly spoke about being open-minded when it comes to the subject of gender identity.
"I think it’s all about just honoring your truth and your authenticity, and whatever that may look like," Monáe said. "I’m not this arrogant person that thinks I have all the answers, so I think for me, it’s about making sure that I’m also saying to people, 'Further investigate who you are,' you know?"
Watch Monáe's interview below:"Allow yourself to discover something new about yourself," the 'Dirty Computer' songstress continued. "Open up your mind to different possibilities, and listen to folks who are saying, 'Hey, this is who I am. This is how I feel inside and outside.'"
The Hidden Figures actor further explained that she wants non-binary people to have "patience, truth, and compassion" for those who can't comprehend what gender identity means.
"I think all of it, to me, is important as we evolve as humanity, as we understand more about gender, as we understand more about sexuality," she added. "So, I’m just keeping an open mind about it all."
When the Grammy-nominated musician first revealed her identity during the Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Norris show, she said at the time that he doesn't see herself "as a woman, solely".
"I feel all of my energy. I feel like God is so much bigger than the 'he' or the 'she,'" she told the co-hosts. "And if I am from God, I am everything. But I will always, always stand with women. I will always stand with Black women. But I just see everything that I am, beyond the binary."
Monáe then said that she chooses to judge people based on their energy, rather than their gender and sex, explaining: "I don’t see how you identify, and I feel like that opens you up to fall in love with whoever, with any beautiful spirit."
On Sunday (January 16) night, the 'Electric Lady' singer received the seventh annual SeeHer Award at the Critics Choice Awards, starting her speech by elucidating that her pronouns are "she/her, they/them, and free-ass motherf***er."
"I try to make an effort in my work... to highlight the ones who have been pushed to the margins of society, who've been outcast or relegated to 'the other,'" Monáe said.
"This is a deeply personal choice for me because I grew up to working-class parents: My mother was a janitor, my father was a trash man, and my grandmother was a sharecropper in Aberdeen, Mississippi," they added.
"And it's personal because I am non-binary, I am queer, and my identity influences my decisions and my work," the Moonlight star said, before explaining that they hope the characters she plays inspire audiences to be more compassionate and loving.
